Florida Gators

Spurrier recalls how his offense got its start

Published Aug. 14, 2015 11:47 a.m. ET

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Steve Spurrier is considered one college football's formative offensive minds given his legendary career at Florida and bookending successes at Duke and South Carolina. But there was a time when he was just a lowly assistant trying to work his way up the coaching chain.

Spurrier, along with several other coaches, provided the following story of his first coaching job to ESPN.

"Actually, my first year and my second year (as quarterbacks coach at Georgia Tech), the head coach allowed me to basically, about the middle of the year, be the offensive coordinator -- call plays, put the offense in.

"My third year -- by the way, we got fired at Georgia Tech -- I went to Duke my third year. The head coach said, 'You can make up the offense.' I said, 'Really?' He didn't have a terminology, a numbering system, so me and the line coach made up the offense.

"I'm still making them up (today), still the same numbers as 1980, 35 years ago."

Given how things worked out, then-Georgia Tech coach Pepper Rodgers and then-Duke coach Red Wilson probably made the right decisions by giving Spurrier the freedom they did.

(h/t ESPN)

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