DAVID CLIMER

Steve Spurrier, Phillip Fulmer found common ground amid rivalry

David Climer
dclimer@tennessean.com

Phillip Fulmer was as surprised as anyone when he heard about Steve Spurrier’s resignation as coach at South Carolina.

“You hate to see a friend go through something like that,” Fulmer said.

A friend? You’re kidding, right? For years, Fulmer and Spurrier sparred on the football field and off, with Spurrier usually walking away the victor. In nine games when the two faced each other as head coaches at Tennessee and Florida in 1993-2001, Spurrier went 7-2.

Just winning games was not enough for Spurrier. He would beat the Vols and then rub their noses in it.

Spurrier on Tennessee’s frequent postseason destination in the ’90s:

“You can’t spell ‘Citrus’ without ‘U.T.’ ”

Spurrier on why Peyton Manning returned for his senior season in 1997:

“He wanted to be a three-time Citrus Bowl MVP.”

Steve Spurrier knew better than other coaches not to linger

Based on what happened in those days of the UT-Florida rivalry, he is the coach Vols fans love to hate. Steve Spurrier — aka Steve Superior, Darth Visor or the Head Ball Coach— was Public Enemy No. 1.

Somewhere in there, however, Fulmer and Spurrier found the common ground of mutual respect. A lasting friendship was forged. The two spoke at the start of this season. And based on what Fulmer said Tuesday, they’ll speak again in the coming days.

“We may have approached our jobs a little bit differently, but we had a lot of the same qualities and characteristics,” Fulmer said. “We both knew what it took to be successful. I genuinely like Steve and I think the feeling is mutual.

“I always said it was a shame we were in the same division of the same league at the same time. In some of those years, we were two of the best teams in the country, but we played each other in September and somebody had to lose.”

In 1995-98, the Vols lost a total of only five games. Three of them were to Florida.

Some of those UT losses were especially painful. In ’95, Manning’s sophomore season, the Vols led 30-21 at halftime in The Swamp but the Gators scored touchdowns on six straight possessions and won 62-37.

It was the only loss of the season for the Vols, who were ranked No. 4 in the nation after the regular season. In the current system, UT probably would have been in the College Football Playoff. Back then, however, they wound up in — you guessed it — the Citrus Bowl.

“If we had the playoff back then, there’s a good chance we would have wound up with a rematch against Florida for the national championship,” Fulmer said.

The Vols exacted a degree of revenge when Spurrier arrived at South Carolina in 2005. UT went 5-5 against the Gamecocks with Spurrier as coach. Fulmer was 2-2 against him at South Carolina.

As Spurrier walks away from the college football, his impact on the SEC is profound. His Fun ’n’ Gun offense changed the way the game is coached and played. If you didn’t adjust, you ran the very real risk of having what Spurrier called “half a hundred” points put up against you.

“The SEC used to be a league where the teams that ran the ball the best and stopped the run were dominant,” Fulmer said. “Steve changed all that with his passing game. He would spread you out and throw the ball around.

“We had to change the way we recruited because of him. His offense was built around creating certain matchups, so you had to recruit players that could handle those matchups. You had to get faster to match Florida’s speed.”

While he never achieved the same level of success at South Carolina, Spurrier elevated the Gamecocks program to a level not previously seen. He won 11 games and had top 10 rankings in three straight seasons in 2011-13.

But after a disappointing 7-6 record in 2014, the Gamecocks opened this season 2-4 and winless in four SEC games. Rather than make an announcement and coach out the end of the season as some sort of farewell tour, Spurrier quit.

“When we talked before the season, he was really excited about his team and his quarterback,” Fulmer said. “Then all those injuries hit and they started losing, and I know how frustrating that was for him.”

All things considered, though, it was quite a run.

Reach David Climer at 615-259-8020 and on Twitter @DavidClimer.