Spurrier is better than Woody & Bo
COLUMBIA -- Steve Spurrier has partly himself to blame. The Head Ball Coach was on a blue-ribbon panel The Sporting News assembled before unveiling its list of "Sports' 50 Greatest Coaches."
Every sport.
All-time.
The panel of more than 100 included current coaches (including the College of Charleston's Bobby Cremins), former coaches (they asked Lou Holtz) and other experts (but not Erin Andrews).
Spurrier said he is not surprised he didn't make the cut.
"If Roy Williams at North Carolina wasn't in the top 50, I don't feel bad at all," Spurrier said.
Asked if factors such as major NCAA violations and probation should be included when assembling such lists, Spurrier shrugged and said such calls are for "you media guys."
Yes, cheating and other scandals should count.
And Spurrier and his clean slate belong among the top 50.
The Sporting News top 10:
1. John Wooden
2. Vince Lombardi
3. Bear Bryant
4. Phil Jackson
5. Don Shula
6. Red Auerbach
7. Scotty Bowman
8. Dean Smith
9. Casey Stengel
10. Knute Rockne
No Spurrier issue here, though Shula and Stengel are ranked way too high. Maybe a trend is developing: People really like Don Shula and a lot of people still don't like Steve Spurrier.
Passing fancy
The second 10:
11. Pat Summitt
12. Paul Brown
13. Joe Paterno
14. George Halas
15. Chuck Noll
16. Bob Knight
17. Joe Gibbs
18. Tom Landry
19. Mike Krzyzewski
20. Bill Belichick
Again, Spurrier is not a top 20 candidate. But he is 1-0 against Belichick.
As much as winning a national title and six Southeastern Conference championships, the Spurrier ticket is innovation. He breathed fun into SEC football with a passing attack that made others play catch-up. No SEC coach before or since changed the game quite as much.
The third 10
21. Adolph Rupp
22. Joe McCarthy
23. Eddie Robinson
24. Bobby Bowden
25. John McGraw
26. Bill Walsh
27. Woody Hayes
28. Connie Mack
29. Bud Wilkinson
30. Pat Riley
Woody Hayes won three national titles and 13 Big Ten titles at Ohio State. But 'ol Woody disgraced himself and his university when he slugged a Clemson football player in a bowl game.
Spurrier stepped in to help restore rivalry order after Clemson and South Carolina players slugged each other.
The Duke test
Surely, Spurrier belongs somewhere in this fourth 10:
31. Pete Newell
32. Joe Torre
33. Bill Parcells
34. Tom Osborne
35. Walter Alston
36. Bo Schembechler
37. Toe Blake
38. Sparky Anderson
39. Al Arbour
40. Amos Alonzo Stagg
Bo Schembechler was a fine "Michigan man."
But, c'mon now, do you think Bo could have won at Duke?
Spurrier won at Duke, capturing a share of the 1989 Atlantic Coast Conference crown with less talent on the roster than any ACC champion of the last 35 years.
Schembechler overall: 234-65-8 (.775).
Hayes overall: 238-72-10 (.759).
Spurrier overall: 170-62-2 (.731).
Do you know what kind of Big Ten riff-raff Woody and Bo coached against all those years?
Yet there is no Head Ball Coach in the final 10:
41. Tony La Russa
42. Geno Auriemma
43. Dick Irvin
44. Ara Parseghian
45. Chuck Daly
46. Bobby Cox
47. Hank Iba
48. Tommy Lasorda
49. Gregg Popovich
50. Herb Brooks
Spurrier and Roy Williams (also on the panel) are not the only omissions. Ex-Dallas Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson was pretty good at winning Super Bowls and Denny Crum's underrated Louisville basketball accomplishments look better every year.
So Spurrier is in good company, which makes for a feistier debate.
Reach Gene Sapakoff at gsapakoff@postandcourier.com.
or 937-5593.
