Poll: Who Is The SEC’s Most Hated Coach of All Time?
By Editorial Staff
Ask and you shall receive. After many of you voted in our poll to decide on the most hated football player of all time by Bama fans, there was a request to vote on the most hated coach of all time. The difference between the players and the coaches is that coaches can sometime have a staying power that can drive an Alabama fan crazy. So, Tide fans, who crawls under your skin more than any other coach?
Phillip Fulmer
“Fat Phil” began coaching Tennessee as an assistant in 1980. He replaced Johnny Majors for the head coach position in 1992 and continued his reign for 16 years. While he was there he earned six SEC Eastern Division Titles, two SEC Championships and one National Championship. His ability to win, his love affair with Peyton Manning and his smug attitude weren’t the only reason Bama hated Fulmer. During Alabama’s 2000 season, an assistant coach in Memphis claimed that an Alabama booster paid him $50,000 to encourage one of his players to sign with Bama. Alabama was put on probation for four years and had a two-year post-season ban and scholarship reductions. It turns out that the “secret witness” that revealed this information was Phillip Fulmer.
Steve Spurrier
I personally have always found Steve Spurrier hilarious. I love when he gets angry and throws his visor, so the “Old Ball Coach” has never really bothered me, though it seems I am in the minority among Alabama fans. Spurrier hatred was at its peak while he was coach at Florida. While there, the Gators played for a national championship in 1995 and won one in 1996; he won six SEC championships and was named SEC Coach of the Year five times. He was also the first Heisman Trophy-winner to coach a Heisman Trophy winner and that was Danny Wuerffel.
Les Miles
Les Miles is crazy, but he doesn’t amuse me the way that Steve Spurrier does. Mostly, he makes me angry. He’s cocky and arrogant and the fact that he and his players always pose an imminent threat to an Alabama national title is icing on the cake. He has only been the coach at LSU since 2005, but has made his obnoxious presence known. He seems to show a blind eye to actions of his players as we clearly saw last season when he played Jordan Jefferson and Tyrann Mathieu. Also, in his short time there he has been able to win three SEC western division championships, two SEC championships and one national championship in 2007. He’s been a successful coach and that’s probably the main reason people can’t stand him, but it would be a lot more difficult to throw waves of hate at him if he seemed like a nicer person.
Terry Bowden
This roly poly of a man was something of a mystery to Alabama fans. He hit a peak at Auburn and is now no more of a threat to Alabama than a panda cub, as he is the head coach at Akron. He was the head coach that succeeded Pat Dye, while Auburn was facing NCAA sanctions. His first year at Auburn, he led the Tigers to an undefeated season. Say what? Where did this guy come from and how do we stop him? He had a 9-1-1 season the next year which gave him the longest winning streak in school history. Thank goodness his luck ran out and he began to crumble, as did the program; but when Terry Bowden was on top, many Alabama fans wanted to see how far they could punt him.
Other
There have been plenty of opportunities to hate coaches over the course of football history. The names are certainly not limited to the four above. There are other coaches like Lou Holtz, Gene Chizik, Tommy Tuberville, Bobby Bowden and many others that Bama fans love to hate. Who is that coach for you?