Before he became the all-time winningest head football coach at Florida and USC, Steve Spurrier was the head coach at Duke from 1987-1989.
His final season in charge of the Duke program saw Spurrier lead the Blue Devils to a share of the ACC title. He left Duke with a 20-13-1 record and he was named the ACC Coach of the Year in 1988 and 1989.
Spurrier would leave Duke for his alma mater in Gainesville and that began a legendary career in the SEC.
But he owes a lot to Duke where he had two stops. From 1980-1982, he was the Blue Devils offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. After three years as the head coach of the USFL's Tampa Bay Bandits, Spurrier returned to Duke as the head coach.
He says he was thrilled to be in Charlotte Saturday night where he was recognized as a member of the ACC Football Legends Class of 2018. He received a phone call from former one of his former Duke assistants who had been working with David Cutcliffe. Jim Collins is now Duke's Director of Football Relations & Special Assistant to the Head Coach.
"Jim Collins called me up three or four months ago and said 'They've asked me to ask you would represent Duke and be one of the legends here at the championship game'," Spurrier said..
"I said, 'Heck yeah'. I love representing Duke in everything I do. Gosh, I owe my entire coaching career in college just about to Duke University. They hired me twice when I had no job. I got a chance to sing the Duke praises this weekend