Steve Spurrier

 Nick Saban sad to see Steve Spurrier retire

No one was better at needling opposing coaches than Steve Spurrier.
The former Florida and South Carolina coach loved to poke fun at Bobby Bowden, Phil Fulmer and Ray Goff. He has a long list of famous quips over his distinguished career, from "Free Shoes University" to you can't spell "Citrus without UT." He was always the biggest hit as the annual SEC Media Days and
no one was off-limits to a Spurrier roast.
Even Nick Saban was the recipient of a few Spurrier barbs over the years. Spurrier famously questioned whether Alabama had "maxed out its potential" winning only two SEC championships despite consistently recruiting the nation's top recruiting class under Saban.
After Spurrier abruptly decided to retire effective immediately Monday night, the Alabama head coach told ESPN he was sad to see the Head Ball Coach go.
"I hate it for Steve and hate it for college football," Saban said. "The guy's been one of the best coaches for a long, long time and a great personality for the game. I have a tremendous amount of respect for what he's accomplished and what he's done. He's always one of the hardest guys you have to play against and a great competitor and a real friend. He always will be.
"It's always sad to see somebody who's meant so much to the game walk away."
Spurrier defeated Saban the last time the two faced off back in 2010 when Alabama was the defending national champion. The two had a mutual respect for one another and Saban liked that Spurrier wasn't afraid to speak his mind, no matter how controversial the comments might be.
"A lot of times, it probably needed to be said," Saban told ESPN.
Alabama had approached Spurrier about the head coaching position in 2007, according to ESPN, but the former Heisman Trophy winner advised then-athletic director Mal Moore to continue his pursuit of Saban.
"I told Mal to hang in there with Saban," Spurrier previously told ESPN. "I knew he wasn't happy in the NFL, and they obviously got the right guy. I didn't want to go to a place where they'd already won a bunch of national championships."
Saban ultimately decided to leave the Miami Dolphins and has won three national championships during his time in Tuscaloosa. Spurrier finished with an 86-49 record in his 11 seasons at South Carolina, which included a three-year stretch of 11 wins a season. He won a national championship and six SEC titles during his "Fun 'n' Gun" years at Florida in the 1990s.