10 Biggest What Ifs in Mississippi State Sports History
10. What if MSU hired Steve Spurrier in 1986?
After the dismissal of Emory Bellard following the 1985 season, there was a coaching vacancy. With a newly expanded stadium to help lure in potential candidates, MSU conducted a national search which ended by hiring former Bulldog great Rockey Felker – who was Alabama’s WR coach.
One of the candidates interviewed in that coaching search was Steve Spurrier. At the time, he was out of work after the USFL went belly up in the fall of 1985. He had been the head coach of the Tampa Bay Bandits (35-19 record).
Long held as a myth, Scott Stricklin comfirmed the almost-hire last week after taking the A.D. position at Florida:
"I remember I had a conversation with [Steve Spurrier] on the field before the South Carolina-Mississippi State game in 2011. He reminded me how he interviewed for the Mississippi State job when he was between the Tampa Bay Bandits and Duke in 1986. He said, ‘Yeah, they didn’t hire me, but I guess it worked out OK, though.’"
Wouldn’t it have been incredible to have Steve Spurrier as MSU’s head ball coach? Obviously he would have left for Florida in 1990 just like he left Duke – but we could have had him for four years!
The 1986 season, in particular, stings. With Rockey Felker as head coach, the Bulldogs got off to a terrific start by beating Syracuse and then No. 8 Tennessee. They had a hiccup vs. Southern Miss, then beat Florida, Memphis, Arkansas State and Tulane for a 6-1 record and No. 13 national ranking before losing to Auburn and getting thumped a few more times. You better believe MSU would’ve been much better – perhaps winning 9 or 10 games that year – with Spurrier.
State was pretty putrid in the late 80s while Spurrier won a ACC title at Duke – at DUKE! If he was 20-13-1 in three years with the Blue Devils then I know he could’ve won at least 30 games in four years at MSU and possibly contended with Auburn for those SEC championships they won.
MSU still could’ve hired Jackie Sherrill, just a year early. He was just as available for the 1990 season as he was for the 1991 season.