When it comes to coaching in the SEC, one thing’s clear: if opposing fanbases really hate you, you’re probably doing something right. Florida’s had its fair share of those kinds of coaches - the ones who didn’t just win, but won in ways that left rivals seething.
Steve Spurrier made it a personal mission to torment Georgia and Tennessee. Urban Meyer built a machine that steamrolled the conference.
And now Todd Golden’s getting under Kentucky’s skin after taking down their $22 million roster - and making sure everyone heard about it.
But here’s the twist: while those coaches were busy racking up wins and drawing the ire of rival fans, they were also wearing out their welcome with their own. That’s the strange legacy of Florida’s coaching history.
Success? Sure.
Championships? Absolutely.
But unwavering loyalty from the Gator faithful? Not always.
A recent post on X summed it up perfectly: “The UF coaches who become the most hated amongst rivals are the greatest.” Spurrier.
Meyer. Golden.
The common thread? They made life miserable for the rest of the SEC.
And yet, the same post pointed out something telling - nobody hated Jim McElwain, Billy Napier, or Mike White. Maybe that’s because they didn’t win enough to stir up that kind of emotion.
And then came a pointed retweet that cut to the heart of the issue: “Urban Meyer, noted great guy. They just hated his success!
(Keep in mind Florida fans hated him for a decade after 😂).” That last part?
It stings because it’s true.
Meyer brought two national titles to Gainesville in 2006 and 2008, with Tim Tebow at the heart of it all. He left in 2011, and more than a decade later, plenty of Gator fans still haven’t made peace with it.
It wasn’t just that he left - it was how he left, and where he went next. The departure to Ohio State didn’t sit well, and for some, it never will.
Even Billy Donovan, now a beloved figure in Florida basketball history, wasn’t immune. Early in his tenure, he was the butt of “Eddie Munster” jokes before leading the Gators to back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007. It’s a pattern: the greats get heat before they get love - and sometimes, even after the banners go up, the love doesn’t last.
What this all points to is a tension that’s hard to ignore: the disconnect between success and loyalty. Rivals hated Meyer because he beat them.
Florida fans hated him because he left them. It’s a subtle but significant difference - and it says a lot about how fanbases process greatness.
Meyer, for his part, is still locked into the college football world. On his Triple Option podcast, he recently called Curt Cignetti’s 16-0 run at Indiana “the greatest coaching job I have ever witnessed in my lifetime.” That’s coming from a guy with two national titles and four decades in the game.
He went out of his way to praise Cignetti’s coordinators, Mike Shanahan and Bryant Haynes, for sticking together nine years - a level of continuity Meyer admits he never managed at Florida or Ohio State. It’s a nod to the kind of behind-the-scenes chemistry that often defines a program’s success, even if fans rarely see it.
So while Meyer’s moved on, still watching the game with a coach’s eye, Florida fans are still debating whether they ever truly appreciated what they had. And that debate speaks volumes.
In Gainesville, championships aren’t always enough. Not if the coach doesn’t stay.
Not if the departure feels like betrayal.
In the SEC, being hated is often a badge of honor. But at Florida, it turns out, being loved might be even harder.