Steve Spurrier was on his game Friday at SEC Media Days. He looked and sounded energetic. It was much different than the drained Spurrier who was in Birmingham for the Region’s golf event earlier this summer. When Spurrier was on the Finebaum radio show during the golf tournament, he sounded exhausted. To my ears, the architect of the Fun & Gun was anything but ready for another football season.
SixFive straight losses will do that to you.
The game has changed. It isn’t seat-of-the-pants winging it anymore. The offense is more complex than when Spurrier arrived to coach the Gators in 1990.
“I think at Florida the first few years, I didn’t even have a play sheet over there half the time,†Spurrier said. “ You remember those days, coach didn’t even have a play sheet. I’d signal in myself half the stuff.
“But nowadays, guys are going in motion, shifts and all that, which you have to do.â€
Is there less Fun in the Gun?
There is more paperwork than ever. I don’t think the Ol’ Ball Coach likes paperwork.
He is handing off the duty of putting the plays on paper, and armbands to his son, Steve Jr.
This has created confusion. Who is coordinating this offense? Who will be calling the plays?
Spurrier has alternatively led us to believe he’ll call the plays or, his son will call the plays.
At SEC Media Days he provided the latest formulation.
“So it will be a team effort,†Spurrier said. “Yet one guy’s got to do it. He’ll get ’em in there to start with. If there’s a time for me next, I want this one the next play, da, da, da. If it goes bad, I did it. If it goes pretty good, he did it. That will be the way it will go.â€
That clears it up.
But is this a sign Spurrier is edging closer to the exit?
Spurrier openly talks about the ticking clock. He knows if South Carolina will ascend the mountaintop, it must make the move soon.
“We need to win the division somewhere along the way,†Spurrier said. “That’s the next step we need to take, or else, if that doesn’t happen in about five years, then probably somebody else needs to try to do it because we got a lot of good players. That’s what coaching’s all about. If one guy doesn’t get it done in seven, eight years, something like that, give that next guy a chance.â€
But Spurrier said the challenge is fun.
How much fun?
Gene Stallings said, the “fun is in the winning.â€
A 6-6 record last season couldn’t have been much fun for Steve Spurrier. Can he tolerate another such record?
32 thoughts on “How much longer can Spurrier last?”
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Yall better be glad that your “first choice” turned yall down. It was a blessing in disguise.
again, his problem is recruiting.
spurrier is coaching at a school that resides in a state that flies that flag.
he’s also next door to an established mark richt coached georgia program that’s kicking his ass on a regular basis.
it’s like expecting nutt at ole miss to out recruit alabama or auburn.
under normal circumstances, it just ain’t happenin’.
now will the gamecocks surprise someone from time to time? sure. but something’s going to have to drastically change for south carolina to compete for the sec east on a consistent basis.
spurrier at alabama would have been another animal entirely.
ballplay- It was nice blogging with you and to all the bammer fans.. This is all in good fun. I will not be around for football season.. I will be in the middle east defending your candy asses.. Hope the season goes well for both teams. I hope Auburn wins them all and bammer doesn’t win a game.. I am being deployed on Friday.. keep up the good work ballplay.
God bless you Redneck, and all the men that are going to do the work the rest of us take for granted. Keep safe. And it has been fun blogging with you as well. What branch do you serve in, and where are you going?
Marines. and we are going back to Iraq. Keep these bammers straight on this site don’t let up on them especially tmc0. and have fun watching the games. I know Auburn is going to kick ass this year. I hate I can’t be in the stands.
rnt, good luck. i understand that the military has means for u to access the internet over there. regardless of your allegiances over here, we’re all on the same team over there.
i don’t know about others, but i wouldn’t mind seeing a progress report from u here.
from a bammer grateful for your service, sir.
and it’s an honor to be referred to as a “candy ass” from u, sir.
It is all fun and games on this board. I like to come in and spout off at the mouth. Anyway I doubt I will have much internet time. Maybe once a week on an off day. I will keep up with football. There are too many high ranking guys over there that love college football. I will be deployed on Friday so until then I can still give you hell.
oh yeah finebammer.. no doubt that if I can get online.. I will be in here causing trouble from a million miles away.
I will be there screaming War eagle and Semper Fi baby !!!!!!!!!! Keep your head down and your spirits up. You do what you can in Iraq, and I will do my best on the homefront. Maybe we can make a difference in this world……Before you go there tmc1, I wasnt comparing you to Al-quida, O.K.
i also blog at http://finebammer.blogspot.com
if u can find time, it would be an honor to hear from u.
Finebammer….geeeeezz man..Do you not get it? S. Carolina, as bad as they suck, is still better than Alabama is. And just because yall are “BAMMA” , dont mean jacksquat. Got it? If Spurrier were at Bama yall would stil have sucked last year. And would continue to suck next year. And even the year after that. Spurriers best days are waaaayyy behind him. Thank your lucky stars he didnt want to coach your prestigous football program. Saban got made an offer he couldnt refuse. And thats cool . To get the best , you gotta pay up. And thats exactly what yall did. When the powers that be saw marquis coaches turning down the prestigous -TIDE- left and right , they soiled themselves, then did what they knew they had to do. PAY OUT THE NOSE !!!!!
Redneck… Was the rant above a “go” or a “no go”…Maybe I squared him away. I love Military speak….I was a redleg back in the day…
oh, i don’t know.
ask phil fulmer if spurrier’s best days are behind him.
urban meyer.
really dude. if you think spurrier’s in a better job at south carolina than he would be at alabama, well, there’s no having a rational argument with you.
and it’s not just alabama. florida. lsu. auburn. (u think i want spurrier at any of those schools??? hell, no!)
if he’s not coaching alabama, i want him right where he’s at.
and if u have half a brain (debatable) u want him to retire there too.
he hasn’t forgot how to coach.
I remember when Spurrier was nearly the first to spoil The Alabama PolyTECHnic Institute’s 2006 dream season. Go ask Tuberredneck if Spurrier’s best years are behind him.
And did I hear another Barnie make reference to the outrageous salary Saban is receiving? First and foremost, ANY OTHER PROGRAM IN AMERICA WOULD’VE HAD TO PAY WHAT WE DID TO GET HIM simply because THAT’S ROUGHLY WHAT HE WAS MAKING IN THE NFL! Just because your second rate program can’t afford him, doesn’t mean you have to make the most irrelevant of attacks on a program that literally owns you in every sporting category that exists.
And by the way, three years from now, you’ll understand the true statement of “the price of victory is high, but so are the rewards” when everything you wannabe Nostradamus’ said wouldn’t happen comes back to bite you in the ass.
Redneck Tider, thanks for doing what you do for us.
Spurrier is washed up. Today’s head coaches don’t play golf 5 days a week and draw plays in the dirt. Which is why Tuberville is on the way down. Smoke and mirrors and a weakened rival that by beating them single handedly lets you keep your job only lasts so long.
i don’t think tuberville was ever on the way up. it’s like the absence of heat is referred to as “cold”. the absence of alabama is referred to as alabama tech winning. you catch my drift?
count this as my signature:
Like Nick Saban or not he’s one helluva a coach and recruiter. It will not be as easy to do in Tuscaloosa what he did in BR simply because there’s competition in the state that doesn’t exist in LA. However, don’t be fooled or misguided. Saban will bring Alabama back to competing for SEC titles and more than likely national titles. The recruits being brought in to T-Town in the last two years are head and shoulders above what has been brought in within the last five years and that by itself will make Bama better. But that won’t be where it stops. Nick Saban has proven he can develop talent and when this talent begins developing you will see bama turn into an elite team once again. The evidence is already there. He’s taking recruits in certain regions that normally do not go to bama and have gotten them to sign. He’s now dipping into Georgia and getting several of their top athletes and has done the same in Tennessee by getting three of the top five players in the state. That is very different compared to the five or so years before Saban. The teams that will pay from a recruiting standpoint that odds are will translate on the field are: Georgia, Auburn & Tennessee. Auburn’s recruiting has taken the brunt of hit so far. But as Saban continues to branch out he’s taking more recruits from Georgia and Tennessee.
Just as Auburn did us, soon we’ll quickly replace Auburn as the team that battles it out with LSU for the title in the west.
…to win the SEC west Saban is doing the one thing he needs to do. He is starving Auburn of in state talent and he is starting to go after some of the big fish in Louisiana. He might not get very many of them, But everyone he does get is one less we have to face on UA vs, LSU game day.
Spurrier….
I would not count him out….ever….
Ballplay: Once a redleg always a redleg. and your rant was a go. I agree about SC being better than bammer. But tmc said something intelligent for the first time: I wouldn’t count Spurrier out either. I live in South CArolina so I hear all the talk. He is recruiting well BUT he does have discipline problems to contend with. I am not sure how far he will take them but the fans love him and they put no pressure on him unlike some other fans we know. They fill the stadium every Sat.
“starving Auburn of in state talent “.. Yeah I see that happening? Do you seriously believe that comment? Of course you do. That is what makes you a bammer.
finebammer: I got your blog site.
Spurrier is still better than 90% of the coachs out there. But like in the know said , He is washed up. You dont have the fire in your belly at 60 that you had at 45. I guaruntee you that. Can he still pull some upsets? Yes. Consistantly? No. S. Carolina will be a threat to upset someone elses SEC run, but never a threat to win it. Just my opinion.
Ballplay- I agree with you on that 100%. I think he will have them back to winning more than just 6 games a year and probably a few upsets along the way but not consistently. Spurrier loves to play golf way to much. He lives on a nice course in Columbia. I think you are right about the fire being out but the Gamecocks love the guy.
Something else that hits me as funny… Spurrier came from UF to SC.. spent time in the NFL etc.. you NEVER hear the South Carolina fans talking bad about Urban Meyer…
Saban came from LSU to bammer… spent time in the NFL etc.. you ALWAYS hear the bammer fans putting down Miles.. typical right?
Redneck, did Meyer ever refer to USC as F’ing USC? Les Miles is the Alabama Tech fan of the SEC coaches. He envy and despises Nick Saban and can’t get over the fact that he set the new tone for LSU football; hence why he constantly directs childish remarks at UA and Saban.
That’s something Meyer has yet to do because he doesn’t envy Spurrier the way Miles does Saban.
Now, the same logic can be applied to Barnies. Why do you guys constantly put Saban down? I’ll be the first to answer by saying your confidence in Tubs is insecure because he’s proven himself to be a loser when he doesn’t have full control over an entire state the way he had during the entire Shula era.
For proof, see Ole Miss and Alabama Tech, prior to the Alabama NCAA and coaching debacle unfolding.
oh yeah George W.. you make so much f’ing sense considering all you EVER do is put Tuberville down.. wow maybe you should take your own advise. How do you know what Meyer says about Spurrier? You don’t know what he says on the booster circuit because NO ONE CARES and NO ONE is as obsessed as you bammers are.. That is the point.. USC fans don’t give two sh*ts about Meyer but bammer fans obviously have a reporter following every move Miles makes and every word he says to his boosters on the banquet circuit.
Why don’t you adopt the attitude of your head coach.. “nothing he said isn’t true.” and leave it at that..
George…First of all, Miles is the coach of the LSU tigers..The coonasses LOVE it when their coach talks crap..Have any of you ever spent much time in Louisiana? Those people over there are seriously crazier than hell…I mean really ..There is something in the water over there. I cant express this point enough..Got it???? A coach like Miles is more at home At LSU than Saban ever was… That being said..I have to admit Saban is a good coach…But man , Im an Auburn fan ..Giving Bamas coach hell is what I do…Just like giving “Ears” a hard time is your job…Its part of the deal. Understand?? So dont act like Im cussing out your grandaddy when I take a shot at Saban..O.K….Its like the lions vs the hyenas…snake vs. mongoose..the middle east. We fight. Get used to it. Though you Bammers do kinda act like no one is allowed to even mention your name without your permission. Like yall are royalty or something. Like your crap dont stink. But the sad thing is, yall suck at football. Like really bad.
Not REALLY bad. Just mediocre bad. The only way to regain our rightful respect from others is to win. You don’t think our football team will suck, like really bad, forever do you?
No ryno I dont…But if it was tmc1 I were talking to I would say for infiniti..In 3 more years yall will contend..I dont see it in 09, because that is gonna be Auburns year. 2010 = Bama SEC champ if yall dont run off the saban too quickly…
ballplay.. good point you made about bammers chances. If everyone is really honest about it, it will be at least 3 years before bammer can get competitive enough to win the SEC. I see it happening if they can keep Saban in the house. He kind of likes to move around from job to job..