It seems that the easiest thing in college football these days is to write off the Ole Ball Coach.
If you want in on the action, the line forms out the door and extends around the block. Obviously, Steve Spurrier’s four years at have been disappointing. At times, it has even been agonizing to watch. And worst of all, his spectacular legacy at Florida has been somewhat dimmed by the bright shining glow over Urban Meyer’s head and the fact that the Gators will be the preseason favorite to win a third national title in four years. Things have gotten so bad for Spurrier that this week a columnist in Montgomery, “It’s time for Spurrier to move on. He’s not going to win big at USC, and even USC fans know it.” Others haven’t been as bold or as loud but still have whispered similar thoughts about a man once considered the greatest college coach in the game. As the long-time president of the Steve Spurrier Fan Club in Alabama, these recent assaults on Spurrier have been like taking the Manhattan phone book to the solar plexus. Watching Spurrier grimace during four mostly uneventful years at South Carolina, losing more than he has won in the SEC (15-17), have left him wide open for the critics and cynics. I didn’t really like Spurrier’s move to South Carolina. It’s reputation as college football’s Bermuda Triangle is well documented (see Lou Holtz). A little bit of patience (like two weeks) and Spurrier likely would have replaced Nick Saban at LSU. If Les Miles could go 34-6 and win a national title in his first three years, what do you think a real football coach like Spurrier could have done
So when I caught up with Spurrier recently in Birmingham where he was participating in a charity golf event, I must admit to feeling some anxiety. Would the greatest coach in the SEC since Paul Bryant be the same old Spurrier Or would the losses overwhelm him, making him grumpy and dour, no longer the wise-cracking media darling of the ’90s