Steve Spurrier Retires Immediately as South Carolina Gamecocks Head Coach

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

The inevitable but still the unbelievable happened on Monday when South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier announced he was retiring – immediately.

Rumors had swirled at the end of the 2014 season that the Head Ball Coach was going to step down but he decided to battle forward seemingly hoping he could end his career on a better note than a 7-6 season posted in 2014. Spurrier had openly talked about coaching a few more seasons alluding to a 3-4 year plan in Dec. 2014 which led to a big deflection of recruits contributing to the woes on the field this season.

Spurrier hangs up his headset as both Florida’s and South Carolina’s all-time winningest coach. While at Florida, Spurrier posted a 122-27-1 record over 12 years (1990-2001) three times winning SEC Coach of the Year (1990, 1995, and 1996) and won a national championship in 1996. While at South Carolina, he turned around a downtrodden program from an afterthought to a winner. Never suffering through a losing season in Columbia, Spurrier posted an 86-49 win-loss record winning SEC Coach of the Year twice (2005 and 2010) and produced three consecutive 11-win seasons for the Gamecocks.

Often overlooked, while at Duke he was twice named ACC Coach of the Year (1988 and 1989) winning seven and eight games in 1988 and 1989. Spurrier’s first season with the Blue Devils was his only losing season at the collegiate level, until this season to date, ending with a 5-6 record.

Over his 26 years of coaching, Spurrier’s teams made a postseason bowl 21 times finishing his career with an 11-10 record.

The Gamecocks season is already in a tailspin with a 2-4, 0-4, record and the reality of losing one of the game’s best minds will not help South Carolina turn the season around. Now it is up to former co-offensive coordinator Shawn Elliot, now the interim head coach, to “right” the ship the last half of the season.

South Carolina takes the field on Saturday at home against Vanderbilt. The rest of USC’s schedule includes road trips to Texas A&M and Tennessee, and then three consecutive home games against Florida, Citadel, and Clemson.

Photo credit: timesfreepress.com; Steve Spurrier calls it a career.