Neo
12-17-2004, 10:24 PM
This article was dated in November, but I thought it was a good read anyways.
Will Spurrier come to rescue at South Carolina?
By JOHN LINDSAY
Scripps Howard News Service
November 23, 2004
- Though many Southeastern Conference football fans might vehemently disagree, the great thing about Steve Spurrier is his impeccable timing.
Spurrier was just looking for any coaching job when he landed at Duke in 1987. Two years later, he guided the lowly Blue Devils to a share of the ACC title. In 1990, Spurrier was the perfect choice to come back to his alma mater, Florida, and revolutionize SEC football with his "Fun-and-Gun" offense while irritating foes with his cutting wit.
Twelve years later, in January, 2002, Spurrier proved he can read a bank statement with the best of 'em by accepting the largesse of misguided Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, who gave him a five-year, $25-million contract to coach in the NFL. Two years and 20 losses later, Spurrier had the good sense to give up on the Redskins, who have made that decision look brilliant with their inept offensive offense in coach Joe Gibbs' return to the NFL.
And just when we were poking around for something new to write instead of the usual Thanksgiving stuff, Spurrier pops back into the SEC fray as successor to retiring Lou Holtz at South Carolina.
Whether Spurrier turns South Carolina into Gatorland South complete with SEC titles remains to be seen. (Spurrier already has one thing going for him. ESPN analyst-coaching-career-counselor Lee Corso thinks this is an awful move for him).
What is undeniable is that Spurrier's name remains royalty in college football, especially in the SEC. And the sizzle effect of his impending hiring brings out a list of winners and losers:
- Winner: South Carolina fans. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, never have so many cared so much for so little in return. After all, the football Gamecocks have never won a league title or been to a major bowl game. They've won a grand total of three bowl games (including that impressive Carquest Bowl victory in 1995) in 11 postseason tries. Since 1944, only two of 11 Gamecocks' coaches left with winning records.
Yet 80,000 fans continue to jam Williams-Brice Stadium believing this is the 'Cocks' year. And any USC fans on the fence about the ball coach should consider this little stat: Spurrier's worst seasons at Florida - 9-4 finishes in 1992 and '99 - are still better than all but three seasons of SC's 111 years of football.
- Loser: Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley. Maybe Spurrier wasn't ever really going to return to the pressure-cooker in Gainesville. But Foley's decision to have the winningest coach in school history "re-interview" for the Gators' job removed all doubt quickly.
Prediction: If Foley is unable to lure Utah's Urban Meyer to replace fired Ron Zook, then Foley will be out by this time next year.
- Winner: Pass-happy high school quarterbacks everywhere. Spurrier's record of tutoring QBs is amazing. Be it Shane Matthews, Danny Wuerffel or Rex Grossman, Spurrier's tough-love approach has always worked. We can't wait to see who guides the "Fun-and Gun" in Columbia.
- Loser: Gamecocks QB Syvelle Newton. An option-type QB, the sophomore Newton hardly fits the "Fun-and-Gun." Look for him to transfer or serve as a backup.
- Winner: CBS. The network's SEC TV package just became a lot more valuable. CBS might as well start hyping Spurrier's 2006 return to The Swamp in Gainesville right now. It's all so good that it almost makes up for the network's blunder of losing fetching sideline reporter Jill Arrington to ESPN.
- Losers: Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. Since joining the SEC in 1992, South Carolina is a combined 5-31 against their Eastern Division rivals including 2-16 on the road. Holtz went 0-12 vs. the Gators and Vols.
While at Florida, Spurrier went a combined 19-5 vs. Tennessee and Georgia. Logic says winning the division just got a lot tougher for the Bulldogs, Vols and Gators, who have won every SEC East title since divisional play started 12 years ago.
- Winner: South Carolina athletic department. Should Spurrier pull the unthinkable and win an SEC crown for South Carolina, watch how quickly the money will flow for a planned expansion of Williams-Brice.
- Loser: Holtz. Maybe Lovable Lou is old and tired and he's actually okay with his golfing pal Spurrier succeeding him. Still, it's sad to see Holtz pushed out this way. He sounded every bit the beaten man after Saturday's disheartening, brawl-marred 29-7 loss to rival Clemson.
"You'll look back and you'll say, 'Three straight years we went (down) because of our (lack of) toughness,'" Holtz said. "It's not the players' fault. They were tough before. It was my fault. Didn't work them hard enough ... "
That problem now belongs to Spurrier, hardly known as a drill sergeant-taskmaster. Good luck, Steve. You'll need it.
UPSET PICK: Ohio State gave us a stunning two-game winning streak after botching our first nine selections. Keeping up the momentum, take Pittsburgh - a 3-point underdog at home - to upend overrated No. 21 West Virginia Thanksgiving night in the annual "Backyard Brawl."
LINDSAY'S LOSER: The aforementioned Clemson-South Carolina brawl has plenty of villains. But for sheer gall and idiocy, Tigers running back Yusef Kelly and linebacker David Dunham jump to the top of the list.
"We won the game and the fight," Dunham boasted.
Kelly's comparison to the Pacers-Pistons' NBA was equally absurd and disturbing.
"It was no worse than the Pacers-Pistons," said Kelly, who took a momentary break from the brawl to hurl a Gamecocks' helmet into the stands. "They actually got the fans involved. At least we kept it between the football teams ... If we're going to go down, we're going to go down together."
Finally, Kelly made some sense. Congratulations to the Clemson and South Carolina hierarchies for taking Kelly's suggestion and banning the Tigers and Gamecocks from the postseason as a penalty for this mess. Coaches certainly don't have the guts to do anything (remember last year's ugly Florida State-Florida brawl?). For once, the right message is sent to college athletes who want to act like soccer hooligans.
Will Spurrier come to rescue at South Carolina?
By JOHN LINDSAY
Scripps Howard News Service
November 23, 2004
- Though many Southeastern Conference football fans might vehemently disagree, the great thing about Steve Spurrier is his impeccable timing.
Spurrier was just looking for any coaching job when he landed at Duke in 1987. Two years later, he guided the lowly Blue Devils to a share of the ACC title. In 1990, Spurrier was the perfect choice to come back to his alma mater, Florida, and revolutionize SEC football with his "Fun-and-Gun" offense while irritating foes with his cutting wit.
Twelve years later, in January, 2002, Spurrier proved he can read a bank statement with the best of 'em by accepting the largesse of misguided Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, who gave him a five-year, $25-million contract to coach in the NFL. Two years and 20 losses later, Spurrier had the good sense to give up on the Redskins, who have made that decision look brilliant with their inept offensive offense in coach Joe Gibbs' return to the NFL.
And just when we were poking around for something new to write instead of the usual Thanksgiving stuff, Spurrier pops back into the SEC fray as successor to retiring Lou Holtz at South Carolina.
Whether Spurrier turns South Carolina into Gatorland South complete with SEC titles remains to be seen. (Spurrier already has one thing going for him. ESPN analyst-coaching-career-counselor Lee Corso thinks this is an awful move for him).
What is undeniable is that Spurrier's name remains royalty in college football, especially in the SEC. And the sizzle effect of his impending hiring brings out a list of winners and losers:
- Winner: South Carolina fans. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, never have so many cared so much for so little in return. After all, the football Gamecocks have never won a league title or been to a major bowl game. They've won a grand total of three bowl games (including that impressive Carquest Bowl victory in 1995) in 11 postseason tries. Since 1944, only two of 11 Gamecocks' coaches left with winning records.
Yet 80,000 fans continue to jam Williams-Brice Stadium believing this is the 'Cocks' year. And any USC fans on the fence about the ball coach should consider this little stat: Spurrier's worst seasons at Florida - 9-4 finishes in 1992 and '99 - are still better than all but three seasons of SC's 111 years of football.
- Loser: Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley. Maybe Spurrier wasn't ever really going to return to the pressure-cooker in Gainesville. But Foley's decision to have the winningest coach in school history "re-interview" for the Gators' job removed all doubt quickly.
Prediction: If Foley is unable to lure Utah's Urban Meyer to replace fired Ron Zook, then Foley will be out by this time next year.
- Winner: Pass-happy high school quarterbacks everywhere. Spurrier's record of tutoring QBs is amazing. Be it Shane Matthews, Danny Wuerffel or Rex Grossman, Spurrier's tough-love approach has always worked. We can't wait to see who guides the "Fun-and Gun" in Columbia.
- Loser: Gamecocks QB Syvelle Newton. An option-type QB, the sophomore Newton hardly fits the "Fun-and-Gun." Look for him to transfer or serve as a backup.
- Winner: CBS. The network's SEC TV package just became a lot more valuable. CBS might as well start hyping Spurrier's 2006 return to The Swamp in Gainesville right now. It's all so good that it almost makes up for the network's blunder of losing fetching sideline reporter Jill Arrington to ESPN.
- Losers: Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. Since joining the SEC in 1992, South Carolina is a combined 5-31 against their Eastern Division rivals including 2-16 on the road. Holtz went 0-12 vs. the Gators and Vols.
While at Florida, Spurrier went a combined 19-5 vs. Tennessee and Georgia. Logic says winning the division just got a lot tougher for the Bulldogs, Vols and Gators, who have won every SEC East title since divisional play started 12 years ago.
- Winner: South Carolina athletic department. Should Spurrier pull the unthinkable and win an SEC crown for South Carolina, watch how quickly the money will flow for a planned expansion of Williams-Brice.
- Loser: Holtz. Maybe Lovable Lou is old and tired and he's actually okay with his golfing pal Spurrier succeeding him. Still, it's sad to see Holtz pushed out this way. He sounded every bit the beaten man after Saturday's disheartening, brawl-marred 29-7 loss to rival Clemson.
"You'll look back and you'll say, 'Three straight years we went (down) because of our (lack of) toughness,'" Holtz said. "It's not the players' fault. They were tough before. It was my fault. Didn't work them hard enough ... "
That problem now belongs to Spurrier, hardly known as a drill sergeant-taskmaster. Good luck, Steve. You'll need it.
UPSET PICK: Ohio State gave us a stunning two-game winning streak after botching our first nine selections. Keeping up the momentum, take Pittsburgh - a 3-point underdog at home - to upend overrated No. 21 West Virginia Thanksgiving night in the annual "Backyard Brawl."
LINDSAY'S LOSER: The aforementioned Clemson-South Carolina brawl has plenty of villains. But for sheer gall and idiocy, Tigers running back Yusef Kelly and linebacker David Dunham jump to the top of the list.
"We won the game and the fight," Dunham boasted.
Kelly's comparison to the Pacers-Pistons' NBA was equally absurd and disturbing.
"It was no worse than the Pacers-Pistons," said Kelly, who took a momentary break from the brawl to hurl a Gamecocks' helmet into the stands. "They actually got the fans involved. At least we kept it between the football teams ... If we're going to go down, we're going to go down together."
Finally, Kelly made some sense. Congratulations to the Clemson and South Carolina hierarchies for taking Kelly's suggestion and banning the Tigers and Gamecocks from the postseason as a penalty for this mess. Coaches certainly don't have the guts to do anything (remember last year's ugly Florida State-Florida brawl?). For once, the right message is sent to college athletes who want to act like soccer hooligans.