(Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images)
South Carolina fans, it is time to get rid of Steve Spurrier after this season.
Not because Spurrier hasn't built South Carolina into an SEC contender, because that wasn't going to happen during arguably the strongest period in SEC history.
Not because Spurrier has lost two in a row (and nearly three out of four) to Vanderbilt, because Vanderbilt has long been something of a sleeping giant (well maybe not GIANT but a program with real potential) and Johnson was a proven winner at the FCS (then I-AA) level who has done a great job recruiting competitive talent to that program.
Not even because Spurrier had a losing record to Tommy Bowden at Clemson despite Spurrier generally having better athletes because Clemson's athletes were more motivated, better prepared and had a superior gameplan.
And not even because Spurrier has a 1-2 bowl record and missed postseason play altogether in 2007, and has a 15-17 SEC record.
Not even because despite Spurrier's reputation as a passing game coach, his passing offenses have generally been the team's weak link, undermining defenses and running games that have been good enough to win.
Why not fire Spurrier after all this? Simple. Because it is South Carolina, the No. 2 public university in a small southern state, and a university whose football tradition basically begins and ends with the fact that George Rogers won a Heisman there. (That and the Gator and Peach Bowl losses back when South Carolina competed in the Southern Conference and the ACC.)
The truth is that even at 28-22 Spurrier is one of the most successful coaches in South Carolina history, and at the age of 64 is still young enough to lead the school for ten more years, and leave a solid program with a winning tradition behind.
So what is the problem? Spurrier's comments to the effect that Urban Meyer should go to Notre Dame if Florida wins another national title next season, stating that Meyer would (or should) figure that he has done all that he can in that situation and should seek new challenges elsewhere.
Well, if a 44-year-old man is stupid enough to throw away the next 30 years of his career by leaving a situation where he can make more money (and in a state with a relatively low cost of living and no income tax!) and rack up titles to step into a no—win situation like Notre Dame, then that is Urban Meyer's business.
The reason is Spurrier's motivation for making the comment in the first place.
Despite what people immediately assumed, it is not because Spurrier wants his old job back. First, South Carolina should not be the least bit upset over the fact that Florida is, er, generally going to be seen as a better job anyway.
Second, Spurrier suffers no delusions about Florida, one of the top five and possibly top three jobs in the country right now, wanting to cast its lot with a 64 year old head coach who is not only running an outdated offensive system (the fun and gun was cutting edge in 1994!) but would have to totally dismantle the current system and rebuilt for it.
No, were Meyer to leave the Florida job would go to the next big thing in coaching, and failing that an established guy at another program, and Spurrier knows this.
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