Auburn, AL—Sources I have spoken to within the last few hours have confided that current South Carolina head football coach Steve Spurrier has been contacted by Auburn officials.
A source close to the situation stated that Spurrier’s name was on Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs’s short list, but would not give further information. Another source stated that Spurrier had interviewed with Jacobs late last week, and details of an offer have not been finalized.
“Auburn is being very careful not to upset the bowl preparations that are going on with Steve and South Carolina,” the source said.
Does this mean the interviews of, shall we say, "less statured" candidates may be for backup purposes should a deal not be reached? Would Auburn take a chance on an aging Spurrier who is 64 and seems content at USC, where there’s less pressure to win?
Auburn can certainly outspend South Carolina, head-to-head. Spurrier’s reported annual salary totals nearly $1.8 million and his buyout is $2 million.
The biggest question is would Spurrier be assured enough control over the program? Many believe Colonial Bank president and university trustee Bobby Lowder pulls the strings that move the athletic department.
Call me naive, but I doubt that sort of meddling continues today. SACS could do more to finish off Auburn football than the NCAA if Auburn University were to lose its accreditation. That’s too big of a risk even for Lowder. He is a money man who loves to feed his ego with power. However, I don’t believe he would risk devaluing previous and future Auburn University degrees for the sake of administering control over Auburn athletics.
My opinion of Lowder compares to three-hundred-year-old goat poop, under a muddy rock. None the less obviously, he loves and supports Auburn. He’ll be off the board in 2012, but who’s counting, anyway?
Under Spurrier, USC finished the regular season 7-5, 4-4 in the SEC. The Gamecocks will meet the Iowa Hawkeyes (8-4, 5-3) in the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla., on Jan. 1. It marks the third time they will go bowling under Spurrier in four seasons.
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