Despite His Age, Steve Spurrier Deserves Every Bit of His New Raise

When the 2014 season starts, Steve Spurrier will be 69 years old. He's set to make $4 million—and the Head Ball Coach is still worth every penny. Andrew Shain, at The State, reported Spurrier was set to become one of the top 10 highest paid coaches with the $700,000 raise that was recently approved by the South Carolina Board of Trustees.

No, Spurrier does not have an SEC Championship while at South Carolina. No, the HBC does not have an SEC East title in the last three seasons. No, the Gamecocks' leader has not got them to a BCS bowl game.

No to all of those things, but the answer is yes to Spurrier's raise. A loud, resounding yes.

Rainier Ehrhardt/Associated Press

Despite only one trip to Atlanta during his tenure, Spurrier has transformed the Gamecocks into the best program in the SEC East. South Carolina is 42-11 over the last four seasons, better than the 36-18 of Georgia, or the 30-21 of the Florida Gators. Although Florida's been to a BCS bowl in that span, and Georgia has two SEC Championship appearances in the time frame, it is the Gamecocks that are the picture of consistency.

After a nine-win campaign that landed them in the SEC Championship Game in 2010, the Gamecocks have ripped off three 11-win seasons in a row. In 2010, Spurrier's team finished No. 22 in the AP Poll, following a bowl loss to Florida State. Since that loss, the Gamecocks have finished No. 9 in 2011, No. 8 in 2012 and No. 4 in 2013.

Spurrier's teams did not miss out on BCS bowls because they didn't qualify. They were left out of the equation because of the rules. Rules that pushed lesser-ranked opponents into the mix, ahead of the clearly deserving Gamecocks. That circumstance pushed the Gamecocks into Florida bowls and Spurrier's teams responded by taking care of business three postseasons in a row.

Oh, and something else worth mentioning, the Head Ball Coach has whipped Clemson's behind in the process. Five straight wins over some of the best Clemson teams in recent memory. It is not SEC domination. Clemson's handled itself well against Auburn, Georgia and LSU in that span. No, it is South Carolina, Steve Spurrier, domination, and that's what counts.

So, the raise is most certainly due. Spurrier has the Gamecocks headed in the right direction and the team will be there, pushing for the SEC East title this November. The Head Ball Coach is more than simply doing his job in Columbia.