Is Steve Spurrier Right to Publicly Criticize His South Carolina Team?

No one is unhappier about South Carolina's 3-3 record than head coach Steve Spurrier—and he isn't afraid to say so.

The Head Ball Coach is, understandably, still steamed over a 45-38 loss to Kentucky in Week 6. It was a game that, with all due respect to the Wildcats' efforts, was given away.

It's been a tumultuous season already for the Gamecocks, who have an impressive win over Georgia but a pair of tough losses to Texas A&M and Missouri.

Even a 48-34 win over Vanderbilt in Week 4 was classified as "embarrassing":

So it shouldn't have come as a total surprise when Spurrier again spoke frankly about his team on his weekly call-in show (h/t John Whittle of TheBigSpur):

"

Somebody said, "If the fans bitch, what do you think?" I just say, "They should bitch about the way we perform." As long as we’re playing with effort and smarts, I think the fans are fine.

When we can’t cover kickoffs and we can’t do this, that and the other, it’s embarrassing. I’m embarrassed at times the way we play. If we play smart, fundamentally sound and get beat, maybe we can live with that. Let’s give it our best effort. We’ll keep pushing to see if we can get the best effort out of these guys.

"

When it comes to Spurrier, who is a walking sound clip, Chris Dufresne of the Los Angeles Times put it best: "Spurrier doesn't try to be mean, it's just impossible for him to sugar coat the truth."

That's a big reason why Spurrier's a favorite with national media. He has a flair for trolling, and there's likely as much coachspeak in him as there is body fat on a professional bodybuilder.

As that relates to Spurrier's quote above, he isn't saying anything that's not true. Just about every coach would echo the sentiment that if a team is playing smart and with effort, the losses can be easier to live with—though it'd still be hard.

This isn't Spurrier calling his team a "pile of crap," a la Charlie Weis, either. Spurrier may be blunt, but he's not malicious in this instance.

Nor has Spurrier been malicious this season when talking about his team. He's been critical and at times complimentary, but he's always been himself.

That leads to another point: Every coach has a different style when talking about his team publicly, just as every coach has a different style when handling his team behind closed doors.

As the Houston Chronicle's Mike Finger notes, first-year Texas coach Charlie Strong, for example, refuses to criticize the team he has:

The more important factor is if a coach is the same person every day with his team.

If Spurrier's public comments are any indication, he's the same coach every day. That establishes a clear expectation which players are able to follow. Every coach is hard on his team—the important thing is that he's consistent with his approach.

If Spurrier is consistent, and he's been in the game long enough for us to believe that's the case, then chances are his players aren't taken aback by anything he said this week, the week before or the week before that. Furthermore, they're probably not going to be be taken aback by anything he says in the future. 

Regardless of South Carolina's record going forward, those players will continue to play hard for Spurrier and each other.

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. Unless otherwise cited, all quotes obtained firsthand.