Steve Spurrier's 'College GameDay' Appearance Further Proof He's Perfect for TV

For Steve Spurrier, appearing on ESPN’s College GameDay Saturday morning was the natural way to end a momentous week.

And it would make perfect sense if, sometime soon, it was the way that most of us begin our college football Saturdays.

Five days after resigning as South Carolina’s head coach, Spurrier joined ESPN’s very popular pre-game show for an extended visit and served as the “celebrity” picker in Ann Arbor, Michigan before Michigan-Michigan State.

Spurrier was as comfortable on the set as most of us are in an old pair of jeans or a favorite pair of running shoes. It would be no surprise if he played a prominent role on GameDay or elsewhere in the college football TV universe in the very near future.

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“I think I’ve planned for this day for the last several years,” Spurrier told host Rece Davis. “(South Carolina) wasn’t doing very well, 2-4, and I thought it was my fault a bit. When it starts going bad, and you’ve done it for a while, it’s the best thing to move out and prepare for life after coaching.”

Spurrier said he felt it was the right move to retire immediately, rather than announce and wait until season’s end, because interim coach Shawn Elliott “adds fire and passion to the team and could do a better job than I could.”

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He fit in seamlessly with Davis, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard and looked more like a regular than someone dropping in for a guest visit. Spurrier even stuck around and made picks on the day’s games. When he picked host Michigan over the visiting Spartans, he said, “I want to walk out of here today, so I’m picking the Michigan Wolverines.”

While ESPN has shown no inclination toward change, there could be an opportunity for college football’s most quotable coach very soon. While Corso and his headgear picks remain immensely popular and he has done an excellent job of recovering from a stroke suffered in 2009, he is 80 years old.

If Corso decides it’s time to step away on his own terms, Spurrier should be ESPN and College GameDay producer Lee Fitting’s first call to replace him. Imagine the jabs he could fire off with the knowledge he’ll never have to face another coach in a recruiting battle. It’d be great.

Or he could join the SEC Network’s “SEC Nation” show, which mirrors GameDay’s format by traveling to a different SEC campus each week.

If TV is what Spurrier wants for his retirement, he’ll certainly have his choice of offers. Saturday’s appearance only reinforced that notion.