HOOVER -- They call him "The Old Ball Coach" for a reason, don't they? 27 years. Steve Spurrier has been a college football coach for 27 years.
I never saw the glory days at Florida. I never saw Spurrier's stint in the USFL. But I've seen every up and every down during his time in The Palmetto State.
Spurrier on the Tampa Bay Bandits: "The USFL was a wonderful experience. When the league folded, I luckily got the Duke job." #SECMD14 — Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) July 15, 2014
Six SEC Championships and a national championship should speak for themselves. The revival and rebranding of a program such as South Carolina should speak for itself. But not Spurrier. Spurrier speaks for himself.
He's had success everywhere he's been. He won the Heisman Trophy as a player, he was named 1st team All-American twice, he's been named coach of the year 9 times, but why worry about football success. Earlier this offseason, the South Carolina coach was asked if he had begun to focus on his team’s first opponent of the season, Texas A&M. In classic Spurrier form, the 69-year-old coach responded, "No, I am ready to turn my focus on golf tomorrow."
He's brash and he's arrogant. And I love it. South Carolina fans love it, Florida fans loved it, and even his wife Jeri loves it, saying, "Steve's a brat."
This day marks his 10th season in Columbia. He boasts no SEC championships, no national championships, but the arrogance doesn't go away. Earlier last month, Spurrier ignited Alabama's fan base saying, "How many SECs has (Saban) won in eight years? He’s won two. He’s won three nationals, but he’s only won two SECs in eight years. Now, if you had the No. 1 recruiting class every year and so forth, I don’t know if he has maxed out potentially as well as he could."
Of course Spurrier was asked about that today and contrary to many's hopes, Spurrier spinned that saying, "Saban is the greatest recruiter in college football history." He even talked about Stephen Garcia. He talked about Stephen Garcia's beard. And he even cracked a joke saying, "Stephen Garcia has his long hair back. Looks like he joined Duck Dynasty instead of the media."
At a point in Dylan Thompson's interview, CBS's Dennis Dodd asked, "What would you say if I said your coach was the 2nd oldest coach in the FBS," and the answer as as typical as you'd think: "He doesn't act like it. He acts like he's forty years old and he's energetic and passionate every single day."
How can you not like the guy? He's spurned every doubt and every discouraging comment about his teams over the years. He coaches his teams and sets goals higher than most. It's South Carolina, and Coach Steve Spurrier wants to win an SEC Championship.