Spurrier Recaptures Fire

(( Published in The State on November 28, 2006 -- I have emphasized the good parts ))

Spurrier has recaptured same ol’ fire
By RON MORRIS
rmorris@thestate.com

JERRI SPURRIER HAD concerns about her husband throughout his final, ill-fated season with Washington in the NFL. She even wondered during his year away from coaching if he would capture the spirit and fire that characterized his coaching days at Duke and Florida.

She can rest easy. If anything was proved during South Carolina’s 7-5 regular season it is that the “Ol’ Ball Coach” is back. Steve Spurrier is back to his old self, back to garnering the fierce loyalty of fans on his side while at the same time getting those on the other side to intensely dislike him.

He is back to believing he will take his 11 players and beat any 11 you put up against him. He is back to believing his teams can win championships instead of shooting for winning seasons, as USC has done the past two.

Unlike the 2005 season, USC faced much adversity in 2006, and the only breaks the Gamecocks seemed to get were bad ones.

Under previous coaches, this season had 5-7 or 4-8 written all over it. Instead, Spurrier and his staff did one of its better coaching jobs. The youthful defense, under coordinator Tyrone Nix and with one returning starter, proved capable of keeping USC in games against superior teams.

The offense, of course, was Spurrier’s pet project, and he proved capable of changing his ways. Realizing his offensive line was incapable of protecting the quarterback, Spurrier scaled back his passing attack and inserted Syvelle Newton behind center.

Newton proved adept at directing a limited passing game, and USC went 4-3 with him as a starter. With the offensive line more seasoned at blocking, Spurrier switched back to Blake Mitchell down the stretch, and he caught fire the final three games.

On the sideline, Spurrier exchanged an old trademark for a new one this season. Although it waned in his latter years, he was known for tossing his visor at Florida. This season he took to flinging his play-calling sheets, including a toss on Saturday at Clemson that should have counted for another of the game’s numerous 50-plus-yard plays.

Off the field, it became apparent that adversity was the trigger to bringing out his personality. He called his team and coaches “stupid” following one game and “losers” following another. He criticized USC fans for cheering a losing effort. He called out assistant coach Ron Cooper during a postgame news conference. Twice, he publicly challenged Southeastern Conference officials, and drew a reprimand from the league office.

Spurrier rarely does or says anything that is not calculated, so we can safely assume all of his on-field and off-field actions contributed to USC’s success.

Back-to-back seven-win seasons and bowl games at USC mean Spurrier has not lost his touch. Knowing that, he naturally jumps to the top of any list of candidates for every top coaching vacancy in the country.

USC fans need to get used to it. Miami fires its coach, Spurrier becomes the leading candidate. Alabama fires its coach, Spurrier becomes the leading candidate. The same scenarios will hold true following the 2007 season, and 2008 and 2009 and ...

Spurrier is going nowhere. He hand-picked USC. This is where he wants to be. This is where he wants to build a championship program. This is where he wants to coach his final games during the next five to 10 seasons.

This is where Spurrier re-gained his old spirit and old fire for coaching.

When Spurrier arrived in Columbia two Novembers ago, he said he preferred to be referred to as the “Head Ball Coach” instead of the “Ol’ Ball Coach.” Despite his youthful appearance and his tip-top physical condition, Spurrier thought the “Ol’ Ball Coach” label made him sound older than his 61 years.

So, through his first season at USC, nearly everyone adhered to his request, and he was known around Columbia as the “Head Ball Coach.” This season, though, his on-field and off-field antics showed that Spurrier has returned to being the “Ol’ Ball Coach,” and it has nothing to do with age.

It has everything to do with him being the Spurrier of old, like him or not.

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The lesson from this article, for you new students of Spurrier, is that the Revolution is upon us. All the signs are there. The offense, the offensive line, the new recruits coming in -- over the next few months you will see, hear, and read much much more about this theme. Mark our words, South Carolina is going to be the 1990s Florida of this decade. Jack Farley and Beanie MacFarlane may never recognize the extent of their own humiliation and disgrace for passing on the number one Gator, but we will know.