Steve Spurrier shocked the college football landscape when he stepped down as head coach of the struggling South Carolina football program, and he admitted wins would’ve made a difference.
During an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show, following a 2-2 start, Spurrier said he told athletic director Ray Tanner that 2015 would be the final season. After South Carolina dropped two more games, however, Spurrier’s future changed abruptly.
“I was the best coach for this team 11 years ago,” Spurrier said, “but today I’m not. Not today. And I need to get out of the way and let someone else have a go at it.”
South Carolina edged North Carolina in the season opener, but a four-point loss to a mediocre Kentucky squad and 32-point beatdown at the hands of Georgia placed the program’s year on a bad path.
Although the Gamecocks did rebound to knock off Central Florida, Blake Bortles wasn’t walking through that door. UCF is one of the worst teams in the nation in 2015. South Carolina then fell to Missouri and LSU by 14 and 21 points, respectively.
Had Spurrier stuck around, the team likely would’ve lacked discipline down the stretch knowing that the legendary coach was on his way out.
This won’t be the last we see of Spurrier, though. The former Head Ball Coach headed to Ann Arbor for Michigan-Michigan State this weekend and will appear on ESPN’s College GameDay. On the show, Spurrier said he’s never been to the Big House.
Many outlets say Spurrier would be a perfect replacement for Lee Corso on GameDay, but Spurrier didn’t commit to an interest. For the good of college football pregame shows, though, hopefully ESPN makes him permanent.