The Old Ballcoach is walking away from college football. Steve Spurrier is no longer in the profession.
Spurrier, 70, told his South Carolina team Monday night that he is leaving effective immediately.
Spurrier is the all-time winningest coach at South Carolina, but to those who live in Florida, he will always be remembered as a Gator. As a player, Spurrier won the Heisman Trophy as a quarterback. As a coach, he won the team’s first national championship and instilled the swagger that still defines the school. He won the 1996 National Championship — with Danny Wuerffel — and six SEC titles.
After finishing among the nation’s top 10 teams for three straight years, in which the Gamecocks won 11 games each year, Spurrier’s team dipped to 7-6 last year. This year, his team is 2-4 and 0-4 in the SEC.
Spurrier has a 228-89-2 record at Duke, Florida and South Carolina. He has never had a losing season at South Carolina, and his team has been bowl-eligible in all 10 of his first seasons.
There were times, when he was at Florida, that Spurrier seemed to delight in upsetting opposing fans. He referred to FSU as “Free Shoes University.” He suggested you couldn’t spell the Citrus Bowl with “UT.” He wondered aloud what happened to all of Georgia’s high-ranking recruits.
Spurrier also coached with the Washington Redskins and the Tampa Bay Bandits.
