Steve Spurrier is retiring, according to a report by Thayer Evans of Sports Illustrated.
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A person close to the situation says Spurrier told his team on Monday, October 12, 2015, that he was retiring, effective immediately.
This is a developing story. Co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Shawn Elliott is expected to be named interim head coach on Tuesday.
In the early 1990s, Spurrier turned college football upside down in the Southeastern Conference and across the nation. “They asked the athletic director, ‘Are you upset Spurrier said that?’ He said, ‘How can I be upset when it’s true, ‘” Spurrier said during an SEC Media Days conference. People will remember Spurrier for his quick wit and always saying what was on his mind. The former quarterback played his college football in Gainesville from 1963 to 1966 and won the Heisman Trophy for his play in his final season. That he was lauded by the South Carolina president for helping that program to three 11-win seasons and an SEC East title was a sign of how much things have changed.
Spurrier won the 1996 national championship and six SEC titles at Florida, where he coached for 12 seasons. He lacks head coaching experience, joining the staff at South Carolina in 2010 after working at his alma mater Appalachian State for many years.
Instead, Spurrier will be known as the head coach who made the University of Florida a program to be reckoned with in the ’90s. “Now previous year I was 69, we were 11-2 and there was no question about my age”.
Campbell turns 36 in November, but is already in his fourth full season as the Rockets coach. He was Duke’s head coach for three years and his 20 wins with the Blue Devils remains seventh on the school’s all-time victory list. It’s the first losing season for Spurrier since 1987.
Spurrier has a news conference scheduled for Tuesday. Best of luck to you Coach Spurrier. He won SEC coach of the year in 1990, 1995 and 1996.
“We’ve slipped”, Spurrier said.
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South Carolina is a far more attractive job now than it was before Spurrier took it, but its history suggests Spurrier’s time was an outlier that will be hard to replicate.
