A NCAA Football Betting Farewell To Steve Spurrier

The NCAA football community was rocked by the Monday announcement that Steve Spurrier, the head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks, was retiring immediately. Not at the end of the season – right away. He will be replaced by co-offensive coordinator Shawn Elliott on an interim basis. This announcement game after South Carolina suffered a fourth consecutive loss in the SEC against LSU, guaranteeing that Spurrier would not have a college football odds winning season.

Let’s Take A Look At A NCAA Football Betting Farewell To Steve Spurrier

“I’m resigning, I’m not retiring. Get that part straight.” ICYMI: Steve Spurrier explains why he’s stepping down: http://t.co/tS2tdlLpaE

— ESPN (@espn) October 14, 2015

The reaction was swift. Alabama head coach Nick Saban told ESPN, “I hate it for Steve and hate it for college football. The guy’s been one of the best coaches for a long, long time and a great personality for the game. I have a tremendous amount of respect for what he’s accomplished and what he’s done.” Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops, who once served as one of Spurrier’s assistants at the University of Florida, chimed in as well: “He’s probably the most competitive guy I’ve ever known, but he’s also one of the most genuine guys I’ve ever known. He’s special.”

Spurrier Was Never Too Old For The Job

Spurrier almost retired after last season, when South Carolina dropped to 7-6 after having three consecutive 11-win seasons and three consecutive finished in the top 10. The Gamecocks have now dropped eight of nine SEC games going back to last season. This year, South Carolina has a record of 2-4 and 0-4 in the conference, in seventh place in the SEC East. The critics had started taking cracks about Spurrier’s age, which brought a typically crusty response from him: “We were 11-2 and ranked fourth in the country this time a year ago, and nobody said a damn word about my age. Now, a year later, I’m suddenly too old, and we’re on our way down.” At the time, he promised to be at the school for at least five or six more years. In addition to being a winner and a gadfly at both Florida and South Carolina, there is a wide legacy for Spurrier to be remembered by. He was a troll long before Twitter was even an idea. He was terrific at submarining his rivals with one-liners, such as the time that he heard that a dorm fire at Auburn had consumed 20 books. His response was, “But the real tragedy was that 15 hadn’t been colored yet.” Those who found themselves on the wrong end of his wit sometimes held him in low regard, but the real tragedy was that those people took football and themselves too seriously.

Final Remarks About Steve Spurrier

Because here’s the thing: Spurrier always knew that football was a game. His real foe was that football takes itself way too seriously. This is the coach who showed up for NASCAR races without a shirt. He wouldn’t work the epic long days that typified the profession for so many. In the summer, he’d get out of the office early to get in a round of golf. Just because he could get his game plan set in a fraction of the time of the opposition didn’t mean he had to sit in his office. He was the one who liberated college football from the running paradigm – the predecessor of Chip Kelly, if you will. It’s a shame that he’s gone.