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South Carolina Gamecocks Head Coach and Longtime Tennessee Vols Nemesis Steve Spurrier Retiring According to SI Report

By Caleb Calhoun

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Longtime Tennessee Vols nemesis and South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Steve Spurrier is retiring, according to a source connected with Sports Illustrated.

Once the most hated man in Knoxville, the pioneer of the Fun n’ Gun offense, and one of the greatest SEC coaches of all time, Steve Spurrier is retiring after 11 seasons as head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks, according to Sports Illustrated.

Here is an excerpt from the article.

"The 70-year-old Spurrier is in his 11th season coaching the Gamecocks after returning to college football from the NFL. Spurrier built South Carolina into a consistent winner, including three straight 11-win seasons from 2011 to 2013, but his program has suffered a sharp decline in the past two years. South Carolina won just seven games last season, narrowly avoiding Spurrier’s first losing season since 1987 by winning the Independence Bowl. The Gamecocks are off to a 2–4 start to the 2015 season with all four losses coming in SEC play."

Spurrier also coached the Florida Gators for 12 seasons from 1990 to 2001 and the Duke Blue Devils from 1987 to 1989.

And he had a failed two-year stint in the NFL with the Washington Redskins in 2002 and 2003.

The story of his retirement was first broken by Sports Illustrated writer Thayer Evans.

Here is what he tweeted around 9 p.m. Monday night.

The tweet was then picked up by Bruce Feldman.

If true, this is sad for all of college football. Despite his constant history of being a major thorn in the side of all Tennessee Vols football fans, Spurrier was a hard guy to not like.

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He was always honest, witty, and great on the football field. That led to a national title, six SEC Championships at Florida, even an ACC Championship at Duke, and a 228-89-2 record overall, and the best four-year run in South Carolina history from 2010 to 2013.

Spurrier also made history out of being a thorn in Tennessee’s side.

He owned Phillip Fulmer and Peyton Manning during the mid-1990s and did not hide it with quotes like “You can’t spell Citrus without UT” and “I know why Peyton came back for his senior year. He wanted to be a three-time star of the Citrus Bowl.”

Spurrier is the one thing that kept Fulmer from winning four more SEC Championships and potentially two more national championships.

However, with a 2-4 record at South Carolina this year, his Gamecocks look awful, and things may only get worse from this point.

It is sad to see one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, a member of the SEC’s Mount Rushmore of football coaches, to have his career end like this if it is true.

And from the perspective of Tennessee football, despite all of his annoying and frustrating shots, the SEC without him is going to be extremely sad.

Next: 5 Things the Vols Need to Address During the Bye Week

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