Like It Is

Spurrier mellowing, but he's not finished yet

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier speaks to the media at the Southeastern Conference NCAA college football media days, Tuesday, July 14, 2015, in Hoover, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

HOOVER, Ala. -- What you see is what you get.

When Lou Holtz was the head football coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks, reporters from other papers who got one day of Holtz at a bowl game news conference or even one hour on the old Southwest Conference tour would remark it must be great to cover someone so funny.

No, it wasn't fun on a daily basis.

With Steve Spurrier there are one-liners. The South Carolina coach has a quick wit, but day-to-day he's pretty much the same.

"He was the best coach I've ever covered," Gainesville Sun sports columnist Pat Dooley said after Spurrier addressed the media here Tuesday.

Spurrier spent some of his time deflecting talk about retirement, something he thought about last year during a 6-6 season, especially after the Gamecocks blew big late leads to Tennessee, Kentucky and Missouri, but he was rejuvenated after beating Miami in the Liberty Bowl.

That's the competitor in him. He's never forgotten that just days after he won the Heisman Trophy as the Florida quarterback, the Gators lost to the Hurricanes.

Spurrier, who always seems to win the news conference, opened Tuesday with: "A lot of familiar faces out there after a lot of years coming to this event. I figured a bunch of you guys would have retired by now."

That drew laughter, just as the 70-year-old Spurrier knew it would, and from that point on he easily handled any questions about stepping away from the game he's coached or played almost his entire life, including 10 years as an NFL player.

Spurrier is starting his 12th season at South Carolina, a school that did not have an overall winning record (500-503) when he arrived, and he's led the Gamecocks to an 84-45 record.

This will be his 31st year as a head coach. That includes stints at Duke, which he turned around, and Florida, which was on probation for the second time in five years and had never won an SEC championship. Not only did he clean up the Gators program, but he won seven SEC Championship Games and the national championship.

Plus he coached Tampa Bay in the old USFL and the Washington Redskins in the NFL, which only worked out financially.

While he says he's not sure why, Spurrier admits he's become conservative in his play-calling, that the Gamecocks will run the ball more than ever and that his golf game isn't what it used to be.

Spurrier was a gifted athlete and a scratch golfer for many years, but yesterday instead of saying age had anything do with his higher scores, he said "I didn't play as much this year."

When asked if he had an exit strategy, Spurrier said that he breezed through 60 and 65 and intends to do everything he can to breeze through 70 and then pointed out that two presidential candidates are 69 and that Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski (68) is still doing pretty good after leading the Blue Devils to the men's basketball national championship last season.

He admitted that when his family goes to the beach, after four or five days he is ready to leave and get back to work.

Another indication that the old ball coach has mellowed came when he was asked about recent allegations of physical abuse by Florida State football players. Spurrier once dubbed FSU "Free Shoes University" after some Seminoles football players received big discounts at a sporting goods store. He didn't take at a shot at the school Tuesday but firmly stated his philosophy.

"Our players know if they hit a girl, they're not going to play at South Carolina," he said.

From start to finish, he showed the same energy he did years ago when he was at Florida.

As always, what you see with Steve Spurrier is what you get.

Sports on 07/15/2015