Did that just happen?
"When something is inevitable, I believe you do it right then."
We knew all knew what happened Tuesday was eventually "inevitable," but as South Carolina fans, we didn't know it was going to be "right then." The Gamecocks have lost not only an icon of college football as both a player and a coach, but also a man that had created a brand for South Carolina's football program and facilitated the most successful era in team history. Win or lose, the man made us laugh every chance he received to do so, even if it was just chucking his ever-present visor in disgust at a busted play or a penalty in which he and the referees simply couldn't agree on.
Before writing this post, I gave myself a day-long buffer. Not because I was excessively salty or upset, which I certainly was for a bit (who wasn't?), but I wanted to collect and organize my thoughts to pay my respects to the achievements of the HBC, along with attempting to clear up what seems like a somewhat blurry near-future for the Gamecocks' football program.
Selfish or Selfless?
If South Carolina was sitting at 4-2 or 5-1, Spurrier would still be here. That's a fact. I've heard many opinions since the press conference took place Tuesday afternoon. I've heard many people use the word "selfish," along with many people use the word, "selfless."
So, which is it?
Was Spurrier selfish in his decision? Certainly he was, but I also think that he's earned the right to be selfish with any decision regarding HIS future. We all should have the right to be selfish when it comes to continuing to do something that makes us legitimately unhappy. If means are available to change circumstances that are causing unhappiness, anybody should be allowed to be somewhat selfish.
Was it selfless? In an odd way, yes. Spurrier's decision to resign in the middle of the season will allow the Gamecocks' program to take an inventory of their coaching staff. I don't foresee Ray Tanner following the procedures that Clemson used after Tommy Bowden was fired, when the Tigers decided to hire from within. The rest is history, as then-interim coach Dabo Swinney was tagged as Bowden's successor after an emotional win over South Carolina in Death Valley. Despite struggling against Gamecocks for a five-year stretch, Swinney has ushered in an era of great success for Clemson that has shown the Tigers many notable wins over highly-ranked teams, led them to the 2011 ACC Title and currently has Clemson in a position where making the second College Football Playoff is a reality. South Carolina interim head coach Shawn Elliot will have to make this team turn their season around at an impressive level to earn himself the same scenario, and I don't see that scenario playing out as it did for Clemson in 2008.
Spurrier's quick exit does present some benefits. The first positive is that the program won't have to deal with the media circus after the game against Clemson, which takes place in Columbia this season. The HBC's resignation gives Ray Tanner the benefit of time to make a calculated decision that determines exactly what kind of head coach (and potentially coaching staff) will be able to lead the Gamecocks back to the level of success that the team enjoyed under Spurrier's best years, and it provides South Carolina time to establish a "post-Spurrier" recruiting plan. The resignation also lifts the burden of doubts and intrigue dealing with the amount of time that Spurrier had left coaching South Carolina, and I believe that this might be the most beneficial factor of Spurrier's mid-season exit.
Spurrier's Legacy That Raised the Bar in Columbia
In the almost 11 seasons that Spurrier was the head coach in Columbia, he oversaw a lot of ups and a lot of downs. He was a man determined to lead South Carolina to a SEC Championship, and while he fell short of that goal, he was still the first coach to guide them to Atlanta. Spurrier delivered on expectations he set for the Gamecocks to turn the usual losses to conference rivals into recurring wins, and he turned Williams-Brice into one of the most hostile venues in the country to opposing teams, as he guided South Carolina to 18 consecutive home wins in a place that had never witnessed a home winning streak that was even close to that magnitude. He also spearheaded a five year winning streak over arch-rival Clemson that made him the most popular football coach in school history.
It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows for Spurrier while here at South Carolina, however. While serving as head coach, he still endured some gut-wrenching losses. Not only actually losing games, but he had to lead a team through the loss of another iconic Gamecock, Marcus Lattimore, after he suffered what turned into a career-ending injury against the Tennessee Volunteers in 2012. Nonetheless, the Gamecocks persevered through that 2012 season, defeating a tough Michigan team in the Outback Bowl to cap off an 11-win season. Through all of his accomplishments here in Columbia, the theme of Spurrier's coaching tenure with South Carolina has been the elevation of expectations from a program that had only witnessed a marginal amount of success throughout its history. Perhaps the one thing I'm most grateful of Coach Spurrier has been the "Why not us?" mindset that he's injected into a program that had been doused in mediocrity.
What's next?
I have full faith that Ray Tanner will make a selection that will be instrumental for South Carolina to strive for taking the next steps and generating more "firsts" that us fans/writers have yet to see. Tanner needs to find a coach that's on the young side and recruits with the best to get us back on track. We've all heard the numerous names and ideas since Spurrier announced his resignation, and realistically, one has to remember that this is a great market to attract a coach that's ready to refresh this team with talent from recruiting quickly. This will be Tanner's first high-profile hire, and it will be instrumental in determining his legacy as Athletic Director for South Carolina. This being said, I'm sure he's not going to take this task lightly. Like I said earlier, I don't believe Shawn Elliot will be able to generate enough success this season to be a major candidate for this position, but he could very well prove me wrong. Elliot is a great offensive line coach, and I genuinely hope he remains after what I believe will be an overhaul of the entire coaching staff this offseason.
Unfortunately, we will most likely be waiting until after bowl season for a name to emerge as the future head coach of the Gamecocks. If that name is somebody that'll be given a promotion from a coordinator job, whether they're offensive-minded or defensive-minded, I believe Tanner will have to also a hire another corresponding coordinator that can vastly improve the Gamecocks' scheme while also making splashes on the recruiting trail.
If the new name is an established head coach already, Tanner will need to empower the new coach with the ability to bring a staff in that'll be able to turn the tide of the significant decline this program has faced since last season. Again, it's imperative that this new coach is able to recruit with the best, as they'll be facing a Clemson staff that recruits with the best in the country in our very own backyard. Recruiting the state of South Carolina well was a primary cause for the Gamecocks' successful run under Steve Spurrier.
While this has been the cause of a lot of frustration and confusion, Steve Spurrier knew the "inevitable" was here, and that the time to leave was now. Brace yourself for a bumpy ride, South Carolina fans. This change won't happen overnight, but the program at least has a chance to turn itself around to head in the right direction.
Change is here, and the future of the program is upon us. You can thank Coach Spurrier for establishing our high expectations of competing with some of the best football programs in the country and beginning a culture at the University of South Carolina that makes us ask, "Why not us?"
As always, thanks for reading! Be sure to follow me on Twitter @griffaldo.
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