The Loop

Steve Spurrier resigns as South Carolina's football coach, presumably to play more golf

October 13, 2015

Steve Spurrier officially announced his resignation as the University of South Carolina's head football coach on Tuesday. At 70 years old, it was just a matter of time before the man known simply as "The Head Ball Coach" hung up his visor. However, the timing itself was a bit surprising.

Spurrier is walking away in the midst of a rough season for the Gamecocks, who fell to 2-4 and 0-4 in the SEC after a 21-point loss to LSU on Saturday.

"My answer has always been the same . . . If it starts going south, starts going bad, then I need to get out," said Spurrier, who won a national title in 1996 as the head coach of the University of Florida. "It's time for me to get out of the way and give somebody else a go at it."

For Spurrier, we'll assume it's time to get out and play more golf as well. The longtime coach has never kept his love of the game secret and he was even on the course in 2003 when news he was leaving the Washington Redskins after two disastrous seasons in the NFL went public. There's been debate over whether Spurrier is a member at Augusta National, but he reportedly made a hole-in-one there (on the par-4 seventh!) and the proximity of South Carolina's campus to the Masters venue may have played a role in him taking the job in Columbia.

Last month, Spurrier appeared on an episode of Golf Channel's "Feherty," which will re-air on Thursday at 1 p.m. Among the topics discussed were why he walked away from Washington, leaving $15 million on the table. Apparently, it was a big deal to Spurrier to go through his career without being fired.

Perhaps, that's Spurrier's main motivation for his latest career decision. Or perhaps, he wants more free time to hit the links. Before we walk away from this blog post, we'll leave you with this fantastic birdie reaction by Spurrier:

Hit 'em straight, Steve.