Source: Spurrier out as Gamecocks coach
Sports Illustrated says he’ll retire immediately amid losing season.
South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier is reportedly retiring, effective immediately. Thayer Evans of Sports Illustrated was the first to report the 70-year-old is stepping away from coaching. ESPN reported the retirement is effective immediately and a formal announcement is expected today.
Spurrier, a former Florida Gators star player and coach who won the 1966 Heisman Trophy, was in the middle of his 26th season of coaching, during which he put together a record of 228-89-2. His 228 wins rank him 13th on the career wins list, just ahead of Ohio State’s Woody Hayes.
It is Spurrier’s 11th season with the Gamecocks. He also coached at Duke (1987-89) and Florida (1990-2001), where he won a national championship in 1996 and put Gators football on the national map.
His quarterback from the UF title team — Danny Wuerffel — responded to the news of his former coach’s retirement on Twitter: “Thanks @SC_HBC Spurrier for all you’ve done for college football... and for me. Your impact on me changed the trajectory of my life.”
His future had been in question the past couple of seasons, with speculation that he might retire last season after South Carolina finished 7-6 — its worst record since 2009. The man nicknamed the Head Ball Coach rebuffed those claims, but he couldn’t have anticipated the pile of injuries that led to a 2-4 record so far this year.