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Gamecocks coach stealing the show at SEC meetings
By CHRIS LOW
Staff Writer
DESTIN, Fla. It was one of those scenes that was almost surreal.
Steve Spurrier, sporting a pair of spiffy Ray-Ban sunglasses, strode into the same room where Florida football Coach Urban Meyer and Florida basketball Coach Billy Donovan were chatting with the media Tuesday at the SEC spring meetings.
Upon entering, Spurrier playfully chortled, "Is this the Billy Donovan Show?"
Donovan, who led the Gators to a national championship two months ago, looked over at his former cohort and laughed.
Meyer, who's still trying to climb out from under Spurrier's ominous shadow at Florida, never broke stride as he continued to answer reporters' questions.
One by one, though, reporters began to peel away from Meyer and gravitate toward Spurrier, who was his usual candid, witty self.
Among other things, he called the Gamecocks' wins over Tennessee, Arkansas and Florida last season "truly a miracle stretch for us" and even went as far as to say they might have received a few breaks from the officials.
"You guys never heard me complaining about the refereeing, did you?" Spurrier said. "It was beautiful. I couldn't believe it. It was different. I don't know if I should say that. I hope the refs don't say, 'We're going to pay him back.'
"We got some good calls. The other team dropped passes, fumbled in the end zone and did all the good stuff for us."
Spurrier didn't direct any zingers Tennessee's way, but he did have some subtle digs.
He was asked how realistic it was that another coach in the SEC would be able to survive and prosper at the same school for as long as he did at Florida.
Spurrier, who removed his shades only once to see the number of an incoming call on his cell phone, shrugged and reminded everyone of Phillip Fulmer's tenure at Tennessee.
"Heck, Coach Fulmer is on about No. 12, isn't he?" Spurrier said. "What's he on? 15? 13? You give him that interim year now?"
Told that Fulmer counts those four wins during his interim season in 1992 when he was filling in for John Majors, Spurrier cracked, "He counts the wins, and Johnny (Majors) gets the losses, right?"
Spurrier was especially excited to hear about Pat Summitt's recent raise, making her the first millionaire women's basketball coach in history. Summitt will make $1.125 million next season.
"I thought she deserved more," said Spurrier, who shares a close relationship with Summitt.
The two hugged when they saw each other in the lobby of the Sandestin Hilton yesterday.
"Somebody told me (Fulmer) still makes twice what she does," Spurrier said. "Is that right?
"She ought to be one of those $2 million-a-year coaches."
One thing Spurrier wasn't doing Tuesday was promising an SEC championship next season for the Gamecocks, who went 7-5 a year ago in his first season in Columbia.
Spurrier remains peeved over the way South Carolina finished the season by blowing a 21-point lead in the Independence Bowl and losing to Missouri.
"We pooped out in the bowl game, which was embarrassing," Spurrier said. "It was embarrassing for our school and our team. We didn't compete the whole second half of that game.
"We're sort of mad. I'm mad at the players a little bit, the ones coming back. We had a lot of seniors last year, so it will be a completely different team next year. But I think we'll play just as well. Only time will tell."
Until last season, South Carolina had never won an SEC game against Florida and had never beaten Tennessee in Knoxville.
Ending that drought has already started paying dividends for the Gamecocks, Spurrier said.
"Our coaches go out recruiting, and high school coaches and players look at them and say, 'Hey, you guys did something last year. It's not like you guys got your butts beat like you always do,' " Spurrier said.
"But we've got to carry on from there. We're not ready to start contending. We hope to, hopefully, in a couple of years."
Spurrier's golf game is also improving. An avid golfer, Spurrier recently played a couple of rounds at Augusta National, although he denied that he'd been offered a chance to join the private club where The Masters is played every year.
"They don't talk much football there," Spurrier said. "It's all golf, Augusta and what the rules are there.
"They've got a bunch of rules."
By CHRIS LOW
Staff Writer
DESTIN, Fla. It was one of those scenes that was almost surreal.
Steve Spurrier, sporting a pair of spiffy Ray-Ban sunglasses, strode into the same room where Florida football Coach Urban Meyer and Florida basketball Coach Billy Donovan were chatting with the media Tuesday at the SEC spring meetings.
Upon entering, Spurrier playfully chortled, "Is this the Billy Donovan Show?"
Donovan, who led the Gators to a national championship two months ago, looked over at his former cohort and laughed.
Meyer, who's still trying to climb out from under Spurrier's ominous shadow at Florida, never broke stride as he continued to answer reporters' questions.
One by one, though, reporters began to peel away from Meyer and gravitate toward Spurrier, who was his usual candid, witty self.
Among other things, he called the Gamecocks' wins over Tennessee, Arkansas and Florida last season "truly a miracle stretch for us" and even went as far as to say they might have received a few breaks from the officials.
"You guys never heard me complaining about the refereeing, did you?" Spurrier said. "It was beautiful. I couldn't believe it. It was different. I don't know if I should say that. I hope the refs don't say, 'We're going to pay him back.'
"We got some good calls. The other team dropped passes, fumbled in the end zone and did all the good stuff for us."
Spurrier didn't direct any zingers Tennessee's way, but he did have some subtle digs.
He was asked how realistic it was that another coach in the SEC would be able to survive and prosper at the same school for as long as he did at Florida.
Spurrier, who removed his shades only once to see the number of an incoming call on his cell phone, shrugged and reminded everyone of Phillip Fulmer's tenure at Tennessee.
"Heck, Coach Fulmer is on about No. 12, isn't he?" Spurrier said. "What's he on? 15? 13? You give him that interim year now?"
Told that Fulmer counts those four wins during his interim season in 1992 when he was filling in for John Majors, Spurrier cracked, "He counts the wins, and Johnny (Majors) gets the losses, right?"
Spurrier was especially excited to hear about Pat Summitt's recent raise, making her the first millionaire women's basketball coach in history. Summitt will make $1.125 million next season.
"I thought she deserved more," said Spurrier, who shares a close relationship with Summitt.
The two hugged when they saw each other in the lobby of the Sandestin Hilton yesterday.
"Somebody told me (Fulmer) still makes twice what she does," Spurrier said. "Is that right?
"She ought to be one of those $2 million-a-year coaches."
One thing Spurrier wasn't doing Tuesday was promising an SEC championship next season for the Gamecocks, who went 7-5 a year ago in his first season in Columbia.
Spurrier remains peeved over the way South Carolina finished the season by blowing a 21-point lead in the Independence Bowl and losing to Missouri.
"We pooped out in the bowl game, which was embarrassing," Spurrier said. "It was embarrassing for our school and our team. We didn't compete the whole second half of that game.
"We're sort of mad. I'm mad at the players a little bit, the ones coming back. We had a lot of seniors last year, so it will be a completely different team next year. But I think we'll play just as well. Only time will tell."
Until last season, South Carolina had never won an SEC game against Florida and had never beaten Tennessee in Knoxville.
Ending that drought has already started paying dividends for the Gamecocks, Spurrier said.
"Our coaches go out recruiting, and high school coaches and players look at them and say, 'Hey, you guys did something last year. It's not like you guys got your butts beat like you always do,' " Spurrier said.
"But we've got to carry on from there. We're not ready to start contending. We hope to, hopefully, in a couple of years."
Spurrier's golf game is also improving. An avid golfer, Spurrier recently played a couple of rounds at Augusta National, although he denied that he'd been offered a chance to join the private club where The Masters is played every year.
"They don't talk much football there," Spurrier said. "It's all golf, Augusta and what the rules are there.
"They've got a bunch of rules."
