The ol' head ball coach is on his way back to the Southeastern Conference — just not where everyone expected.
Steve Spurrier, who guided Florida to six SEC championships and a national championship in his 12 years in Gainesville, has agreed in principle to take over at South Carolina for Lou Holtz as the Gamecocks' head coach, a source close to the situation told The Tennessean last night.
One potential snag in the agreement could be if Holtz, 67, has a change of heart and decides at the last minute not to retire. Spurrier has also been known to change his mind, although he's made it clear to South Carolina that the Gamecocks' job is the one he wants.
An announcement is expected early next week. South Carolina ends its regular season Saturday at rival Clemson. Holtz has been non-committal about his future, although yesterday on the SEC coaches' teleconference he made reference to his final game at Notre Dame when discussing the distractions of this week.
South Carolina Associate Athletics Director Kerry Tharp would neither confirm nor deny last night that a deal was imminent with Spurrier.
It's his (Holtz's) call," USC Sports Information Director Kerry Tharp told Columbia TV station WLTX this morning. "When it comes time for him to make that decision we'll go from there," said Tharp.
''We're not going to comment about any of it right now,'' Tharp said. ''It's all speculative. When Coach Holtz decides what he's going to do, then we'll decide where we're going to go with it.''
Spurrier and Holtz are close friends, and Holtz has openly endorsed Spurrier as somebody the Gamecocks should pursue if Holtz decides to step down at the end of this season.
''I've talked to Steve,'' Holtz said earlier this week. ''I don't want to go in that direction, but I have talked to him. We talked about how you cure a slice, his son, etc. Steve's a good friend of mine, as I said. All I want to talk about is Clemson, Clemson, Clemson. That's all. That's the only thing on my mind.''
Spurrier's shadow has hovered over the SEC all season, although most thought he would end up back at Florida after Ron Zook was fired Oct. 25.
In the end, though, Spurrier was disinterested in having to go through a full-fledged interview process with the Gators and pulled his name out of consideration two weeks ago. He has been out of coaching for the last year after going just 12-20 in two years as the Washington Redskins coach.
Contract details between Spurrier and South Carolina have yet to be finalized. It's expected to be lucrative, although he wouldn't be the highest-paid coach in the conference. The highest-paid coach is LSU's Nick Saban, who makes more than $2 million per year. Tennessee Coach Phillip Fulmer makes about $1.8 million.
Spurrier, 59, began his head-coaching career with the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League from 1983-85 before jumping to the college ranks at Duke.
He spent three seasons with the Blue Devils (1987-89) and compiled a 20-13-1 record. Spurrier was named ACC Coach of the Year in each of his final two seasons at Duke.
His accomplishments there set the stage for him to take the reins at his alma mater. Spurrier, who won the Heisman Trophy as a Gator in 1966, replaced Gary Darnell in time for the 1990 season.
What he accomplished over the next 12 seasons in Gainesville established the Florida program as one of the best in the nation. He won at least nine games in each season, and won 10 or more nine times. Spurrier's 1996 team went 12-1 and captured the only national football championship in school history.
Spurrier was named SEC Coach of the Year three times en route to posting a 122-27-1 record at Florida.
He stunned the Gators faithful, though, when he abruptly resigned on Jan. 4, 2002. In his statement then, Spurrier said: ''I simply believe that 12 years as head coach at a major university in the SEC is long enough.''
Less than two weeks later he was hired by owner Daniel Snyder to take over the NFL's Washington Redskins. He was awarded the game's richest contract at the time, signing a $25 million, five-year deal.
But Spurrier's offensive schemes didn't translate well to the pro game, and after just two years and a 12-20 record, he resigned.
Naturally his name surfaced first when Florida fired Zook after the Gators lost to Mississippi State. Ultimately he bowed out of the mix in Gainesville, and his name began to surface in connection with Holtz's job.
Holtz has said he believes Spurrier will be a good fit for the Gamecocks.
How will the Gators feel about that? The teams will meet on Nov. 12, 2005, in Columbia, S.C.
Steve Spurrier, who guided Florida to six SEC championships and a national championship in his 12 years in Gainesville, has agreed in principle to take over at South Carolina for Lou Holtz as the Gamecocks' head coach, a source close to the situation told The Tennessean last night.
One potential snag in the agreement could be if Holtz, 67, has a change of heart and decides at the last minute not to retire. Spurrier has also been known to change his mind, although he's made it clear to South Carolina that the Gamecocks' job is the one he wants.
An announcement is expected early next week. South Carolina ends its regular season Saturday at rival Clemson. Holtz has been non-committal about his future, although yesterday on the SEC coaches' teleconference he made reference to his final game at Notre Dame when discussing the distractions of this week.
South Carolina Associate Athletics Director Kerry Tharp would neither confirm nor deny last night that a deal was imminent with Spurrier.
It's his (Holtz's) call," USC Sports Information Director Kerry Tharp told Columbia TV station WLTX this morning. "When it comes time for him to make that decision we'll go from there," said Tharp.
''We're not going to comment about any of it right now,'' Tharp said. ''It's all speculative. When Coach Holtz decides what he's going to do, then we'll decide where we're going to go with it.''
Spurrier and Holtz are close friends, and Holtz has openly endorsed Spurrier as somebody the Gamecocks should pursue if Holtz decides to step down at the end of this season.
''I've talked to Steve,'' Holtz said earlier this week. ''I don't want to go in that direction, but I have talked to him. We talked about how you cure a slice, his son, etc. Steve's a good friend of mine, as I said. All I want to talk about is Clemson, Clemson, Clemson. That's all. That's the only thing on my mind.''
Spurrier's shadow has hovered over the SEC all season, although most thought he would end up back at Florida after Ron Zook was fired Oct. 25.
In the end, though, Spurrier was disinterested in having to go through a full-fledged interview process with the Gators and pulled his name out of consideration two weeks ago. He has been out of coaching for the last year after going just 12-20 in two years as the Washington Redskins coach.
Contract details between Spurrier and South Carolina have yet to be finalized. It's expected to be lucrative, although he wouldn't be the highest-paid coach in the conference. The highest-paid coach is LSU's Nick Saban, who makes more than $2 million per year. Tennessee Coach Phillip Fulmer makes about $1.8 million.
Spurrier, 59, began his head-coaching career with the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League from 1983-85 before jumping to the college ranks at Duke.
He spent three seasons with the Blue Devils (1987-89) and compiled a 20-13-1 record. Spurrier was named ACC Coach of the Year in each of his final two seasons at Duke.
His accomplishments there set the stage for him to take the reins at his alma mater. Spurrier, who won the Heisman Trophy as a Gator in 1966, replaced Gary Darnell in time for the 1990 season.
What he accomplished over the next 12 seasons in Gainesville established the Florida program as one of the best in the nation. He won at least nine games in each season, and won 10 or more nine times. Spurrier's 1996 team went 12-1 and captured the only national football championship in school history.
Spurrier was named SEC Coach of the Year three times en route to posting a 122-27-1 record at Florida.
He stunned the Gators faithful, though, when he abruptly resigned on Jan. 4, 2002. In his statement then, Spurrier said: ''I simply believe that 12 years as head coach at a major university in the SEC is long enough.''
Less than two weeks later he was hired by owner Daniel Snyder to take over the NFL's Washington Redskins. He was awarded the game's richest contract at the time, signing a $25 million, five-year deal.
But Spurrier's offensive schemes didn't translate well to the pro game, and after just two years and a 12-20 record, he resigned.
Naturally his name surfaced first when Florida fired Zook after the Gators lost to Mississippi State. Ultimately he bowed out of the mix in Gainesville, and his name began to surface in connection with Holtz's job.
Holtz has said he believes Spurrier will be a good fit for the Gamecocks.
How will the Gators feel about that? The teams will meet on Nov. 12, 2005, in Columbia, S.C.
