It's becoming more and more popular to put Steve Spurrier and Mark Richt on the hot seat. But if you look at each school's football history, that doesn't make much sense.
A common and easy misconception is the history of both programs, South Carolina and Georgia, which makes it idiotic to think either program would get rid of either head coach anytime soon. Both coaches, especially Spurrier, have a better chance of leaving on their own terms.
Spurrier has coached the Gamecocks to the most successful 5-year run of any USC coach (35 wins). While his critics say he's just cashing checks in Columbia, he's been a consistent 7-5 coach and maintained a level of enthusiasm despite lackluster quarterback play and a sub-par offensive line.
(If his teams only played on Thursday nights, he might be the winningest coach ever.)
What’s more, Spurrier scored one of the biggest recruiting signings of this class by inking RB Marcus Lattimore from Duncan, S.C. And he’s kept other blue chip in-state recruits Stephon Gilmore and Alshon Jeffery in state, which means he hasn’t let the recruiting trail go stale.
Richt’s problem is he’s struggled against arch-rival Florida, and got blown out by Alabama two years ago when the Dawgs began the season ranked No. 1 in the preseason. On the other hand, Richt is 8-1 against Georgia Tech.
Last season, there was more heat on his coordinators than Richt. And shortly after the season, he overhauled his defensive staff, most notably firing coordinator Willie Martinez. That typically buys a coach two seasons.
Richt is in this position because of lopsided losses Alabama and Florida. In 2008, when the Dawgs began the year ranked No. 1, the season was derailed by the Alabama loss at home, which included a 31-0 halftime score. The Florida series lately has been marked by “The Gator Stomp,” a rare UGA win, and blowouts the last two seasons when the Gators put up more than 40 points in each game.
Despite not winning a national championship in 30 years, Dawg fans are getting restless by watching Florida, Alabama and LSU win BCS titles.
Because Richt has been near-perfect against Tech, and solid in bowl games (7-2), all he needs to quiet the critics is a win over Florida or an SEC East championship. That should be enough to satisfy the most rabid Dawg fans.
I wonder how many Dawg fans realize that Richt has a better winning percentage (90-27, .769) than even the legendary Vince Dooley (201-77, .715).
Spurrier bought some time at the beginning of his South Carolina tenure by criticize the recruiting efforts of former coach Lou Holtz. It helped his case that several players were kicked off the team following arrests before Spurrier’s first season. He’s averaged a 7-5 season, which is pedestrian for the power conference heavyweights, but given the Gamecocks’ history, it’s difficult to expect more. The problem is, Spurrier’s critics get caught up comparing him to his Florida teams. The Gamecocks simply can’t recruit to that level.
Compare him to just the previous three USC coaches and he’s better than every one of them. In fact, he’s the only one with at least a .500 record (35-28).
The bottom line is fans need to realize what they have with these two coaches, and remember that they’re each among the best coaches in school history. Don’t be a prisoner of a 3- or 4-year period.
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1) I don't think USC ditches Spurrier. I just think Spurrier can't handle going 7-5 forever. I think he's on the hot seat because of himself.
ReplyDelete2) Richt's biggest problem was his AD getting busted. College sports is the ultimate world of "What have you done for me lately?" Coming off of a bad year, with a new AD with no real attachment to him, Richt could well be in danger of the axe-- for reasons only partly related to football.
I'm not sure the Alabama game in 2008 has anything to do with anything. Georgia just came out flat in the first half and Saban's defensive genius was at its peak. He couldn't have called a better half than that in his career. Ultimately, though, Alabama won by 11...that's not exactly typical blowout territory. Finebaum just likes to talk about it because it gets his listeners excited and they can look at their Daniel Moore prints and reminisce while they wait on hold to make fun of Auburn.
ReplyDeleteThe only blemish on Richt's career is Florida. Had he won games in 2002 and 2003 that were almost inexplicable losses, and had DJ Shockley not been hurt in 2005 and forced the completely incompetent Joe Terrishinski into that game, we'd be talking about a 5-4 record against arguably the best team in the country. It sucks, but sometimes weird things happen.
Additionally, the only coaches in the SEC in the last decade who have done something Richt hasn't are Tommy Tuberville and Nick Saban. Meyer has had three one-loss seasons...he just happened to be lucky enough to have two of them when the rest of college football lost enough games to put them in the title game. Put that 2002 Georgia team in the 2006 or 2008 season and they win a national championship as well.
Spurrier couldn't go 7-5 at a lot of places and still have a job. Especially given his age. Is he the oldest coach in the SEC now?
ReplyDeleteThe trouble with the Alabama game is that was the turning point in a season that started with a lot of promise. And most people don't realize it was only an 11-point loss. This year could be different, but the last couple of Georgia-Florida games, the Dawgs hardly had a puncher's chance coming in.
Ultimately, Richt would need two more seasons like 2009 to get the boot. Spurrier probably won't be on anybody's hot seat in two years because if the Gamecocks continue this 7-5 trend, he's out of there. If they hit nine or 10 wins, he's again talked about as one of the best coaches in SEC history. That, though, is slipping with each loss.
Keith, I think you've probably got it. As I said, I don't think USC runs off Spurrier... I think that if they don't step forward, Spurrier runs off Spurrier. And with Richt, it probably does take two more deeply mediocre seasons... that said, if he has one this year, it will be an UGLY offseason in Athens leading up to 2011.
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