Will Tennessee come after Spurrier?
Critics have called South Carolina a coaches’ graveyard because – until Sparky Woods was hired at VMI this season – no former USC coach had gone on to become a head coach at another school after leaving Columbia.
Well, South Carolina is becoming a graveyard for Tennessee coaches, as well.
The Vols have only lost twice to the Gamecocks in Columbia since 1903. Both times it cost a coach his job:
Johnny Majors in 1992 and now Phillip Fulmer, who according to multiple reports, will announce today he is stepping down at Tennessee at the end of the season.
In both instances, losing to the Gamecocks was the final straw. In Majors’ case, the USC loss was the Vols’ third in a row. After the announcement was made, Tennessee won its last four games under Majors, including a Hall of Fame Bowl victory over Boston College.
Fulmer replaced Majors at the end of the ‘92 season and has gone 150-51 in 17 seasons, winning two SEC titles and the 1998 national championship. But the Vols are in the midst of their second non-winning season in four years, and worse, folks around Knoxville don’t seem to care.
USC fans should prepare for the rumors that Steve Spurrier could be a candidate at Tennessee, his favorite childhood team when he was growing up in Johnson City.
I can’t see it happening.
For starters, Spurrier is closer to an SEC championship in his fourth year at USC than he would be at Tennessee.
Spurrier’s words, from today’s story:
“Tennessee’s not what they have been in the past. We didn’t try to make it that big a deal. It was a good win and they’re a decent team. They’re not a great team this year. We all know that. I think sometimes we put too many teams up on a pedestal and think they’re big, strong, tough teams and we’re not. And that’s just not true.”
There’s certainly something nostalgic about returning home to close out a Hall of Fame coaching career. No doubt about it.
But Spurrier likes living here. His wife likes living here. They have a son who lives down the road and works with his dad, and another son who plays special teams for the Gamecocks.
Plus, at 63, Spurrier might not be viewed as the best fit for a program that is cutting ties with one of the so-called deans of the SEC.
When he arrived at USC four years ago, Spurrier said he wanted to do what had never been done before. Well, it’s been done before at Tennessee.
And while Spurrier has yet to win a championship at USC, he seems to have the Gamecocks moving in that direction.
64 Comments to “Will Tennessee come after Spurrier?”
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USC football beat writer Joe Person has covered the Gamecocks since the start of the 2002 season. He's been on the college football beat since 1993. 
That does it…I guess I’ll just have to go back to Tenn again and watch us make another UT coach cry…aren’t we on number two already..we can make it three if we want to. I think the best new Tenn coach would be Ralph Friedgen (sp) from Kansas..he fits the UT mold perfectly> big, fat, and soft and JIGGGLY….YEEEHAW
Nobody at UT has won a heisman trophy. And as much as I do like Petyon, I’m over the UT fans crying that he was robbed of it. Fact is he didn’t win.
(Can you tell I’m over the whining UT fans around here???)
Has USC ever won 10 games in a season? Not trying to be a smartaleck, but have they?
Wow TB,
You’re still reading on our blogs? It sounds like someone is pretty sensative. It seems like whenever someone calls you names, you can’t handle it. You called out my punctuation? It’s not that serious. All I was doing was just sticking up for my team and city when you started bashing it and calling everbody else rednecks. By the way thanks for checking your spelling.
And yes we have won 10 games before.
OK I’m done with Tenn throw them on the pile….I need me some hawg jawls and BBQ NOW!! Serve it up im ready suuuuuuupig
I’m with Brock……..Next!
Elvis McGuirt
Throw out records against programs historically. We’re undefeated against Ohio St. and .500 against Southern Cal. So your Duke remark means nothing.
TB
It’s called comma splicing. Redneck!
fi9chlwiz
See George Rogers.
To TB:
It’s about the great people of Columbia stupid! 27-6….Rocky top that, Chump! And we should have won last year in Knoxville too…..Geraldo
Darryl,
Learn how to spell sensitive, before you preach to someone else to do the same, dumb@$$.
Jack Pavon,
Learn to read, idiot. I graduated from FLORIDA, not UT. Win the East before you talk smack. Heck, win eight games, or for that matter, win against that orange school to the north of you. You guys can’t even win your own state championship, much less an SEC championship. GATOR BAIT, B#TCHES!!
How old are you TB?
Spurrier to TN…no way. Within 70 miles of Columbia is the blue ridge to the NW, Augusta to the SW, and to the E some of the best coastal towns and cities anywhere. What’s within 70 miles of Knoxville…..
Spurrier stays here and competes for the SEC East the next several years.
DMM said all that needed to be said at the beginning!