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Recalling Steve Spurrier's call-in show moment

On3 imageby: Chris Clark10/31/23GCChrisClark
ormer South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier is pictured on the sideline in Columbia (Photo: Chris Gillespie | GamecockCentral.com)
Former South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier is pictured on the sideline in Columbia (Photo: Chris Gillespie | GamecockCentral.com)

The head coach of South Carolina’s fiercest rival created a stir on Monday night during his radio call-in show.

Dabo Swinney blasted a caller who phoned in to question the Clemson coach’s salary, current record, and recent decision-making.

“I work for the Board of Trustees, the President and the AD, and if they’re tired of me leading this program, all they’ve gotta do is let me know,” Swinney said in the midst of a lengthy response. “I’ll go somewhere else, where there is an appreciation.”

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Listening to the exchange called to mind a different – but similarly memorable – moment.

Back in 2012, Steve Spurrier had some things on his mind during one of his “Carolina Calls” segments.

The Head Ball Coach had just guided the Gamecocks to the school’s first-ever trip to Atlanta in 2010, an 11-win season in 2011, and a hot start to that year’s campaign. Oh, and he was riding a three-game win streak against the Clemson Tigers at that point, too.

Spurrier was not upset with a wildcard fan, though. He was not happy with a columnist.

Ron Morris, then of The State, had drawn Spurrier’s ire on more than one occasion in Columbia.

After Morris penned a piece critical of Spurrier’s decision to play a banged-up Connor Shaw, the HBC staged a protest of sorts by not taking questions during his press conference.

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Asked about the episode during a national radio appearance, Morris took things to the next level in his phrasing of a suggestion that Spurrier had gained too much power at USC.

“This is how things like Penn State happen,” he said.

Spurrier didn’t take kindly to being compared to a sexual assault scandal.

“I’m not taking it anymore,” he said during his weekly radio show. “If that’s part of the job, I can head to the beach. That’s not part of the job, and we’re going to get it straightened out.” 

Morris later apologized for his remarks in a column and stated that he was also wrong about the Shaw column.

Spurrier had elected to remain in Columbia early in his tenure despite overtures from multiple other programs.

When Mike Shula was fired at Alabama in November of 2006, Spurrier and Nick Saban topped then-AD Mal Moore’s list. Spurrier told Moore he wanted to remain at USC to build the program.

Spurrier originally turned down UNC before taking the job in Columbia. Miami made a run at him at one point. So did Auburn.

Fortunately for the Gamecocks football program, Spurrier did not head to the beach after all. The Gamecocks would finish 11-2 in 2012, then repeat the feat in 2013.

Spurrier would spend another full season after that at the helm before, as he put it, “firing himself” as head coach midway through the 2015 season.

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