The Head Ball Coach Calls It Quits: Steve Spurrier Is Retiring And It’s Effective Immediately

According to multiple sources, via ESPN, one of the most decorated and successful college football coaches is calling it quits, as South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier told his players and coaches on Monday night that he’s putting away his famous visor and walking away, effective immediately.

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Spurrier, who won the 1966 Heisman Trophy as a quarterback with the Florida Gators as a player, returned to Gainesville as the football team’s head coach in 1990 after three years at Duke, compiling a 122-27-1 overall record in 12 seasons leading the Gators, winning six SEC titles and capping his career there with a national title during the 1996 season.

His swagger and lively personality was one that became a staple of the Gators’ football program during the heydays in the ’90s, with the Head Ball Coach using the same charm and confidence to secure some of the top recruits in the nation.

After leaving Florida for the NFL in 2002 to run the Washington Redskins—where he had a less-than-thrilling 12-20 record in just two seasons—Spurrier returned to the college game at South Carolina, having variable success while head coach of the Gamecocks.

With his team limping to a 2-4 start in 2015, there had been some speculation that Spurrier may have been considering retiring, so the 70-year-old finally pulled the plug on his illustrious career today, incapable of dealing with the constant losing that has come his team’s way after three-straight 11-win seasons from 2011-2013.

One of the best interviews in the history of the game, Spurrier gave us all one last quotable moment prior to the Cocks’ season, literally doing a comedy routine when describing his quarterbacks, wide receivers, defenders and, of course, his kickers.

The dude was a personality that always seemed bigger than any of his flashy teams, so here’s a tip of my beer to Spurrier and whatever he does next, because college coaches just aren’t made the same way he was.

[H/T ESPN, The Big Lead]