A college and NFL head coaching career that began in 1978 and included stops at the University of Florida, the USFL's Tampa Bay Bandits, Duke University, the Washington Redskins and, most recently, the University of South Carolina, came to a close on Tuesday, as "Head Ball Coach" and Gamecocks head coach Steve Spurrier officially announced his resignation.
In announcing his resignation, Spurrier made clear that he wanted to go out on his own terms. He also claimed responsibility for the downturn the Gamecocks program has seen in recent seasons.
"It was only two years ago we were No. 4 in the nation, the last of those 11-2 (seasons)," Spurrier said, per Chase Goodbread of NFL.com. "Somehow or another, we've slid. And it's my fault. I'm responsible, I'm the head coach. It's time for me to get out of the way and let somebody else have a go at it. ... I think the team needs to hear a new message, a new voice, from another coach. I think I was the best coach for this job 11 years ago, but I'm not today."
Spurrier, who leaves the Gamecocks in the middle of the 2015 NCAA season with a 2-4 record, also wanted to make clear that he was resigning, not retiring.
"I'm resigning, I'm not retiring. Get that part straight. I doubt if I'll ever be a (college) head coach again, but may be coaching a high school team or something," Spurrier said, via Goodbread. "So don't say I've retired completely from coaching. Who knows what will come in the future?"
Spurrier ends his college coaching career as the winningest coach at both Florida and South Carolina. His overall record as a college head coach is 228-89-2, and his record with the Gamecocks was a university-best 86-49.
But the 70-year-old Spurrier said he recognized when South Carolina got out to a 2-2 start to the 2015 season that it was someone else's time to "have their go at it.
"It's their turn to see what they can do," Spurrier said, per ESPN. "That's simply it, right there. It's time for me to move on and time for South Carolina to start rebuilding a bit."
