South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier Gets Big Raise

Steve Spurrier, the head coach of South Carolina, has been given a contract extension to the 2018 season, as well as a raise that will see him earn $4m a season.

The quotable coach, who guided the Gamecocks to a victory over Wisconsin in the Capital One Bowl and a final season ranking of No.4 in the nation last year, made $3.3m in 2013. But now, he’s making 21% more.

“We appreciate the attitude of the board of trustees in keeping our salaries competitive with the rest of the SEC,” the Ol’ Ball Coach in a statement. “We all hope to coach here many more years, and we still have some goals that have not been accomplished yet.”

South Carolina AD Ray Tanner said in a release: “With three straight top-10 finishes, South Carolina is as good as any program in the country. The contract raises and extensions for Coach Spurrier and his staff are a reflection of that success and are well-deserved.”

Spurrier made sure that his coaches were well-rewarded, too. All his assistants were given two-year contract extensions, apart from DC Lorenzo Ward, who received a three-year extension…..even quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus, who saw his salary frozen for a year after he was arrested for public urination in 2011. He was suspended but returned for practice in August of the same year. His salary was bumped $100,000.

Interestingly, it wasn’t the blockbuster year for Spurrier or South Carolina. He publically said he was frustrated with star DE Jadeveon Clowney, who actually regressed in the 2013 season after an incredible 2012. He appeared to be drunk in a TV round-up of Carolina’s close win at UCF (a win that now looks a hell of a lot better bearing in mind UCF’s destruction of Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl). The Gamecocks lost at Tennessee and Georgia – something that probably didn’t go down so well with the fanbase. On the other side, the Gamecocks beat Clemson and stopped an unbeaten Missouri on the road….and beat Wisconsin to finish the season. It can’t have been all bad.

BOTTOM LINE: A lot of people hate Steve Spurrier, but we love him. He’s quotable, he sticks the needle into opponents, and he’s a breath of fresh air, especially in a world where college football coaches (apart from Les Miles) are a little more stayed. Having said that, South Carolina could quite easily have been an 8-4 season – especially if Clemson hadn’t turned the ball over so much and Missouri’s kicker been able to take a field goal. But as Gamecocks fans say: “We’ll take it”. Never grow up, Steve.