Are College Footballs Play-Calling Coaches a Dying Breed?
This month, South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier announced that he would be calling all of the Gamecocks’ offensive plays in 2010, something not widely done among his fellow NCAA peers. The past two seasons, “the Head Ball Coach” (don’t call him old), had delegated some of the play-calling authority to other members of his staff, most notably his son. The move created controversy among South Carolina’s fans, who felt that the elder Spurrier was abandoning something that made him one of the SEC’s more legendary coaches. A bit of an overreaction? Perhaps. But keep in mind that, while Spurrier hasn’t been able to duplicate his success as the head coach of the Florida Gators, his 35 wins have come during the Gamecocks’ best five-year period in South Carolina football history. Look it up. So why the change? The Gamecocks’ rushing offense was dead last in the SEC in ’09, and Spurrier himself has said he has been too tolerant of South Carolina’s soft play. This season, Spurrier claims tha
