Spurrier to Miami? Are U Kidding?
I am an SEC writer who graduated from the University of Miami in May. So you can imagine how many phone calls I received this morning when CSTV's Brian Curtis broke the big story on cstv.com.
In case you missed it, here it is: Spurrier Still Likely Headed to Miami
Spurrier is denying it right now. So is Miami.
I spoke to Jorge Milian, a UM beat writer from the Palm Beach Post this evening, and he told me that he spoke with UM Athletic Director Paul Dee. Dee said that Miami had not contacted Spurrier. According to Dee, UM has promised to wait until after the season to decide Larry Coker's fate, and it will stick to its word.
So who do we believe?
This wouldn't be the first time a writer has broken a story, everyone has denied it, and it turned out to be true. If Spurrier is headed for UM, of course he's going to deny it right now.
The only insight I can provide is that Spurrier will receive a mixed reception if he does take the Miami job. Canes fans are not exactly in love with the man. We don't like the Seminoles. We don't like the Gators. And we don't like anyone associated with either university.
But we do like winning. One thing I've learned is that winning cures everything. All Spurrier would have to do is win at UM and he'll be loved. I may not know everything, but I do know this: If you can win at Duke, you can win at Miami.
On the flip side is a South Carolina program that definitely needs this coach to stay. The program doesn't have the credibility that Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Auburn, and LSU have. Spurrier has done a fantastic job in his two seasons as a Gamecock. Selfishly, I'd like to see him at UM because somehow the Hurricanes are 5-6 and that needs to change. But as I've witnessed the passion of SEC fans on this job, I've started to appreciate the programs in this conference more than ever.
The Gamecocks fans are so loyal and deserve so badly a winning program. They deserve Steve Spurrier.
I guess if you're a Gamecocks fan and you're looking for reasons to believe this report is untrue, I'll tell you a few things.
Miami is a private university with an athletic department that has occasionally operated in the red. A few years ago, UM had to buy out Perry Clark's contract to hire Frank Haith to coach men's basketball. Three years ago, Miami had to pay a hefty exit fee to the Big East to enter the ACC (not to mention the money UM spent defending itself in the lawsuit filed by Big East teams). Larry Coker still has three years and approximately six million dollars left on his contract. This whole thing seems costly for the Canes.
I have no idea what will happen. I've met Brian Curtis several times and he's definitely someone who I trust. Spurrier to Miami would have seemed unthinkable years ago, but nothing in sports surprises me anymore.
The only thing matters is winning, and I hope Spurrier gets the chance to do that at South Carolina.
