Thanks for the intro Papa Bert!  I am glad to be part of the team!

I wanted to write a thank you note to the Vanderbilt Commodores, but too lazy to look for an address and being a longtime user of the Papa Bert Sippin’ Seat I figure here is a good place to send my regards. Great win over South Carolina! Hopefully it will send a message to the powers at ESPN to quit putting the Gamecocks on Thursday so often. Back to back to start the season, why? Actually we all know why…Steve Spurrier. 

The Ball Coach is hands down the most overrated in college football, and why there seems to be such widespread agreement over his greatness is dumbfounding. I know he won at Duke, but the ACC has never exactly been the pinnacle of performance, especially currently (kudos Tommy Bowden). He did have an amazing run at Florida, but most coaches would have. Urban Meyer has practically equaled his success in only a few seasons. Meyer has the national title but trails in SEC championships. That’s one of the problems with Spurrier. He’s the Bobby Cox of football. All those times he won the mighty SEC and his only national championship was as undeserved as the praise being given to Sarah Palin (shagable shouldn’t be the main reason you’re picked as VP nominee). The 96 Gators got a rematch with a Florida State team that had already defeated them. Their bowl victory was therefore worthy of only the co-state championship. I now reside in northern Virginia and it’s nice to be in an area where there’s no shortage of Skins fans ready to point out Spurrier’s flaws.

The Gamecocks dropped the ball when they hired Steve. The other USC continues to mistakenly believe past greatness elsewhere is the best shot at future success in Williams-Brice Stadium. Spurrier is Lou part two. The university needs to focus on finding a young assistant that can stay a spell and finally give the most loyal fans in the nation the wins they crave. Georgia looks really wise for hiring Mark Richt so why don’t the Gamecocks take a shot on a Patrick Nix (now OC at Miami), or a Charlie Strong (DC at Florida, has been with the cocks)? Instead, they go the corpse route. The school should have considered looking at the man responsible for their latest defeat. Bobby Johnson has been respectable in one of the most challenging jobs in college football. Johnson would make an attractive candidate because he’s a South Carolina native and was fabulous as the top man at Furman. He did play at Clemson, but Spurrier was also the enemy once and now there’s countless around Columbia sporting visors and not going to bowl games. 

Another problem with Johnson may be the fact that he runs a clean program. Spurrier appears to believe the any news is good news mantra and recruits the most upstanding individuals. If you can’t win on the field, at least make waves with the police blotter. Johnson would also put the team and university ahead of his own ego, which couldn’t possibly have been welcome after Holtz. So, the Cocks have Spurrier, and he’s convinced he’s not to blame for delivering exactly what he was hired not to do.  It’s probably too late for Johnson anyway. Clemson may be calling by year’s end.

Thank you so much Vandy for hopefully opening a few eyes about the Bill Parcells of the college ranks. Media-made coaching legends should be banned along with celebration flags (no, I’m not a Husky fan). Hopefully ESPN will be wary of more Gamecock appearances on Thursday and will instead opt for an Erin Andrews special. Now she would make a great Vice President.