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Steve Spurrier wishes he resigned from South Carolina earlier

By Patrick Schmidt

Oct 10, 2015; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Steve Spurrier during pregame of a game against the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 10, 2015; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Steve Spurrier during pregame of a game against the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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Steve Spurrier walked away from the South Carolina Gamecocks in the middle of the 2015 season and that’s left him with some regrets.

It wasn’t how Steve Spurrier drew it up and the former head coach of South Carolina wishes the end of his time in Columbia had ended differently.

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Spurrier resigned after starting the season with a disappointing 2-4 record and left the team in the hands of then-interim head coach Shawn Elliott as the Gamecocks finished with a 3-9 record. That left a bad taste in the mouth of many fans of Spurrier and South Carolina who felt he was quitting on his team.

Turns out, it left a bad taste in the mouth of one of the best college football coaches as well as Spurrier told Paul Finebaum on Monday he missed his expiration date.

“We all have an expiration date, I missed mine,” Spurrier said. “Mine should have been after the Miami game in 2014.”

Spurrier references the Duck Commander Independence Bowl won 27-24 against the Miami Hurricanes. It would have made for a seamless transition for him to walk away from the game then and not leave his team hanging midseason. The signs were there that the program was due regressing after three straight 11-win seasons from 2011-2013 and finished with a 7-6 record.

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Spurrier went 86-49 during his 11 years at South Carolina and a 228-89-2 overall record, including one national championship during his time at Florida.

South Carolina hired former Florida head coach Will Muschamp to replace Spurrier in the offseason with the hope he’ll have a similar stint as the last Florida coach to come to South Carolina.

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