LITTLE ROCK — Steve Spurrier has begun collecting his NFL pension now that he’s turned 65, but he’s not retiring from the SEC.
“I never thought I’d coach at 60 when I was in my 40s and 50s,” Spurrier said. “But it gets here quickly, as a lot of us know that are in our 60s, and you feel just as good as you did 10 or 20 years ago. So why give up?
“And we’ve got the ultimate challenge here at South Carolina. We’ve never won an SEC [title],
and we still have hopes we can put a team together to win one.”
Spurrier, who celebrated his 65th birthday April 20, is showing no signs of slowing down as he gears up for his sixth season leading the Gamecocks and 21st season as a college head coach. That includes a 12-year run at Florida that featured six SEC titles and the 1996 national championship.
To illustrate his fitness level, Spurrier worked out with
some local reporters - and
it was his idea for The State
newspaper of Columbia, S.C., to take his picture with his shirt off.
Spurrier posed for the camera in South Carolina’s weight room with Gamecocks defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward, a former Arkansas assistant coach.
Spurrier said he’s been exercising on a regular basis since retiring as an NFL quarterback after the 1976 season. He played nine seasons with the San Francisco 49ers and one season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after winning the 1966 Heisman Trophy as a Florida senior.
“If we all read magazines, we know that the way you function and perform in life’s got nothing to do with your age,” Spurrier said. “It’s got everything to do with your health and your fitness.
“I enjoy doing it, and I try to recommend it to everybody ... Obviously, a lot of people don’t listen very well, but I enjoy working out and feeling good.”
Spurrier became the SEC’s oldest coach with the retirement of Kentucky’s Rich Brooks, 68, after last season.
But Spurrier doesn’t particularly enjoy being referred to as the “ol’ ball coach,” even though it’s something he’s called himself at times.
Spurrier said he was “the head ball coach all my years at Florida,” before he left to become coach of the Washington Redskins.
“I got up to the Redskins, and somehow or another I think I said I was just another ol’ ball coach trying to get the job done, and it sort of stuck,” Spurrier said.
“Obviously, the head ball coach, I like that better.”
Spurrier’s SEC coaching peers are impressed he’s still going strong in the country’s most competitive conference.
“I’ve always had a tremendous amount of respect for Coach Spurrier,” said Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino, who is 49. “I can remember studying all the things he was doing when he was coaching at Florida and all the things we’ve tried to steal from him to help us win football games.
“I’m glad he’s still coaching. He’s a credit to the coaching profession and to college football.
“I’m not sure if I can match that, though - coaching at 65. I guess we’ll have to live that long first.”
Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen, who turned 38 on April 27, is the SEC’s youngest coach. Spurrier was halfway through his NFL playing career when Mullen was born in 1972.
“Growing up, as a young kid in high school watching college football, I was a big fan of Coach Spurrier and his Florida teams,” Mullen said. “I think it’s great for him that he’s still coaching.
“Obviously, you can see the love he has for the game of football. A guy that committed to the game, it’s hard to walk away. I think he’s great for our conference.”
Mullen said Spurrier doesn’t look or act like someone who is 65.
“Every time I’ve seen Coach Spurrier, he’s got a ton of energy, and is always fired up and ready to go,” Mullen said. “I’m sure he brings that same demeanor to practice and the meetings and being the head coach every single day.”
Spurrier said he’s “sort of proud that I’ve lasted so long and never gotten fired” as a head coach. He left the Redskins after two seasons of a five-year, $25 million contract, but that was a resignation, not a firing.
“It cost me a lot of [money] to leave the Redskins without saying, ‘Fire me,’ ” Spurrier told The State. “Cost me a lot of dough, but that’s all right.”
Spurrier’s annual salary at South Carolina is $1.75million. His contract has been extended through the 2013 season, and he’ll receive a $1 million bonus if he coaches the Gamecocks through the 2011 season.
Spurrier is supplementing his coaching income with his NFL pension, which as he noted, pays the maximum when the beneficiary turns 65. According to retired players.org, a website dedicated to providing accurate information on topics regarding the NFL, the NFL Players Association and NFL players, benefits for a player who spent nine years in the NFL like Spurrier are projected to be $5,892 per month, provided that player does not begin drawing the pension until 65.
Many former players, Spurrier said, began drawing lesser pension benefits at a younger age.
“Fortunately, I’ve had a job and didn’t need to apply,” Spurrier said. “I’ve been very blessed to have a job all these years.
“Hopefully, in four or five years, I’ll be able to hang it up on my own.”
Sports, Pages 13 on 07/06/2010