Between the media attacking Spurriers age, our drop off in recruiting, and our 7-6 season last year, there was plenty of fuel to pour onto the fire concerning whether or not it was time for Spurrier to hang up his visor. Fast forward to this season and in our second game we lose one to Kentucky making it two years in a row. Then after getting absolutely destroyed by Georgia 52-20, many South Carolina fans again started questioning the Head Ball Coach Steve Spurrier’s coaching ability and whether or not it was time to look else where.
If you follow rumors that fly around social media or word of mouth than there is a good chance you’ve heard about some candidates for a new head coach next season for our Gamecocks. Sunday night I had two people ask me about a certain coach who they heard would be coming to replace Spurrier next year, Chip Kelly. Chip Kelly is an intriguing coach, and to be honest I would love for him to be the head coach for our Gamecocks. I think he brings in an exciting playing system that is appealing to big time recruits. Imagine South Carolina essentially being the Oregon Ducks of the SEC.
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So you may be wondering, out of all the coaches being rumored right now, how in the world is Chip Kelly even in the discussion? If you keep up with the NFL you know that the Eagles have basically given Chip full power to get the players he needed to make his system work in the NFL. This caused a great controversy and now that the Eagles are 0-2 many people are speculating that Chip will be fired if Philadelphia doesn’t reach the playoffs. Now let’s say Chip does get fired, why wouldn’t he just return to Oregon or stay in the Pac-12 where he knows his scheme can work?
Chip seems to come off as a coach who has an ego and likes to show people that he can make anything work no matter the location or league in which he is coaching. I think Chip would love to prove he can make his system work in the SEC, and with South Carolina being a solid program possibly in need of a new head coach in the near future this could be the perfect fit for Kelly.
But is there even any real shot Chip Kelly would come take Spurrier’s job in 2016? I’m going to say it would be a long shot. More likely Spurrier will stay in South Carolina for another five to six years. I did think this rumor was something to bring into light even though it most certainly would never happen because it would be huge for the Gamecocks program. Chip Kelly could bring a new life to the program with tons of energy which is something that the program seems to have lacked for the past two years.
We still have a lot of football left to play this season and it’s frustrating for Gamecock fans to know we might have to sit out a trip to Atlanta for another year. But for now we stick with The Head Ball Coach and hope that he has something up his sleeves to turn things around and lift our program back up to it’s heights it reached from 2011-2013. But if our Gamecocks go under.500 and lose big to Clemson and Chip Kelly does happen to be available in the coaching carousel, you have to think, maybe we should pull the trigger.
Next: Was the DJ Swearinger Tweet Out of Line?
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