A question for those misguided fans who will never forgive SOS for quitting in the middle of a year. Have you ever coached kids in a sport, or more specifically, have you ever experienced burnout in the middle of a season? Yes, the man has his faults. We all know that Spurrier himself has never been a great recruiter. We also know he was never very good at vetting his coordinators or position coaches when a better one left. To SOS, getting a new coach quickly seemed to be more important than finding the right fit for the program. At every stop in his HOF coaching career, he always erred on the side of loyalty and familial connections. However, the man was burnt out from coaching after 35 years in the business .... it was simply a cumulative effect .... it could've happened at Duke, Florida, Tampa Bay, or Washington if the timing of those jobs had been reversed. It was nothing personal against Gamecock football. A friend who experienced a very similar end to his coaching career once related to me his story. He cared so much about the program, his boys, and the fans that he eventually had nothing else to give. Like Spurrier, he was not a coaching workaholic, but had much sustained success at the high school level, where he won several titles and sent many players to D1 and a few to the NFL. Just the emotional and mental drainage of constantly trying to better kids while simultaneously juggling press obligations, college recruiters, and weight room oversight slowly took a toll on his desire, even with the great success. For a fire to burn out, there first must be a flame. Remember, SOS begged Tanner and Pastides to let him retire after the 2014 season, but they talked him back into one more year. I'm so thankful that Spurrier resigned when he did so the program could start moving forward again, and I believe that his motives were pure in that timing. I'll always be grateful to Coach Spurrier, not just for the "high 5" and "top 10" years, but also for his honesty in leaving when he had nothing else to give to Gamecock football.