Spurrier pens open letter to South Carolina fans: I fired myself by resigning

No one got a chance to give Steve Spurrier one final farewell on the field, and that's the way he wanted it.

South Carolina was never going to fire the "old ball coach," which is why he stepped down from the position.

"Our university was not going to fire me, so I thought it was best for our team that I basically fire myself by resigning," Spurrier said in an open letter to Gamecock fans published in The State.

Upon his resignation, he made sure the media called it just that. Spurrier emphatically said he wasn't retiring, which led many to believe that maybe he's not done coaching at the FBS level.

But Spurrier clarified those words in his letter, saying his time as a head coach on the college gridiron is most certainly over. That doesn't mean, however, that he won't stay involved in the game at another level.

"When I mentioned I may coach again, I meant possibly as a volunteer coach at a high school," he said. "After thirty years as a head coach, I positively know that my head coaching career is finished."

Spurrier went on to say that his resignation date wasn't set in stone. Instead, he would step aside as soon as he felt the program was going in the wrong direction.

After six games, the Gamecocks were 2-4, having suffered blowout losses to Georgia, and LSU. His squad was also down at halftime against UCF, a team that went 0-12 this season. Feeling that this was his time to step aside, Spurrier felt as though there wasn't anyone better to lead the team into the future than Shawn Elliott.

"By stepping aside, this allowed Shawn Elliott the opportunity to change our direction, change our attitude, and hopefully, he could be named head coach after the season," he said.

"I certainly believe, as the media has said, that our team played better after I resigned."