Steve Spurrier's rant makes him seem petulant, and, well, old

Dan Wolken | USA TODAY Sports

It was not so much a press conference as it was a manifesto; a full accounting of his accomplishments, his health and his perceived enemies squeezed into 10 minutes of fury that made one of the game's great coaches and biggest characters look smaller than he ever should be.

Steve Spurrier has spent a lifetime winning with such style and flair that he probably should be granted another. But the college football landscape is no country for old men. He is not the first to go down this road, and he won't be the last.

At 70, Spurrier is in throes of humanity's most natural reflex, playing out for all the world to see: Getting old stinks.

"This is new for South Carolina," Spurrier said. "Somebody doesn't like your coach. We're not too proud of what happened last year, but we're coming back. Don't listen to our enemies."

Spurrier went on and on like this Wednesday during a hastily called media gathering in Columbia, which followed several days both last week in Birmingham and earlier this week on ESPN of answering questions about how long he planned to coach.

He was petulant. He was paranoid. He suggested an Atlanta Journal-Constitution conspiracy to help the Georgia Bulldogs in recruiting. He took shots at Clemson and quoted Attila the Hun. He promised to continue coaching South Carolina for "a long time."

It's hard to blame Spurrier for fighting back — and frankly, it makes things a whole lot more entertaining in the humdrum SEC East.

But the harsh truth is, his age has indeed become a factor in recruiting. When Spurrier himself suggested last year that he only planned on coaching for two or three more years, rivals pounced, a few players reneged on their commitments to the Gamecocks and South Carolina responded quickly by giving him a new five-year contract.

The new narrative, though, doesn't change reality. The Marcus Lattimores, Alshon Jefferys and Jadeveon Clowneys aren't in South Carolina's pipeline anymore. Tennessee is coming back strong. Clemson has become a more attractive destination in recruiting. Georgia isn't interested in letting top-ranked players outside the state.

And South Carolina has a 70-year old coach who all but admitted at SEC Media Days that he thought about walking away at the end of last season until the bowl win against Miami rejuvenated him.

"Now that we're 7-6, some of our enemies want to make you think Spurrier's gettin' old, can't do it anymore," he said. "Some people are gonna try to convince you that our 7-6 isn't as good as some other schools' 7-6."

This is the dance that happens at the end, and it's rarely pretty.

In this case, though, it also seems unnecessary.

Spurrier's answers to the age question have been perfectly reasonable up until now. It was unlikely to be a major topic unless South Carolina got off to a poor start this season.

It would be romantic to think this was part of some grand strategy to galvanize the program and head into fall camp with a clear mission. But Spurrier is much more seat-of-his-pants than that, and if this were the tone he wanted to take, why not do it last week?

Spurrier also has had a habit recently of showing his pettiness, whether it was banishing local columnist Ron Morris or taking an unnecessary and ill-timed shot at Clemson coach Dabo Swinney during a celebration for Lattimore after his gruesome injury.

Now the latest target seems to be Journal-Constitution columnist Mark Bradley, who suggested last week that South Carolina was a program in decline.

"Last year at this time I was 69, we were 11-2 and there was no question about my age," Spurrier said. "Now that we're 7-6 we've got some enemies out there. I've got some guys that don't like me out there talking and writing."

Of course, nothing could be further from the truth.

Compared to his colleagues, Spurrier has been treated royally for more than two decades. As coaching has become more corporate and buttoned-down, he's remained cocky, compelling and entertaining.

It has earned him a lot of goodwill among the media, and everyone recognizes college football will be worse when he is gone.

But no matter how many workouts he does or medical reports he gives, Spurrier can't bend time or erase the obvious. One of these days, the oldest coach in SEC history is going to retire.

Spurrier is a young 70, but Wednesday, he found a way to make himself look a whole lot older.