NCAA Football

Did A Coach Curse On TV…Right After Talking About Suspending His Quarterback For Cursing?

With his South Carolina Gamecocks slotted at 12th in the initial coaches poll for the 2011 college football season, Steve Spurrier is feeling good. That good feeling is thanks in part to his quarterback, Stephen Garcia, who recently returned from his latest suspension supposedly primed to be the leader Spurrier needs him to be.

In an appearance on ESPN yesterday, Spurrier said Garcia’s latest suspension wasn’t due to him “do[ing] anything to harm anybody,” but rather for “stupidity.” That stupidity: Garcia “used some bad language at an event.” All well and good, we suppose…but then, Spurrier said something during that same appearance – again, an appearance on ESPN, so a good number of people saw it – that sounded a lot like, well, bad language. See/hear for yourself below:

Funny, but…did he actually curse? There’s some mixed opinion on that. SB Nation’s Brian Floyd seemed to think so. Adan Kramer of Kegs ‘N Eggs, though, wasn’t so sure (though he did greatly enjoy the clip). And as for us, we believe – a bit sadly, what with our fondness for on-air slip-ups – that Spurrier didn’t actually swear on the air.

Spurrier’s been in front of enough cameras in his day that he knows what he can and can’t say, and when he can and can’t say it. When it’s inconclusive whether the word actually slipped out – Spurrier trailed off after “sh,” as best our ears can tell – we have to think he knows what he’s doing enough that he’s not just going to lose composure over not being able to think of someone’s name. Spurrier knows the media game. On-air cursing, needless to say, wouldn’t entail playing that game very well. But here’s a tip for the ol’ ball coach: just in case you get asked about coaches golfing on TV again, we’re pretty sure the guy you were trying to think of was former Southern Miss coach Jeff Bower.