Demanding, yes; arrogant, of course. Sadistic? Uhmm...perhaps? Take the State's account of the public shaming Ron Cooper endured following South Carolina's 24-17 victory over Kentucky Saturday night, and you may have good anecdotal evidence of Spurrier's new, post-NFL management style circa 2006.
The summary: Spurrier, when asked what exactly happened after giving up a 63 yard pass to Kentucky late in the game, summoned his secondary coach in to answer the questions. Ron Cooper, freshly showered and wearing a tie, stumbled in to face questions about the coverage.
Note to self: never, ever wear a tie to a press conference where your incompetence is the topic of discussion. You will fiddle with it and look nervous. Instead, take a gun in a manila envelope. That gets everyone's attention.
Moments after Spurrier asked Fink to find the Gamecocks’ assistant head coach, Cooper interrupted Spurrier’s media conference. His white dress shirt was buttoned and tucked neatly, but Cooper straightened his silver necktie while standing before the surprised group.
The two-dozen or so reporters had little to ask. It was Spurrier who acted as a one-man firing squad.
"Coach Cooper, they want to know what coverage we were in on that 62-yarder," Spurrier said. "Three deep?"
Cooper responded: "Three deep. Had the bust by the left corner and the left nickel."
Spurrier: "And the middle guy wasn’t real deep, either, was he?"
Cooper: "Had a bust. Yes, sir. They played good except for that one play. And that one play gave us a bad day."
Spurrier: "How about the 22-second play? What, we just didn’t prevent, right?"
Cooper: "Just didn’t prevent."
If anyone hears about Spurrier installing a round table with flaming trap doors, please tip us to the story.
UPDATE: Herr Spurrier has apologized. Sort of.
Ron Cooper got the Mustafa treatment on Saturday night.
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