re: So the OBC tells Saban to work smarter not harder?...

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Spurrier could do what Saban has done at Alabama.

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Based on what? His run in the 90s inside a conference which pretty much became a three-team league for the majority of the decade? He didn't even have the best team in Florida throughout the majority of his tenure there. Sometimes he didn't even have the second best team in Florida. Had Florida been playing in the ACC or the Big East during that time, Spurrier would have only won one or two conference titles at the maximum.

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Could Saban do what Spurrier has done at South Carolina?

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Uh...yeah, and more. South Carolina has a passionate fan base, they are more than willing to throw money at the football program, and South Carolina is snuggled against the fertile recruiting grounds of Georgia and Florida. There have also been some pretty legit in-state players here lately. Nick Saban loves recruiting above all things. He would bring talent to South Carolina the same way he brought it to LSU.

Spurrier has done very well at South Carolina, but I think that Saban would be able to take the Gamecocks to the elite level. Had Saban been at USC instead of Spurrier for the last 8 years (?), he'd have at least a couple of SEC titles by now, and perhaps even an MNC. Why? Because Saban would work his tail off with recruiting in a way that Spurrier does not.

Recruiting just isn't Spurrier's cup of tea. And, to be fair, he's a good enough coach to take above average talent and win 9+ games, which speaks of his knowledge and ability. By South Carolina standards, Spurrier is the best thing to ever happen to their program (Holtz got the ball rolling). Still, despite everything, South Carolina has no titles, which is really why people don't think of the Gamecocks as elite. They are *almost* there though, and I do think that Spurrier has more than a few good years left in him too.

I think what Spurrier really needs is an SEC title-- a big, meaningful trophy of some sort. Still, even if he never gets that in Columbia, he HAS turned around the Clemson-South Carolina rivalry, and that's meaningful and keeps Gamecock fans proud and happy. Clemson was beating them something like 7 times out of 10 for many decades, but no longer.