Jim Carlen funeral: ‘Tough’ coach shaped players

He coached his last college game more than 30 years ago, but the players who called him “Coach” never forgot and gathered one last time Friday to remember and say farewell to Jim Carlen.

Some loved him. Some did not. But one thing rings clear: Carlen, who died Sunday at age 79, taught them the lesson of life in his seven seasons (1975-81) at the helm of the University of South Carolina football program.

“Tough love,” more than one former player said Friday.

An example? Ask Jerome Provence, one of the finest offensive linemen in the school’s history.

“Coach Carlen came after the 1974 season, and I let my classwork slide the next spring,” Provence remembered, and the coach summoned Provence to his office. “I went to the Roundhouse and Emily White (Carlen’s secretary) kind of raised her eyebrows and told me, ‘Go right in.’ Coach Carlen was sitting at his desk and my dad was sitting in a visitor’s chair. Coach told me, ‘Don’t bother to sit down; this won’t take long.’ ”

His message, get the grades up or get gone.

“My dad was a working man who took a day off to drive three hours each way for that meeting. Coach said if the grades did not improve, he would kick me off the team and I should not to bother to go home,” said Provence, who played for Carlen three seasons and served on his coaching staff for four. “Neither my dad nor Coach ever mentioned that meeting again. It took only about 45 seconds, but I became a college student that day.”

Stories such as Provence’s made the rounds during and after Friday’s memorial service for Carlen at Trenholm Road United Methodist Church. Rev. Wayne Horne conducted the service, former players Rick Sanford, Jeff Grantz and Mark Fleetwood offered remembrances and former players George Rogers (Jesus Loves Me) and Willie Scott (USC Alma Mater) led the large congregation in hymns.

“A common theme in the former players’ comments is that in Coach’s presence, you were special,” Horne said, calling Carlen loyal, an encourager and a great family man. “At the end of the day, God mattered most in his life.”

Said Provence: “He could be a dictator one minute and a loving father the next. He would give you the shirt off his back.” He paused, then added, “He would give you the shirt after telling you how to earn the money to get one.”

Carlen’s softer side came in the aftermath of the death of Scott Sinclair, a player who died after falling ill during a weight room session. “The compassion he showed was something special,” Provence remembered. “He was golden to that family.”

That would be typical, said John Moore, who handled many administrative duties for Carlen.

“If anything happened in a negative way with a family, he was the first to call or show up,” Moore said. “If you did what you were supposed to do and gave everything, he would be your friend for life.”

Moore called Carlen “a dear, dear friend” and “I remember he possessed as much mental capacity as anyone I’ve ever been around. He was obviously an outstanding football coach and a players’ person.”

Two football moments from the 1980 season, Rogers’ Heisman Trophy year, characterized Carlen in terms of preparation and accountability.

The Gamecocks played Michigan at Ann Arbor that season, and a friend of Moore, an administrator at Notre Dame, called with a piece of advice. He told Moore that the Wolverines had an intimidation ploy for pregame warm-ups.

“He told me both teams used the same tunnel to come onto the field and our side of the field (for warm-ups) was close to the tunnel,” Moore said. “The Michigan players would run through the opponents’ drills. I passed that on to Jim.

“Well, we had a walk-through (at Michigan Stadium), and when we finished, he got the team together and told them we would line up shoulder-to-shoulder when the Michigan team came out. (The Wolverines) saw that we were prepared and went around.”

The Gamecocks were prepared in more ways than one. Three hours later, they had one of the school’s most memorable victories, 17-14.

That’s the trip, Moore said, that the Gamecocks took their own dietician in order to have grits with the pre-game meal. “The chef said he had never heard of grits,” Moore said. “Coach said, ‘We’ll bring ours to cook them.”

Later in the year, the Gamecocks faced Georgia in Athens in a battle of Rogers vs. the Bulldogs’ Herschel Walker. Georgia, which would win the national title that season, clung to a 13-10 lead late with Carolina driving.

“I’m sitting in the (coaches’) box with the offensive coordinator, and he called down to have George rest for a play or two,” Provence said. “It was such a hot day, and George had to be worn out. George started to come out, but Coach came on the field and waved him back. He lost a fumble on the next play.

“Coach always regretted his decision. I don’t think he ever got over it. Every time someone would mention that game, he would say, ‘my fault, my fault.’ He told us to be accountable, and he was accountable.”

The players preferred to remember the good times Friday, from Grantz’s recalling Carlen telling him, “You have a good chance to be our punter this year” to Sanford’s noting, “He could scold you and love you. That’s the man I knew.”

This story was originally published July 27, 2012 at 12:00 AM.