‘In Year 5 …’ What South Carolina’s best coaches have actually done in Year 5
The phrase seems to come up often in lamentations about the Will Muschamp era for South Carolina football.
“It’s Year 5 and (blank) is still happening.”
It’s Year 5 and the defense still isn’t in tip-top shape.
It’s Year 5 and the offense still hasn’t settled into what it really wants to do.
It’s Year 5 and there are still question marks at this or that spot.
Last year there were concerns about Year 4. Next year it will be Year 6 issues. And it all builds on this logic that at a certain point, the ills are supposed to be fixed.
This isn’t the way football really works.
There’s always a problem, whether a team is 11-2 or 4-8. And when it’s Year 5 for a given coaching staff, there are a lot more years behind the head coach in developing how he wants a program to look.
And in truth, it’s not as if Year 5 has been a strong barometer for South Carolina’s past coaches — or a year where things were close to being figured out.
A total of 12 previous coaches got to Year 5 with the Gamecocks. Five of them didn’t get to Year 6, so it’s pretty clear those particular squads didn’t have enough figured out to keep coaches employed (or something weird happened).
Muschamp’s Gamecocks are 2-3 and halfway through a 10-game 2020, his fifth season in Columbia. So it’s worth looking at the other seven Year 5s, starting from the first.
Billy Laval, 1933, record: 6-3-1
The Laval era was generally consistent, with his best record coming at 6-2-2 his first season. Every season involved at least five wins, and five of those years involved four or more losses. The Gamecocks lost to the likes of Temple and Villanova and beat teams such as Auburn, Clemson and N.C. State.
What happened after: The next year’s team went 5-4. Laval was allowed to leave after his contract lapsed following a pair of requests to cut his salary (he accepted the first, not the second, amid department financial difficulties).
Rex Enright, 1942, record: 1-7-1
Far and away the longest-tenured coach in school history, Enright put in 15 seasons broken up by World War II. His last before taking a break to coach the Georgia Pre-Flight football team was his worst team in Columbia. The Gamecocks only beat The Citadel and tied Tennessee in a scoreless game. They averaged 5.1 points on the year.
What happened after: Enright joined the Navy after this season, coaching Georgia Pre-Flight to a 5-1 record in 1943. He didn’t coach again until 1946, when he returned to Columbia to lead the Gamecocks to five winning seasons in his final 10 years.
Paul Dietzel, 1970, record: 4-6-1
The Gamecocks were coming off their first and only conference title in 1969, but they slipped back to the pack. The Gamecocks’ offense was prolific, scoring nearly 26 points a game, but the defense ranked 80th in points allowed. South Carolina was knocked from the rankings by an opening loss to Georgia Tech. After a 3-1-1 start, USC lost five in a row before topping a 3-8 Clemson team to close the year.
What happened after: The Gamecocks bounced back to go 6-5 the next year. Dietzel posted two winning seasons in four years after 1970. Already the school’s athletic director, he left to become Ohio Valley Conference commissioner and later AD at Indiana.
Jim Carlen, 1979, record: 8-4
This might well be the best Year 5 for a Gamecocks coach. South Carolina beat two ranked teams plus Oklahoma State, Georgia and Duke on the way to the Hall of Fame Classic. It helped that a junior named George Rogers blossomed as a powerhouse workhorse to the tune of 1,681 yards, second in the nation to only Heisman winner Charles White. Carlen’s offense rode the burly runner from Duluth, Georgia for 311 carries.
What happened after: The Gamecocks went 8-4 the next year, as Rogers won the Heisman and went on to be taken first in the NFL Draft. A year later, the Gamecocks went 6-6 with a brutal finish, and Carlen was dismissed in a situation that ended in a lawsuit.
Joe Morrison, 1987, record: 8-4
After a dreadful Year 4 at 3-6-2, things came together nicely. Gamecocks deployed an attack that was — for the era — quite pass-heavy. The pairing of Todd Ellis and Sterling Sharpe was dynamic, Harold Green blossomed at tailback and the defense bounced back in a massive way, ranking fourth nationally in points allowed per game. They were dominant in wins, but took losses to three top-seven teams (Miami, LSU, Nebraska) and a top-20 Georgia squad that finished 9-3. They did beat No. 8 Clemson
What happened after: The Gamecocks weren’t as good the next year, as the offense struggled without Sharpe. They started 6-0 with a win against No. 6 Georgia, but slid late and ultimately dropped a Liberty Bowl meeting with Indiana to close out the season. Then Morrison died of a heart attack as the NCAA was closing in and his new boss was planning to let him go.
Lou Holtz, 2003, record: 5-7
This was the second 5-7 team in a row, as the Gamecocks had switched back to Holtz’s preferred option attack following Phil Petty’s departure. The veteran coach had demoted son Skip as offensive coordinator, and the offense averaged 22.3 points per game, 82nd nationally. The threat through the air was inconstant (Dondrial Pinkins threw for 2,100 yards, but was 11th in the SEC in passer rating). The run game was solid but not dominant (161.4 yards per game). The team lost to every good team in the SEC and closed things by getting crushed 63-17 by Clemson.
What happened after: South Carolina bounced back a little a season later, getting bowl-eligible at 6-5, but ultimately didn’t go after the brawl with Clemson.
Steve Spurrier, 2009, record: 7-6
For as much as folks seem to think Year 5 should mean some level of solid play, the last Year 5 Gamecocks team sure didn’t have it. The Gamecocks opened with a 7-3 win against an ACC team that didn’t go bowling. The lost to five good SEC opponents. There were several high points, upending No. 4 Ole Miss (the Rebels ended up 9-4) and topping a nine-win Clemson team to get Spurriers’ second win in the rivalry. The run game was unimpressive, with Stephen Garcia leading the team in carries. His passing wasn’t particularly efficient, and the offense ranked outside the top 100 in scoring per game. Oh, and the team ended up in a frigid PapaJohns.com Bowl in Birmingham, dropping a 20-7 game to an 8-5 UConn team.
What happened after: The Gamecocks came off a tight loss to Auburn to upset Alabama and win the first SEC East title in school history. They went 9-4 the next year and won 42 games across the next four before the Spurrier era petered out.
In summary
So in short, just about every Year 5 from most good Gamecocks coaches have had their issues unless the offense could be put on the shoulders of a No. 1 overall NFL draft pick or a further NFL star.
The future of South Carolina’s football program remains a bit uncertain. Financial considerations make it likely the Muschamp era extends to Year 6, though a bad finish in 2020 could potentially make things dicey.
And this Year 5 might just fall into a long run of them that were often mediocre or worse.
Correction: This article originally listed Joe Morrison’s 1986 team as his fifth. We regret the error.
This story was originally published October 30, 2020 at 5:10 AM.
