USC football coach Steve Spurrier isn’t aging gracefully, not by his coaching prowess that was once innovative or by his attitude that is akin to that of a bitter old man.

Though there have been plenty of examples in recent years, the most recent occurred last week when Spurrier, the 64-year-old former Florida coach and a guest on a network radio show, suggested that current Florida head coach Urban Meyer might eventually leave the school for Notre Dame. Spurrier referred to comments made by Meyer about the South Bend, Ind. school being his “dream job.”

Spurrier may be right, who knows right now? But his comments appear to be more wishful thinking than anything that has merit. Since Meyer replaced Ron Zook, the man who had the difficult job of succeeding Spurrier when The Ol’ Ball Coach left the Gators in 2002 for two unsuccessful years in the NFL, his Gator teams have pretty much owned South Carolina — winning three of four meetings.

In addition, Meyer has already surpassed Spurrier in national championships. In those four years, Meyer has brought two BCS titles to Gainesville, Fla. as opposed to the one Spurrier led the Gators to in 1996. To make matters even worse, Meyer’s 2009 Gator squad will enter the season heavily favored to make it three titles in the past four years.

In all fairness, Spurrier deserves a great deal of credit for the job he did at Florida. When he took over in 1990, his initial squad was ineligible for postseason play as the result of recruiting violations — something that became a regularity under his predecessors Galen Hall and, prior to that, former Clemson football coach Charley Pell.

The Gators had also never won an SEC title in more than 50 years in the league, not to mention a national championship, prior to Spurrier’s arrival. By the time he left, Spurrier-coached teams had won six SEC titles and one national title and the Gators’ home field (which he is credited for nicknaming “The Swamp”) became one of the most difficult places to play in the country.

Spurrier also was an innovator, bringing his famed “Fun and Gun” offense to an SEC that prior to 1990 operated on the “three yards and a cloud of dust” philosophy. Eventually, other schools inside and outside the SEC would adopt similar forms of that offense in a sport where imitation is definitely the sincerest form of flattery.

The Ol’ Ball Coach also wasn’t afraid to issue verbal jabs at opponents, calling Florida State “Free Shoes University” and referring to Tennessee’s annual appearances in the Citrus Bowl, in which second-place finishers would appear, by saying, “You Can’t Spell Citrus Without UT.”

But times change and Spurrier has shown in recent years that he is unable to change with them. The “Fun and Gun” offense isn’t as much fun anymore, at least at South Carolina where his teams have posted 28-22 overall and 15-17 SEC marks in four years. His teams in Columbia have become famous over the past couple of years for starting fast and fading just as fast when approaching the finish line. In 2007, the Gamecocks lost their final five games to turn a 6-1 start into a 6-6 record and no bowl appearance while last year saw Carolina lose its final three games, including the Outback Bowl blowout to Iowa, to finish 7-6.

Following the Outback Bowl, some fans on Columbia sports talk stations even openly called for Spurrier’s dismissal — something no one would have ever dreamed possible for a school starving for even a sliver of the success his Florida teams enjoyed. But his coaching in the Clemson and Iowa games late last season appeared to many to be that of an individual who has simply lost interest.

Spurrier is like the former movie star who made many blockbuster hits during his early career, evidenced by his 122-27-1 record, including 82-12 in the SEC and a national championship in 12 years at UF. The Gator alumnus was the Harrison Ford, Sean Connery and Burt Reynolds (a Florida State alum by the way) of his day — the hot movie star that enjoyed all the attention that success brings.

There’s no doubt that Spurrier was once THE MAN, a time when his digs at Florida State and Tennessee were actually funny. But his comments these days, along with his coaching demeanor, are more reminiscent of Chevy Chase and Bill Murray — former funnymen during their heyday more than 25 years ago who are no longer funny.

Instead of spending time on network radio, talking about a program he once coached and a coach that is as hot a commodity today as he was in the 1990s, Spurrier needs to work on improving his Gamecocks squad. I’m sure South Carolina fans would also like to see him devote that same kind of energy into doing the things necessary to bring the school its first SEC championship and BCS bowl appearance.

While such achievements probably won’t bring South Carolina the elite status to which he has long been accustomed, it would greatly increase Spurrier’s stature among the Gamecock faithful. However, if the 2009 season resembles anything close to the past two seasons, or even worse, Spurrier will have a lot more time to spend on radio and television reliving his past glory and trying to sound funny again because his gridiron days will end with a thud that would make even Chevy Chase shudder.