Spurrier: ‘Somebody Tell Dabo There’s No Rules Now’
By: Gavin Oliver February 9, 2026

Seemingly every national analyst has weighed in on Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney calling out Ole Miss for tampering.

Now, Swinney’s old rival – the “Ol’ Ball Coach” — has chimed in.

Former South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier met with the media via Zoom on Monday ahead of his induction into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame.

Spurrier, who was 5-2 against Swinney during his tenure with the Gamecocks, was asked about Swinney’s tampering comments and how he went off on Ole Miss for tampering.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney shakes hands with USC head football coach Steve Spurrier during pregame Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012 at Memorial Stadium in Clemson.

“I thought by now somebody would have told Dabo, ‘Dabo, they ain’t no rules anymore,’” Spurrier said, laughing. “There are [rules] still on the books I guess back there about you can’t do after this date or that date. Gosh, basketball, they’ve got pros coming back to playing college there. So I don’t know. I don’t know if they’re gonna ever enforce any rules now or not. But I think Dabo has learned now he’s gotta start paying his players just like everybody is, or you’ll get left behind.

“So, but anyway, you can complain, but I don’t know how good it’s going to do. There’s no rules. Somebody tell Dabo there’s no rules now.”

As you know, during his press conference on Jan. 23, Swinney sounded off on the alleged tampering involving Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding and linebacker Luke Ferrelli. Swinney blasted Ole Miss and Golding for what Swinney called “blatant” tampering with Ferrelli, claiming that Golding texted Ferrelli directly while he was sitting in class after having already enrolled at Clemson. Ferrelli had already signed his financial aid agreement and was taking part in football activities before ultimately re-entering the portal and committing to the Rebels on Jan. 22. Clemson turned Ole Miss into the NCAA for tampering with Ferrelli.

Spurrier, the 1966 Heisman Trophy winner at Florida who went on to become a legendary college head coach, won one ACC Championship (Duke), six SEC Championships (Florida), and a national championship (Florida). In 2005, he took the head coaching job at South Carolina and led the Gamecocks to three of the four 10-win seasons in program history, as well as the school’s only three 11-win seasons, and their first SEC East division title.

Spurrier, who retired as the winningest coach in both Florida and South Carolina history, was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1986 and as a coach in 2017. Spurrier and the 2026 SC Athletic Hall of Fame class will be inducted in May at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.