Mangus Apologizes For Arrest; What’s The Appropriate Response?

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Following his arrest early Tuesday morning, South Carolina quarterbacks coach GA Mangus put out a brief statement last evening:


“Last night I acted irresponsibly and I deeply regret my actions.  I take full responsibility.  I would like to publicly apologize to Coach (Steve) Spurrier, (athletic director) Eric Hyman, the entire team and everyone associated with the University of South Carolina.”


Upon suspending his QB coach, Spurrier said: “We are all disappointed in his actions and will handle it accordingly.”  But what is accordingly?

There are several possibilities here.


1.  Spurrier might know that keeping Mangus will bring bad press to the program — it will be mentioned during televised Carolina games this fall — and could impact recruiting.  For that reason, he may decide to dismiss Mangus, who he coached as a player at Florida.

2.  Spurrier might realize that now is not the time to upset the apple cart.  He has built and built and built and now has what looks to be his best-ever team in Columbia.  With Stephen Garcia still technically on suspension and likely facing a quarterback duel with Connor Shaw in August, would it be wise to nuke the team’s quarterbacks coach now?  Spurrier could, of course, jump in and handle the QBs himself, but the fact that Mangus remains employed today suggests that he will survive.

3.  And who’s to say he shouldn’t survive?  People make mistakes and Mangus’ alcohol-fueled mistake was not made behind the wheel of a car at least.  Have his coaching and recruiting abilities earned him a second chance at USC?  Does the good outweigh the bad?  That’s something only people inside the program know.  Those screaming for blood on messageboards have no clue of what Mangus has done — good or bad — behind the scenes in Columbia.

4.  This could all be moot if the decision is made above Spurrier’s head.  If Carolina president Harris Pastides or AD Hyman feel Mangus’ actions are impossible to overcome, then he’ll be jettisoned regardless of Spurrier’s feelings.  It certainly seemed this spring that Spurrier wasn’t 100% onboard with the school’s decision to suspend Garcia for a fifth time.  Come to think of it, maybe Hyman’s wife will play a role in the final decision.


A day into this, we at MrSEC.com suspect Mangus will be kept onboard but told to find other work.  He’ll be a part of the Carolina coaching staff for the remainder of 2011, but he won’t be around come spring.

But that’s just a guess.  Stay tuned…