Joe Morrison Joseph R . Morrison ( August 21 , 1937 – February 5 , 1989 ) was an American football player in the National Football League for the New York Giants and a coach best known as the head coach at the University of South Carolina . Playing career . Morrison was born in Lima , Ohio . He attended the University of Cincinnati where he played both halfback and quarterback and also played on defense during his three varsity seasons . Morrison was drafted by the Giants in the third round of the 1959 NFL Draft , where he mostly played at the positions of running back and wide receiver . He had a long career with the Giants , playing from 1959 to 1972 . He holds the Giants ' team record for receptions , with 395 catches , from seven different quarterback s ; over his career his plays gained 4 , 993 yards . His jersey number ( # 40 ) has been retired by the Giants . Morrison ' s best individual season as a receiver came in 1966 when the Giants won only one game . He caught 46 passes for 724 yards and scored six touchdowns . While the Giants fell on hard times , Morrison was one of the bright stars on the team . He also had five seasons of forty receptions or more between 1964 and 1971 . Because he played many positions as needed for the Giants , he was nicknamed " Old Dependable . " Coaching career . Joe Morrison was a head coach at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga , University of New Mexico , and University of South Carolina . He is one of the few major college head coaches to never work as an assistant coach . Other than his NFL years , he is best remembered as the head coach at South Carolina . Morrison came to USC after three seasons with the Lobos of the University of New Mexico . He was a hot prospect , having gone 10 - 1 in 1982 . Morrison took the Gamecocks to three postseason games ( 1984 and 1987 Gator Bowl and the 1988 Liberty Bowl ) during his tenure . It was under Morrison in 1983 that South Carolina began the tradition of " Einleitung " from " Also Sprach Zarathustra " ( theme from the movie " 2001 : A Space Odyssey " ) as its pre - game anthem and team entrance . The 1984 season was affectionately dubbed the " Black Magic " year by South Carolina fans because of the team ' s success and because of Morrison ' s famous all - black attire ( cap , shirt , pants ) . The team ran a streak of nine consecutive wins ( longest single season streak in school history ) and was ranked # 2 in the nation before being upset by Navy and later falling to Oklahoma State University in the Gator Bowl . Gaining victories against storied programs such as Georgia , Pittsburgh , Notre Dame , Florida State , and arch - rival Clemson , the Gamecocks finished that season with a 10 - 2 record , which would remain a school record for wins until 2011 . Morrison was named by the Walter Camp Foundation as the 1984 National College Football Coach of the Year . Morrison would also be named the Southern Independent Coach of the year in 1987 . The 1984 squad also heralded two first team All - America n players in James Seawright ( linebacker ) and Del Wilkes ( offensive lineman ) , as well as future NFL players Sterling Sharpe ( 1984 – 1987 ) , and Brad Edwards ( 1984 – 1987 ) . Other notable players coached by Morrison included Harold Green , who spent several years with the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL , current Gamecock football radio broadcaster Todd Ellis , who is the all - time passing leader at South Carolina , and Robert Brooks , who was part of the Green Bay Packers 1997 Super Bowl Championship team . During the time , Charlie Weis , current Kansas City Chiefs Offensive Coordinator , was an assistant coach under Morrison , his first coaching job in the college ranks . Also serving as an assistant during Morrison ' s tenure was Al Groh , who went on to be head coach of the New York Jets and formerly the head coach at the University of Virginia . After back - to - back 8 - 4 season in 1987 and 1988 , expectations were high in Columbia for the 1989 campaign . However , it would not come to pass as Morrison collapsed after playing racquetball at Williams - Brice Stadium , and died on February 5 , 1989 , at age 51 from congestive heart failure . Morrison won his 100th game as a coach in 1988 , when South Carolina beat N . C . State 23 - 7 . Morrison ' s traditions at South Carolina . Morrison ' s legacy still is in place at the University of South Carolina in various ways :