- The University of South Carolina is expected to hire Oklahoma assistant Shane Beamer as the Gamecocks head football coach.
- South Carolina fired former head coach Will Muschamp on November 15.
- Beamer is the son of longtime Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer.
With many of the top candidates for the vacant head coaching job at the University of South Carolina not particularly interested in taking the gig the school has decided to make a move. Multiple reports are indicating that Oklahoma assistant head coach/tight ends coach Shane Beamer will head to Columbia to take over the moribund South Carolina football program. The Beamer hire was first reported by Bruce Feldman of The Athletic:
Beamer has his work cut out for him. Will Muschamp bumbled to a 28-30 record overall and had three losing seasons in five years as Gamecocks’ head coach. He was fired after a 2-5 start this season. South Carolina’s program had improved dramatically during the tenure of Steve Spurrier but things have nosedived since. The Gamecocks have won more than 7 games once in the past seven years and have finished four or lower in the SEC East during that stretch.
The son of longtime Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer, the Gamecocks’ new head coach already has ties to the University and the halcyon days of the Spurrier era. The 43 year old Beamer was born in Charleston, SC and has spent the past 20 years as an assistant coach including four seasons on Steve Spurrier’s staff from 2007 to 2010. This will be Beamer’s first head coaching job.
Notable in the Gamecocks’ search for Muschamp’s replacement are the coaches that *didn’t* have interest in the job. There was initially talk that Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze was the top choice of South Carolina–CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd reported earlier today that was still the case:
“Still, Hugh Freeze remains the leader for South Carolina until he isn’t. There is still a feeling that Tennessee could open if the Volunteers decide to pull the plug on coach Jeremy Pruitt (15-17, 9-14 SEC) after his third season. Tennessee is a better job if Freeze is holding out for a place that puts an emphasis on winning champions.”
Freeze recently signed a contract extension through the 2016 season that makes him one of the top paid non Power 5 coaches in the sport. He’s also suggested that coaching at the University of Tennessee would be a ‘dream job’ for him and as noted above that spot could become open sooner rather than later.
There was some talk about Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkasian but that came and went pretty quickly. Coastal Carolina’s Jamey Chadwell and Florida offensive coordinator Brian Johnson interviewed for the job but either they indicated they’d rather stay put or else South Carolina was still holding out for a bigger ‘name’. Unfortunately, the ‘bigger names’ don’t see South Carolina as a plum gig any longer. Earlier in the day on Saturday Louisville’s Scott Satterfield and Louisiana’s Billy Napier–both of whom had been in discussions to replace Muschamp–said that ‘they were good’ and would be staying where they are.
Other than his lack of previous head coaching experience, Beamer looks like a good fit for the South Carolina program. He’s already well liked within the Gamecocks’ athletic department and has experience coaching all over the field. During his time as an assistant for Steve Spurrier in Columbia he coached cornerbacks, linebackers and special teams. Most significantly, he’s given a lot of credit for his recruiting ability and that’s a crucial component of the mix for any program looking to rebuild.
