What Dabo Swinney said about Gamecocks hiring ‘a friend’ in Shane Beamer
As Shane Beamer was going through the process of interviewing at South Carolina and attempting to get the Gamecocks’ head coaching job, he heard from several coaches.
One of those was Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, who said Monday afternoon that he spoke with Beamer during the process when it became apparent that Beamer was a serious candidate to take over in Columbia.
“I consider Shane a friend. We’ve always stayed in touch with each other over the years. When I heard he might have a shot at it, just reached out to him and wished him well ... had a good conversation with him,” Swinney said.
“I think they made a good hire. ... He’s got a sweet wife and really just a great family guy. I have tons of respect for his entire family.”
Beamer spent time as an assistant at several different programs throughout the country before landing the South Carolina job over the weekend.
He got his first full-time assistant coaching job at Mississippi State in 2004, working under Sylvester Croom. Woody McCorvey, who is currently Swinney’s right-hand man, was on that staff at MSU. Swinney said he met Beamer for the first time when he was with McCorvey.
McCorvey and Swinney have been connected since McCorvey was Swinney’s position coach at Alabama in the early 1990s.
“I’ve just known him a long, long time and just think he’s a really good person and has been very successful,” Swinney said of Beamer. “Obviously he’s at our rival and all that type of stuff, but I have a lot of respect for him as a person, as a man, as a father, as a husband and as a football coach. I think they hired a good man.”
In addition to his time at Mississippi State, Beamer previously worked as an assistant at South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Georgia and Oklahoma.
Swinney and Beamer stayed in touch throughout all of his stops.
“Obviously he was at South Carolina for a little stint there and with his dad a V. Tech and at Georgia. So just bumped into him, talked to him many, many, many times. A lot of conversations along the way,” Swinney said. “Just one of the guys that I think’s always been one of the good guys in this business. Was excited for him when he got the opportunity to go out to Oklahoma. He’s had a good run out there. So this is obviously a great opportunity for him. He’ll do his best to try to build a good program the right way.”
Beamer’s time as an assistant at South Carolina was from 2007-10.
The Gamecocks went 2-2 against Clemson while Beamer was in Columbia, losing in 2007 and 2008, before earning victories in 2009 and 2010.
The two wins in Beamer’s final two years were a part of five straight wins by South Carolina in the series. The Gamecocks won five straight from 2008-13. However, Clemson has won the past six games in the series.
Beamer has recruited against Clemson throughout his career, particularly when he was an assistant at South Carolina from 2007-10 and at Georgia in 2016-17.
“He’s had a great career path. He’s been in a lot of different places. He has good experience and I’m sure he’ll bring that with him,” Swinney said. “He’s a good man and a guy that I’ve always had a lot of respect for. Certainly wish him well, all but one. Obviously we’ve gotta compete and look forward to that, but excited for him. Happy for he and his family.”
This story was originally published December 7, 2020 at 6:18 PM.
