Gamecocks to use search firm consultant as part of pursuit of next football coach
On Monday, South Carolina athletic director Ray Tanner said he wasn’t sure if the school would use a search firm as part of its efforts to replace Will Muschamp, who was fired Sunday.
A day later, the school confirmed it would enlist the outside help.
South Carolina will use Chad Chatlos of Ventura Partners as a consultant in its search process. ESPN’s Adam Rittenburg, who first reported the news, said Chatlos played roles in securing Lane Kiffin for Ole Miss, Greg Schiano for Rutgers and Nick Rolovich for Washington State.
According to his official bio, Chatlos has been with his current company for the past four-plus years and has more than 15 years of experience.
Tanner, in a radio interview Wednesday, said USC is using a search firm’s consultant and not a full search firm. That likely means Chatlos is serving more as an assistant in the process as opposed to a full search firm having a bigger role.
“I think it’s our job to match up the candidate with the university. But with that said, I didn’t even use the word ‘search firm’ myself — a consultant that is a part of a search firm that is very beneficial in a research mode. It also can help tremendously in logistics and contacts. And it prevents a lot of things to become public, too.”
It wasn’t immediately known how much using these services will cost the university. A full search firm typically costs a college between $50,000 and $125,000, according to a Sports Illustrated report.
USC paid the Eastman and Beaudine firm $80,000 for the 54-day search in 2016 from which Muschamp was hired, according a CBS Sports report. This latest Gamecocks’ search isn’t expected to take nearly as long.
Tanner told reporters Monday that he’s leading the search without an official on-campus committee, though school president Robert Caslen is expected to have a hand in the choice.
Why use the help of a search firm? Schools told CBS and Sports illustrated the biggest benefits are background checks, confidentiality, inside information and plausible deniability.
Tanner told CBS in a 2016 article that he used a firm because USC “wanted to exhaust every possible resource” to make the best decision.
“They can do more in a short period of time and you can literally be on it around the clock,” Tanner told CBS. “I think it’s probably virtually impossible for an AD to be on it around the clock. I know the landscape has changed. If I went through this again, would I hire a search firm? Very likely. There’s so much information out there and everything is time sensitive and confidential.”
USC, in particular Tanner, still handle the actual interview for candidates who get that far into the process.
The set of names that have been suggested has often been broad, but the core group is Liberty’s Hugh Freeze, Coastal Carolina’s Jamey Chadwell, Oklahoma assistant Shane Beamer and Louisiana coach Billy Napier. Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian is also in the mix.
The Gamecocks fired Muschamp after he fell to 2-5 this season and 28-30 across a nearly-five year tenure.
The athletic department, as of September, was trying to close a $44 million budget deficit brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. If Muschamp’s contract buyout was not negotiated down in some way, the school will owe him $3.3 million for each of the next four years, less whatever he makes at a new job in those seasons.
Tanner on Monday did not confirm final details of the buyout, only saying “it could be adjusted by mutual agreement.”
This story was originally published November 17, 2020 at 5:36 PM.
