Shane Beamer to be South Carolina’s next head football coach
The volume built around Shane Beamer returning to South Carolina.
Former players rallied behind him. He’d coached at programs such as Georgia, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech and worked under Steve Spurrier in Columbia.
And now the son of Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer will have a program of his own. The 43-year-old Oklahoma assistant will be the Gamecocks’ next head coach, the 36th in program history.
USC made the formal announcement of the hire Sunday, exactly three weeks after former head coach Will Muschamp was fired. The move marks a return to Columbia for Beamer, who served under Spurrier from 2007 to 2010 and was part of the program’s lone SEC East division championship.
“I have been preparing for this moment my entire life,” Beamer said in a statement released by the university. “I am ready and excited to be the head football coach at the University of South Carolina. I am thankful to all the head coaches that I have worked for, the assistant coaches and student-athletes I have worked with. My family and I are thrilled to be coming back to Columbia and the state of South Carolina.”
Beamer arrived Sunday afternoon in the Palmetto State and entered the team’s operations building around 2:30 p.m., along with athletic director Ray Tanner, to meet with the USC football team. An introductory news conference for Beamer will take place Monday.
“I believe that Shane Beamer is the perfect fit to be the head football coach at the University of South Carolina,” Tanner said in a statement. “He has worked under some of the greatest coaches in college football and has taken those lessons to become one of the bright, young minds in the game. I believe Shane’s energy, enthusiasm, commitment and fondness for our school and program will be met favorably by our student-athletes, staff and fans.”
Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley, speaking Saturday night after a 27-14 win over Baylor, told reporters that a Beamer hire by the Gamecocks “would be a great decision by South Carolina.”
Muschamp was fired Nov. 15. He finished his USC tenure 28-30 across more than four seasons — the Gamecocks (2-8) lost six in a row in 2020 to finish the COVID-shortened 10-game schedule.
Tanner led South Carolina’s search efforts, with input from others and with help from a consultant at a search firm. The hope was to have a hire in place by, and preferably before, Dec. 16 — the start of the early signing period for recruiting.
Saturday night’s initial report of the Beamer news by The Athletic and Fox Sports’ Bruce Feldman came in the moments after the Gamecocks’ 41-18 loss to Kentucky. It also happened less than an hour after Billy Napier, believed to be another top candidate to be USC’s next coach, announced he was staying put at the University of Louisiana.
Napier was set to interview with Tanner on Saturday, The State had previously reported, and that interview did take place, according to SportsTalk SC.
“It’s humbling to be considered a worthy candidate for any job opening, but it’s also important to realize this is a direct reflection of our entire organization top to bottom. ... We are excited to announce that we are moving forward at Louisiana,” Napier said in a late-night statement.
Beamer interviewed for the job earlier in the search process. Others who interviewed include Coastal Carolina head coach Jamey Chadwell, Louisville head coach Scott Satterfield and Florida offensive coordinator Brian Johnson.
Tanner, in the school statement, called the candidate pool for the job “outstanding.”
“Shane’s candidacy set the bar high as we were talking to other coaches,” Tanner said. “I want to add my appreciation for Chad Chatlos of Turnkey Search, who helped us navigate through this process.”
There had been a strong sense among the USC program that Beamer would land the job. He takes over a Gamecocks team coming off back-to-back eight-loss seasons. Among the most important tasks in his first weeks on the job will be keeping the current roster intact and building up a recruiting class that is last in the SEC and ranked among the lowest nationally among Power 5 teams.
Beamer’s most recent coaching stop was working with H-backs and as assistant head coach for Riley’s Oklahoma team. He worked for the Sooners along with former East Carolina head coach Ruffin McNeill, who raved about Beamer.
“Very detailed,” McNeill said. “Kids relate to him well, great motivator, came in and took over special teams and the H-back position, and his guys took it to another level. He’s really really smart, did a great job on special teams when he got to Oklahoma. I love Shane. I nicknamed him Beams. I love Shane. Great family, great family man, great recruiter.”
Beamer was born in Charleston when his father, Frank, was a coach at The Citadel. He was a walk-on wide receiver at Virginia Tech in the late 1990s and got into coaching after that.
Riley recently gave another endorsement to Beamer and his future.
“I think Shane’s going to be a really good head coach,” Riley said in a recent news conference. “I do. He’s had great experience being able to work for several different guys and several different programs, different parts of the country and, obviously, he’s got very inside knowledge from one of the best to ever do it in his dad, Frank Beamer. Shane’s got a good way about him, does a great job with the kids and has been fantastic.”
Shane Beamer experience
Beamer has been around. He’s worked in the SEC, ACC and Big 12. He’s been with Phil Fulmer, his father, Frank, Steve Spurrier, Kirby Smart and Lincoln Riley. There’s also a modest value in being a special teams coach, as John Harbaugh has shown in the NFL. Special team guys work with everyone, even have to recruit players to be part of that group.
Here are his stops.
▪ Grad assistant at Georgia Tech for George O’Leary in 2000.
▪ Grad assistant at Tennessee for Phil Fulmer from 2001-2003.
▪ Cornerbacks and later running backs coach for Sylvester Croom at Mississippi State, 2004-2006.
▪ Linebackers and later cornerbacks coach at South Carolina, plus special teams co-coordinator from 2007-2010. Also spent time as recruiting coordinator.
▪ Running backs coach and assistant head coach at Virginia Tech from 2011-2015.
▪ Tight ends and special teams coach with Kirby Smart at Georgia, 2016-2017..
South Carolina connections
He was born in the state when his father was coaching at The Citadel. One of his longest stints was with the Gamecocks when he was part of building the team that eventually delivered the program’s golden years. Even with that, he left a powerful impression on Gamecocks folks, who have spoken up on his behalf in recent weeks.
Recruiting
He has been part of solid recruiting Gamecocks staffs and a very good recruiting staff with Georgia. He was known as a top-flight closer who could translate a level of care to the players he hoped to bring in.
Schematic background
This is a great unknown as he has coached all over. At the moment, he is mostly tied to Riley and his brand of power-running Air Raid, but there is a bit of a stretch in terms of picking the right understudy and getting him in place. On the defensive side, he has ties to assistants from eras such as the current Georgia Bulldogs, his father’s Virginia Tech squads and the strong USC defenses in the Ellis Johnson era.
Soft skills
His ability to draw the wave of support he has could point to the ability to re-establish some culture that has been lost. He seems suited to handle a CEO role and that requires a lot of unification and organization.
This story was originally published December 5, 2020 at 11:25 PM.
