The state of South Carolina’s coaching search with ‘a big week’ ahead
The South Carolina football team should have its head coach sooner rather than later.
The regular season has just a week left — one game to go for the Gamecocks — maybe a few more for various coaching targets. USC sits at just more than two weeks from the start of the early signing period, Dec. 16, as the recruiting class languishes after losing its top four prospects.
Will Muschamp was fired Nov. 15, giving USC a slight jump on other Power 5 schools. Vanderbilt fired Derek Mason as coach Sunday, and other teams such as Michigan, Texas and Tennessee might also come open.
One source told The State this is “a big week” for the Gamecocks’ coaching search and that the process has been slowed a little because of school President Bob Caslen testing positive for COVID-19. Caslen reportedly has taken part in meetings and interviews via video chat while he isolates.
“Hearing the South Carolina search is winding down,” Associated Press college football writer posted Monday afternoon to Twitter. “Which is interesting because a bunch of the names that have been tossed around still have games left. Some multiple.Which might tell you a little something about who is in play.”
More of what we know and what’s being reported about South Carolina’s search heading into the final week of the SEC’s regular season.
On Shane Beamer, the perceived front-runner
▪ Former Gamecocks and current Oklahoma assistant Shane Beamer has been considered a favorite of sorts for the past week. Among some in the program, the belief is he’ll be the guy. He’s got a strong well of support from alums, including Marcus Lattimore, Melvin Ingram, Stephen Garcia and D.J. Swearinger. More than 40 alums had a Zoom video call with Gamecocks athletic director Ray Tanner last weekend, many expressing support for Beamer.
▪ Beamer has interviewed for the job, according to SportsTalkSC’s Phil Kornblut. Citing a source Sunday, Kornblut says he was told it’s Beamer’s “job to lose at this point. Beamer is prepared to take the job as soon as it is officially offered.” Kornblut reported that a source told him Beamer was a done deal and a contract had been reached in principal, but he also wrote he could not confirm that. The State reached an administration source who said they had not heard of such an arrangement.
▪ Should Beamer get the job, some of the names that have been floated out as possible staff targets include Garrett Riley, SMU’s offensive coordinator and brother of Beamer’s current boss, Lincoln Riley; as well as former Gamecocks assistant Jay Graham, who could be caught in a coaching change if Tennessee goes a new direction.
▪ Beamer’s Oklahoma team has games scheduled through Dec. 12 (a rescheduled West Virginia game that week) and controls its destiny for reaching the conference title game on the 19th.
On Billy Napier, Jamey Chadwell, other candidates
▪ The other most prominent name publicly in the search has been Louisiana coach Billy Napier, the former Clemson offensive coordinator who has a lot of ties to the Palmetto State. There have been indications he wants the job. Napier was choosy last year, turning down interest from Baylor, Mississippi State and others.
▪ If Napier is the choice, his former colleagues and those who know him well say he’ll bring attention to detail, a bright offensive mind and a great ability as a recruiter to Columbia. He would likely work with USC’s quarterbacks and call plays at South Carolina if hired, according to a source.
▪ Napier has had a phone conversation with Tanner and Caslen, according to a source. Napier spoke with USC recently while he quarantined after testing positive for COVID-19, SportsTalkSC reported. A source told The State that Napier could have a formal in-person interview as soon as this week.
▪ Kornblut reported Sunday that Tanner has interviewed Coastal Carolina coach Jamey Chadwell and Houston Texans outside linebackers coach Chris Rumph, a South Carolina alum. On the docket for interviews, according to Kornblut, are Florida offensive coordinator Brian Johnson, Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian and Louisville coach Scott Satterfield.
▪ A report from The Athletic triggered some public comment from Satterfield and his boss. The Cardinals’ AD said Satterfiled was not interviewing for the Gamecocks job, and the coach himself posted to Twitter that only said he was not seeking any offers.
▪ There was a point when South Carolina school President Bob Caslen brought up Army coach Jeff Monken, who Caslen hired from Georgia Southern while at West Point. Others in the USC power structure ultimately headed that off, The State was told. Monken had reportedly promised to abandon his triple option offense when looking at the Missouri job last season.
▪ West Virginia coach Neal Brown had been mentioned in various reports from Rivals and 247Sports. He turned Troy into a mid-major powerhouse and seems to have WVU on stable ground despite inheriting an empty cupboard.
▪ Liberty coach Hugh Freeze was linked to the opening early, but that possibility seems to have fallen off. He is projected to be a factor if Tennessee opens up, as he spent more than a decade coaching in Memphis.
▪ Las Vegas Raiders assistant head coach Rich Bisaccia has also reached out to some folks in the process to try to get involved.
▪ WIS-TV’s Rick Henry reported the aim is to have the hire wrapped up by Dec. 12.
▪ Chadwell and Napier are set to face off in the Sun Belt title game on Dec. 19. Chadwell’s name was listed Sunday by various media outlets on who could replace Mason at Vanderbilt.
This story was originally published November 30, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
