Beamer vs. Napier and the South Carolina coaching search: Comparing the résumés
For the moment, it appears South Carolina’s coaching search will come down to either University of Louisiana head coach Billy Napier or Oklahoma Sooners assistant Shane Beamer.
Beamer interviewed and seemed to be a favorite for weeks, but Napier brings a more traditional résumé and is set to interview on Saturday, a source confirmed to The State.
Napier bring head-coaching experience, play-calling experience and has been one of the hottest candidates the past two seasons. Beamer is a less-traditional candidate, never having called plays on either side of the ball, but could potentially fit into the mold of a CEO-type coach with a strong staff around him.
With that in mind, it’s worth breaking down and comparing their backgrounds as Ray Tanner and his athletic department look to wrap up the search to replace Will Muschamp sooner rather than later.
Experience
▪ Beamer: The lack of head coach or even coordinator experience is rather glaring, but 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. That counts for something. 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.
▪ Napier: He’s been a highly successful small-school head coach, getting Louisiana back on track. He has a 26-11 record as a head coach — 7-7 his first year at Louisiana, 11-3 in 2019 and 8-1 this season. He was a successful coordinator at Arizona State for a year and, frankly, was probably fired from Clemson for not the best reasons. In between, he worked with QBs and receivers in the Nick Saban machine and on a Saban-adjacent staff. He’s been part of a title team and been a coaching phenom. He also worked with Buddy Pough.
South Carolina connections
▪ Beamer: 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.
▪ Napier: A star quarterback for Bobby Lamb at Furman, Napier spent the first half of his career in the Palmetto State. He went from Clemson grad assistant to S.C. State QBs coach to Tommy Bowden and Dabo Swinney staffer and coordinator at Clemson. He’s not worked within the borders since 2010, but he was college teammates with current Gamecocks running backs coach Des Kitchings.
Recruiting
▪ Beamer: This would be the lead skill Beamer has to push. He’s 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.
▪ Napier: No slouch on this front either. Working for Swinney and Saban, these coaches won’t allow coaches not to handle business there. He had a hand in recruiting a set of Bama five-stars and Tigers QB Tajh Boyd. He also brought in a pair of classes at his new job that were the best in the conference. There is a slight worry that Clemson could throw around the history from 10 years ago if the staffs go head to head over a player, but there’s a way to counteract that. The Tigers‘ national recruiting approach also is making those battles with USC less common.
Schematic background
▪ Beamer: This is a great unknown as he has coached all over. At the moment, he is mostly tied to Lincoln 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.
▪ Napier: A play-caller by trade, he has the advantage that his offensive coordinator can never be hired out from under him. His scheme features a lot of downhill power running, but in a modern structure with some quarterback run game and efficient passing. This is a place where Napier has the decided advantage. He also has access to Saban-tree defensive coordinators of which there are many of high-quality.
Soft skills
▪ Beamer: This is sort of a catch-all, a category for those talents that are hard to quantify but older coaches can see and get a feel for. This is where Beamer has to make his case. 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.
▪ Napier: With the ups and downs he’s come through, he’s certainly impressed other coaches he’s worked for. This year, he even admitted he might’ve been a little arrogant and headstrong the season before he was fired at Clemson. There’s a personal value in facing down a setback like that. He has learned from plenty of good coaches, and seems to not lack in this department either.
