It’s official: Shane Beamer announced as South Carolina football’s new head coach
It’s an officially done deal — Shane Beamer is the new head coach of South Carolina football.
USC made the formal announcement of the hiring Sunday, exactly three weeks after former head coach Will Muschamp was fired. The move marks a return to Columbia for Beamer, who served on the staff of former coach Steve 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.”
News of Beamer’s hiring was reported late Saturday night, not long after the Gamecocks completed their 2020 regular season with a loss to Kentucky, dropping their record to 2-8. Beamer then arrived in Columbia on Sunday afternoon on the university’s private plane, telling WACH Fox that it was “great to be home.” He was scheduled to meet with USC players at 3:30 p.m. Sunday as well.
The 43-year old joins the Gamecocks after spending three seasons at Oklahoma coaching tight ends and H-backs under Lincoln Riley and will now set to work rebuilding a program coming off consecutive eight-loss seasons.
Beamer has no previous head coaching experience and has never even been an offensive or defensive coordinator. But the son of legendary Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer has spent the past 20 years with Power 5 programs, including stints under coaching greats like his own father, Spurrier, Riley, George O’Leary and Phillip Fulmer.
“I believe that Shane Beamer is the perfect fit to be the head football coach at the University of South Carolina,” South Carolina AD Ray 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.”
Beamer also has the support of numerous Gamecock alums — NFL stars Melvin Ingram and Stephon Gilmore have both endorsed him, as has former quarterback Stephen Garcia. During the hiring process, Tanner hosted a Zoom call with dozens of former USC players, many of who supported Beamer’s candidacy. Tanner and university president Bob Caslen were also reported to have seriously considered Louisiana head coach Billy Napier, Louisville head coach Scott Satterfield and Florida offensive coordinator Brian Johnson in the coaching search.
“President Caslen, (Senior Deputy Athletics Director) Chance Miller and I talked to some outstanding candidates for this position,” Tanner said in his statement. “Shane’s candidacy set the bar high as we were talking to other coaches. I want to add my appreciation for Chad Chatlos of Turnkey Search, who helped us navigate through this process.”
Beamer was the only one of those candidates who had spent time at USC — during his tenure, he developed a reputation as a strong recruiter, one of the best South Carolina has had in the modern era. He was key to assembling the classes from 2008 to 2011, which included some of the brightest stars the school has seen. Guys he helped land included Jadeveon Clowney, Stephon Gilmore, Alshon Jeffery and Marcus Lattimore.
His recruiting acumen will be tested quickly — the early signing period for the class of 2021 starts Dec. 16, and the Gamecocks currently rank 89th nationally in the 247Sports composite ratings. Since Muschamp was fired, USC has lost six commitments, but even before then, the group ranked outside the top 40 nationally.
Beamer, Tanner and Caslen are set to address the media in a news conference Monday.
The Shane Beamer coaching career file
Age: 43
Born: Charleston, South Carolina
College: Virginia Tech
Coaching experience
▪ Grad assistant at Georgia Tech for George O’Leary in 2000
▪ Grad assistant at Tennessee for Phil Fulmer from 2001-2003
▪ Cornerbacks, running backs coach for Sylvester Croom at Mississippi State, 2004-2006
▪ Linebackers, cornerbacks coach at South Carolina, plus special teams co-coordinator from 2007-2010
▪ 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
▪ Tight ends and H-backs coach, assistant head coach with Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma, 2018-2020
This story was originally published December 6, 2020 at 4:08 PM.
