Mike Bobo addresses his uncertain future at USC, how he feels about Columbia
Mike Bobo will be on the sideline at least one more time for the South Carolina football team. But after the Gasparilla Bowl against UAB on Saturday, it’s all a host of unknowns for the Gamecocks’ offensive coordinator and interim head coach.
Could the veteran coach, brought in last offseason by the now-fired Will Muschamp to revive the offense, stick around under newly announced head coach Shane Beamer?
“I’ve talked to coach Beamer about that, but I’m gonna let coach Beamer answer those questions about the staff,” Bobo told reporters Sunday when asked about his future.
Bobo’s long history in the SEC as the offensive coordinator at Georgia, plus his head coaching experience at Colorado State, means he would would likely attract interest on the open market. Despite that, he didn’t indicate Sunday that he had one foot out the door.
“I wouldn’t have came to Columbia if it was not a place I did not want to be and raise my family. It wasn’t the only opportunity I had last year,” Bobo said. “And I obviously chose this place (for) a chance to work with Will, that I talked about when I got here.
“But a lot goes into that as well: where are you going to raise your family, where they’re going to go to school. And I’ve got (school-aged) kids ... so it’s important I went somewhere that hopefully we could see ourselves long term. Now we all know that in the coaching profession that things change. And at the end of the day, I said this after the Kentucky game, we’ll end up where we’re supposed to end up. And family is where your feet are, I firmly believe that. But I like Columbia, my kids like Columbia.”
Bobo isn’t the only USC assistant coaching for the upcoming bowl game with no sense of his future. Defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson and special teams coordinator/defensive backs coach Kyle Krantz were both informed after Beamer was hired that they wouldn’t be returning as part of his staff. But with the bowl game being announced Sunday, they were back in the facility and helping with practice.
In fact, Bobo said they showed the most energy they’ve had all year during Sunday’s practice.
“They’ve done such a nice job of being professional. It’s not an ideal situation for anybody,” Bobo said. “I could sit here and say, you know, ‘Woe is me, the interim head coach in a pandemic.’ At the end of the day, we have jobs to do. We know the business, when we get in this business. And if you truly are a coach, you got in it to help young people and help them reach their goals and see them grow, not just on the field but off the field, and help them learn how to fight through adversity.
“And I can’t say enough about the staff, how they’ve handled themselves, professionally and personally and around each other. It’s been a joy to work with.”
Beyond those two, there are still other coaching unknowns. Connor Shaw remains the team’s quarterbacks coach for at least a little while longer but could be moved back to his off-the-field role as the program’s director of player development. Analyst Landon Martin has taken over as offensive line coach for Eric Wolford, who took a new job at Kentucky this week.
“This is a guy that played at Newberry College, played offensive line,” Bobo said of Martin. “He’s a guy I’ve been impressed with since the day I walked — very, very organized, worked hand in hand with coach (Wolford). ... He understands the guys, the guys know who he is. He’s knowledgeable on what we’re doing offensively.”
All of that talk of the future, though, will have to wait for at least a few more days.
“We’ll see what happens after the bowl game, but right now I’m focused on the bowl game, and we’ll be fine wherever we end up, I know that,” Bobo said.
Gasparilla Bowl
Who: South Carolina (2-8) vs. UAB (6-3)
When: Noon Saturday
Where: Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida
TV: ABC
Line: UAB by 5
