What Shane Beamer said about Des Kitchings’ departure, finding a new RB coach
Shane Beamer is in the process of narrowing down his search for the next Gamecocks’ running back coach to two or three candidates.
The first-year South Carolina head coach said he will be interviewing interested candidates Thursday night. Beamer is looking to replace Des Kitchings, who was officially announced as the Atlanta Falcons running back coach earlier in the day.
“There is a lot of interest for sure. There is no lack of interest,” Beamer said Thursday night on SportsTalk with Phil Kornblut. “I certainly wish Des well. He had an opportunity to the NFL and saw that as a step up and what he needed to do. … I am really excited about who we will be able to get into to replace him.”
Beamer said he hopes to hire the new candidate soon but didn’t give an exact date. He said he knew there was a possibility of Kitchings leaving on Tuesday when Kitchings interviewed with the Falcons.
Beamer said he discussed the news Wednesday with the Gamecocks’ tailbacks. It will be the third time in less than a year USC will be looking at getting a new running backs coach.
The new running backs coach will inherit a talented group which includes 1,000-yard rusher Kevin Harris and four-star running back Marshawn Lloyd, who missed his freshman season with an ACL injury. Rashad Amos also saw time last season and in-coming freshman Caleb McDowell is coming off a big senior season.
Kitchings is the fourth coach to leave USC’s staff after being hired by Beamer earlier this offseason, joining Mike Bobo, Will Friend and Tracy Rocker, who all went to Auburn. Rocker has since left Auburn for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Bobo and Rocker were retained by Beamer from Will Muschamp’s coaching staff. Mike Peterson is the lone coach left from Muschamp’s coaching staff.
“Thank God for Mike Peterson. I love what he is about,” Beamer said. “... I understand Des leaving for the Falcons. The other situations are unique and different. I had coaches tell me when I took the job that I should just wipe the slate clean and bring in your own people. I did what I thought was best at the time. Obviously hindsight is 20-20. I might say something different now. I am not worried about what happened in the past. You learn from those mistakes. I made some. But I couldn’t be more excited where we are as a staff.”
This story was originally published January 28, 2021 at 7:04 PM.
