‘Every situation is different’ Beamer says of USC assistant football coach raises
A handful of South Carolina football staffers received raises and extensions last week, but Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer insists not to read too far into who did and didn’t get them.
“Every situation is different,” Beamer said Monday. “It may be job offers at other places. It may be conversations me and that assistant coach had last year when I hired them about some things we’d like to do a-year-from-now-wise because of their salary and things like that as well.”
The USC board of trustees approved one-year contract extensions and raises for defensive coordinator Clayton White, special teams coordinator Pete Lembo, running backs coach Montario Hardesty, receivers coach Justin Stepp, defensive line coach Jimmy Lindsey and head strength and conditioning coach Luke Day on Friday.
Offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield and offensive line coach Greg Adkins were two of the three returning position coaches not to have their contracts adjusted last week.
Defensive backs coach Torrian Gray also did not have his contract changed, though he was set for a bump from a $350,000 annual salary to $475,000 in the second year of the three-year deal he signed ahead of last season.
Satterfield and Adkins received ample ire from the fan base due to anemic offensive performances and inconsistent play in the trenches during Beamer’s first fall as head coach.
The Gamecocks ranked toward the bottom of the Southeastern Conference in most every major offensive category in 2021. Pro Football Focus also graded South Carolina last in the league in pass blocking and 10th in run blocking during the regular season.
USC was hamstrung significantly by having to start four quarterbacks over its 13 games last fall, though outbursts in wins over Florida and North Carolina left fans yearning for more offensive consistency.
Satterfield and Adkins head into 2022 with one year remaining on each of their deals, according to documents obtained by The State. Satterfield will make an annual salary of $900,000, while Adkins is slated to be paid $550,000.
“Nobody has ever told me I had to do something with the staff, whether it be hiring or firing or whatever it may be,” Beamer said. “I believe in all these guys — I told them that last week — and excited about all of them. Glad we’re all together and excited about the continuity that we’re able to continue to build as well as we go on to 2022.”
The shifts in salary mark a commitment to a football program that largely overachieved during Beamer’s first season as head coach. Media members picked the Gamecocks to finish sixth of seven teams in the SEC East in preseason polls, while most outlets projected USC to win around four wins.
South Carolina finished the year 7-6 with a win over UNC in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl on Dec. 30. Beamer became just the second coach in school history to win a bowl game in his first season in Columbia.
USC paid $4.88 million in assistant coaching salaries in 2021, according to a report from the Knoxville News Sentinel last week. That ranked South Carolina 12th out of the 13 public schools in the SEC. Mississippi State was the only school that spent less on assistant coaches last year at $4.83 million.
South Carolina’s spending, according to the report, closely mirrored that of Missouri ($4.89 million), Ole Miss ($5.03 million), Arkansas ($5.13 million) and Kentucky ($5.45 million).
“I have 1,000 percent confidence in every single coach and staff member that I have in this program,” Beamer said. “If I didn’t and if people around me didn’t, they wouldn’t be here.”
South Carolina Football Assistant Coach Raises
▪ Clayton White (DC) — From $900,000 to $1.1 million
▪ Justin Stepp (WRs) — From $460,000 to $475,000 (Year 1) and $525,000 (Year 2)
▪ Pete Lembo (ST) — From $450,000 to $465,000
▪ Jimmy Lindsey (DL) — From $350,000 to $375,000
▪ Montario Hardesty (RBs) — From $300,000 to $350,000
▪ Luke Day (Strength and Conditioning) — From $400,000 to $425,000
