Shane Beamer explains why Lonnie Teasley was fired at South Carolina
On Sunday, Shane Beamer felt compelled to do something he’s never done as a head coach. He fired an assistant coach midseason, publicly announcing shortly after lunch time that offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley had been let go.
Beamer, speaking with reporters Sunday evening, said he made the decision shortly after 4 a.m. after returning home from the LSU trip. Beamer met with Teasley at the USC football facility later in the morning and informed him of the decision.
“Lonnie is a fantastic coach, a fantastic person, has an unbelievable family,” Beamer said. “These decisions aren’t easy. I hurt for him and his family.
“It wasn’t just from last night. Thinking of where we are and the overall body of work on the offensive line and the offense, I felt like the best decision for our team was to make a change on the offensive line.”
Tight ends coach Shawn Elliott will take over and lead the offensive line as well.
“Overall big picture, I just didn’t think we were progressing and getting the most out of that unit,” Beamer said. “I felt like the best thing was to see if we can get a spark and get a new voice in there.”
It’s just the second time Beamer has truly fired an assistant since taking over the Gamecocks in 2021. Running backs coach Montario Hardesty was let go following the 2023 season.
Teasley’s departure comes the day after the Gamecocks offensive line looked incapable against LSU. In a 20-10 loss to the Tigers, South Carolina was dominated in the trenches, out-muscled and overpowered for four quarters.
The decision to part ways with Teasley was not to make him a scapegoat for the offense’s problems as a whole, Beamer said.
“Everybody on our offensive staff needs to be better,” Beamer said. “It’s not good enough right now, players included. Everyone needs to take accountability and do better.”
