Shane Beamer addresses latest rumors linking him to Virginia Tech job
On Saturday night, just hours after South Carolina’s 26-7 loss to No. 14 Oklahoma, CBS Sports reporter Brad Crawford published a story linking Shane Beamer to the head coach opening at Virginia Tech.
“Multiple sources told CBS Sports this week,” Crawford wrote, “that Beamer to Virginia Tech is more than speculation — it has legitimacy — and would strengthen if South Carolina’s downturn continued this season. Multiple members of Virginia Tech’s search committee ‘are pushing for Beamer,’ one source said.”
Beamer was quick to discredit the rumors.
“I have no idea where that story came from,” Beamer said on his weekly Sunday teleconference. “I’ve conveyed how many times I want to be here. This is my dream job. I said that when I came here. Nothing has changed.”
He continued: “I am pissed off at the way we are performing right now and it’s not acceptable. I came here to win a championship and right now we’re not getting it done. My focus right now is getting it fixed.”
During South Carolina’s team meeting on Sunday morning, Beamer said he addressed the rumors with his football team and assured them that he wanted to remain in Columbia.
“When you’re 3-4, there’s all kinds of noise and chatter and speculation out there about all kinds of things,” Beamer said. “I wanted to make sure our players understood that I’m not focused on anything but getting this right. And that I’m gonna get it right.”
Naturally, Beamer’s name was quick to be mentioned after the Hokies fired Brent Pry in mid-September. He, of course, is an alum of Virginia Tech and his father, Frank Beamer, is the winningest coach in program history and still resides in Blacksburg.
But the actual fit was always suspicious. For one, Beamer shunned Virginia Tech for South Carolina in 2020. For years, he’s taken shots at the ACC, lambasting their easy schedules and half-empty stadiums. And, well, it never made sense financially. Beamer is under contract at USC through 2030 on a deal that pays him $8 million annually. Not only would he owe USC $5 million if he left, but Virginia Tech was only paying Pry $4.75 million per year.
Yet, with any college football coach, it is reasonable to wonder if their mindset changes when things are trending downward. As the Gamecocks have sputtered to a 3-4 start, needing a massive upset just to make a bowl, Crawford’s article suggested that Beamer might want to reset his coaching clock, to jump to a new school and get a fresh start and a multi-year runway to get things fixed.
In other words: Don’t wait to get fired.
Beamer admitted that he told his team the gist of Crawford’s article was that Beamer wanted in Virginia Tech “a parachute or something for me to get out of here and have a soft landing spot.
“I’m not happy with where we are right now and I’m determined to get it fixed,” Beamer added. “We’re in a storm right now that I’m gonna get us out of.”
This story was originally published October 19, 2025 at 5:49 PM.
