How Shane Beamer is balancing OC search with Clemson prep, signing day
Shane Beamer wanted to be clear: Clemson has his full attention this week.
As it should.
The Carolina-Clemson game — regardless of records or circumstances — needs to be top of mind for both programs. Sure, South Carolina (4-7) won’t be bowl-eligible with a win over the Tigers (6-5) on Saturday, but Gamecock fans would feel a whole lot better about the future of Beamer’s program with a win over Clemson.
And yet, one has to wonder how Beamer balances preparing for Clemson while trying to work ahead on hiring an offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for 2026.
“It’s a challenge, but I’m not working less on the opponents,” Beamer said Tuesday. “I was able to get a lot of work done on the front end during the bye week (in early November). ... Late at night or early in the morning, if there’s a time frame where I’ve got a few minutes that’s available, I can utilize it to do that stuff.”
This offensive coordinator hire will almost certainly dictate Beamer’s future at South Carolina. While current play-caller Mike Furrey has a chance to get the job, the stink from Beamer hiring and firing Mike Shula (an internal candidate) might require Furrey to put up 50 points against the Tigers.
Beyond that, there are myriad names for Beamer to consider. How the head coaching carousel affects what candidates are available and willing to go to South Carolina is still to be determined.
And then there’s the offensive line job — which opened after Beamer fired Lonnie Teasley in October. Tight ends coach Shawn Elliott has been coaching the O-line since then, and Beamer admitted that Elliott could very well be the full-time offensive line coach moving forward. If that were to happen, though, it would just open up the tight end coaching job.
Beamer’s timetable for filling those spots is complicated a bit by the impending December signing day. Just four days after the Gamecocks conclude their season against Clemson, their 2026 recruiting class — which currently includes 14 players — will ink their official college paperwork.
Yet, Beamer doesn’t feel pressure to have his hires in place before then.
“This signing class has been awesome — (the guys) we have committed now,” Beamer said.
That class is currently highlighted by five-star offensive tackle Darius Gray (Richmond, Virginia) and four-star quarterback Landon Duckworth (Jackson, Alabama) — both of whom are expected to take unofficial visits to South Carolina for the Clemson game on Saturday.
“Throughout the season, they’ve been awesome,” Beamer said of the Gamecocks’ commits. “They’re excited about the future and what’s next as we go into 2026 when they get here.”
It’s certainly a major positive that South Carolina’s commitments are confident enough in Beamer that they will sign regardless of the offensive coordinator — or, in Gray and Duckworth’s cases, their position coach. It also allows Beamer to be extra thorough throughout the hiring process.
“I don’t wanna take forever,” Beamer said. “But I don’t want to sit (here) and say that I have to get somebody hired by next Wednesday.”
