Gamecocks officially hire Kendal Briles, new assistants. Salary details revealed
South Carolina’s offensive staffing overhaul is now seemingly complete.
On Thursday, the South Carolina Board of Trustees approved contracts for three new assistant coaches, confirming the hires of TCU offensive coordinator Kendal Briles, TCU offensive line coach Randy Clements and Penn State running backs coach Stan Drayton.
Briles agreed to a three-year contract with the Gamecocks that will pay him an average of $2.1 million annually. Former South Carolina OC Mike Shula earned $1.1 million in 2025.
Drayton, whose running backs coach title extends to assistant head coach for offense, also signed a three-year contract worth $775,000 a year. Clements, meanwhile, agreed to a two-year contract worth $725,000 per year.
As Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer tries to revamp a South Carolina offense that ranked at or toward the bottom of the SEC in nearly every statistical category, Thursday was a massive step for Beamer and USC.
It comes on the heels of major staffing shakeup that began in October, when — for the first time in his head coaching tenure — Beamer fired an assistant coach midseason. He left go of O-line coach Lonnie Teasley following a loss to LSU and, a month later, got rid of Shula. Beamer concluded the offensive coaching shakeup just last week, firing running backs coach Marquel Blackwell.
As the Gamecocks wrapped up their 4-8 season — missing a bowl game for the second time in three years — the biggest offseason storyline revolved around who Beamer would find to lead the offense.
After reports that Beamer was looking at East Carolina OC John David Baker and Old Dominion OC Kevin Decker, he landed on Briles. A 43-year-old Texas native, Briles began his coaching career at Baylor, where his father, Art, was the head coach from 2008-15. From there, Kendal Briles had offensive coordinator jobs at FAU (2017), Houston (2018), Florida State (2019), Arkansas (2020-22) and, most recently, TCU (2023).
Despite solid offensive success at myriad stops, Briles is also known for being at Baylor during the football program’s sexual assault scandal, which led to the May 2016 firings of Art Briles and many others.
While Kendal Briles was never formally charged with any wrongdoing — and stayed on Baylor’s coaching staff after his dad’s firing — lawsuits and reports allege that he recruited players by telling them female students would be easily accessible.
It should be known, too, that South Carolina Athletic Director Jeremiah Donati was at TCU when the Horned Frogs hired Briles in 2023.
Joining Briles in Columbia will be another familiar face.
Clements and Briles were both on the Baylor staff from 2008-16, with the former serving as the Bears’ offensive line coach, and then continued working together at Houston, Florida State and at TCU last year.
As for Drayton, his ties to South Carolina draw back to Beamer. The two worked together at Mississippi State in 2004, when Beamer in his first year as a full-time assistant coach (working with cornerbacks) and Drayton was handling the Bulldogs’ running backs.
The trio of Briles, Clements and Drayton will certainly have their work cut out trying to get the Gamecocks’ offense back to a respectable level. Last season, South Carolina allowed an SEC-worst 43 sacks while averaging just over 111 rushing yards per game (15th in the SEC). And only once — in a blowout win over Coastal Carolina — did the USC offense account for more than three touchdowns in a game.
SOUTH CAROLINA 2026 COACHING STAFF SALARIES
Shane Beamer, Head Coach — $8.2 million
Clayton White, Defensive Coordinator/Inside Linebackers Coach — $2 million
Kendal Briles, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach — $2 million
Joe DeCamillis, Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator — $850,000
Torrian Gray, Defensive Pass Game Coordinator/Defensive Backs Coach — $850,000
Stan Drayton, Assistant Head Coach – Offense/Running Backs Coach — $775,000
Shawn Elliott, Run Game Coordinator/Tight Ends Coach — $775,000
Sterling Lucas, Defensive Run Game Coordinator/Defensive Ends/Outside Linebackers Coach — $775,000
Randy Clements, Offensive Line Coach — $725,000
Mike Furrey, Passing Game Coordinator/Wide Receivers Coach — $650,000
Travian Robertson, Defensive Line Coach — $550,000
This story was originally published December 11, 2025 at 9:46 AM.
