How Shane Beamer is adjusting to his new staff as USC spring football begins

South Carolina football began spring practice Wednesday as the first major step toward getting the 2026 Gamecocks on the same page before the real competition begins this fall.

Alongside the annual class of transfers and high school early enrollees, USC head coach Shane Beamer is also tasked with acclimating to his largest group of new coaches yet. USC added five new coordinators and position coaches this offseason: Kendal Briles (OC), Randy Clements (OL), Stan Drayton (RB), Deion Barnes (DE/OLB) and Matthew Smiley (ST), along with other assistants and support staff.

The group replaces a trio of fired coaches — Mike Shula, Lonnie Teasley and Marquel Blackwell, as well as Sterling Lucas and Joe DeCamillis, who left for jobs with LSU and the Las Vegas Raiders, respectively. It’s the largest group of incoming coordinators and position coaches in one offseason for USC since Beamer and his original staff took over in 2021.

“It’s more change than we’re used to, but it’s a good thing in so many ways,” Beamer said at his spring practice opening press conference on Tuesday. ”The way that the returning coaches have blended with the new coaches, it’s a really good group. I like the way that we’re working right now.”

‘Hiring good coaches and letting them coach’

The hiring cycle ran right up until the start of spring practice, with Smiley’s contract being approved on Feb. 27. Beamer announced the hiring of Smiley’s new assistant, former Houston special teams coordinator Mike Krysl, at his Tuesday press conference. He said USC could continue to make hires after spring practice begins.

Beamer said it’s been a bit different to have so many new faces among players and coaches, but he’s doing what he can to get everybody acclimated, both on and off the field. He said he and wife Emily took the assistant coaches and their wives on a visit to Charleston over the weekend.

“It’s definitely different, because there are so many new faces, coaches got to learn one another. ... There’s a lot of new that we have to learn,” Beamer said.

The biggest new face Gamecock fans will be watching patrol the sidelines (or the booth) is Briles, USC’s new offensive coordinator. USC hopes Briles’ decade-plus of OC experience will help turn around the SEC’s second-worst offense in average yards and second-lowest scoring offense from last season. It’ll also be key how USC quarterback LaNorris Sellers picks up on his third offensive system in four seasons with the Gamecocks.

“For the most part, it’s all new. It’s (Briles’) system. Hopefully it’s even better for the players to be able to learn and retain the information,” Beamer said. “As far as how involved I am, I believe in hiring good coaches and letting them coach. I’m kept up to speed on what our guys are teaching and doing each and every day, and well aware of that and on board with everything.”

Beamer said he thinks Sellers will only benefit from learning Briles’ system.

“I think it’ll be good for him as he goes into professional football when his college days are over, because more likely than not, he’s not going to be in the same offensive system during his NFL career,” Beamer said. “He’s a football junkie. ... As a guy that enjoys football like he does, I think this is just another opportunity to really kind of jump into a system and learn a different way of doing some things, and that will make him and our football team better in the end.”

This story was originally published March 4, 2026 at 8:00 AM.