ANNAPOLIS, MD - DECEMBER 27: Associate head coach Shane Beamer poses with the trophy after the Hokies defeated the Cincinnati Bearcats 33-17 to win the 2014 Military Bowl at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on December 27, 2014 in Annapolis, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)Shane Beamer is the next head coach of South Carolina football. The 43-year old Oklahoma assistant, and son of legendary former Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer, was an assistant coach under Steve Spurrier with the Gamecocks a decade ago.
Beamer coaches outside linebackers and cornerbacks during his first stint in Columbia. He was also the special teams coordinator, and crucially, the recruiting coordinator for the Gamecocks. During his time there, he helped elevate the program’s recruiting to a Top 15-level, which in turn led to the best extended stretch of success that South Carolina football has had in a long time.
The decision was made over the weekend. The school interviewed a number of coaches, including Louisville’s Scott Satterfield and Louisiana’s Billy Napier, but ultimately went with Beamer, who sports a Gamecock background from the last time the program built itself up to a solid SEC contender, under Spurrier.
“I think he has a chance to do well,” Spurrier told Mike Gillespie of ABC in Columbia. “Like he said, the facilities and everything is in place there. If he can get us to a level we were at there in ’10 through ’13, that would be very good. It’s hard to say how somebody’s going to do until they get an opportunity to do it. So we’ve just got to hope and believe that he’s going to be a good head coach.”
Caught up with Steve Spurrier this week… we spoke about the Shane Beamer hire, his lack of head coaching experience and the future of USC football.
"I think he has a chance to do well… but we'll have to see. Everything's there for him to be successful." @abc_columbia pic.twitter.com/8wJwrT33P9
— Mike Gillespie (@MikeABCColumbia) December 9, 2020
“There’s a whole bunch of good assistant coaches,” Spurrier continued. “Whether or not they become successful head coaches, you just have to wait and see. Everything’s there for him to be successful.”
Shane Beamer saw first hand how the legendary former Florida coach was able to build up the Gamecocks program. The current landscape is much more difficult for South Carolina, though.
Spurrier didn’t have to deal with a national championship contender and true powerhouse across the state in Clemson. Georgia was also not the same recruiting power in the late Mark Richt years that it is now, under Kirby Smart. The Gamecocks play both teams every single year.
Shane Beamer is set to coach his first game against Eastern Illinois on Sept. 4, 2021 at Williams-Brice Stadium.
