Sometimes you’re, you know what, I think a did a good job but we didn’t connect, they’re not going to hire me. Sometimes you interview for a job and you’re like shoot, there’s no way. I never even looked at them because there was so much in my head of what I knew I wanted it to be. I just stood and was going to refer to these notes. I remember sitting at my desk, I cleared off the whole desk and I had all these notes I had written out on paper all across my desk. That was when I was in Norman (Oklahoma). I think Wednesday of that week is when I did the phone interview with Ray and Chance. SHANE BEAMER: I got a call from the search firm on Monday saying that I would be somebody they wanted to talk to. He was still writing his playbook. This time, his playbook’s got to be complete. It’s like, he’s one of ours, but has he checked every box he needs to check yet? Has he attained everything he needs to make the leap? I was more skeptical at that point, not about him as a person or football coach. Ray Tanner felt a more seasoned Beamer may just be ready for the gig this time. In 2015, Beamer’s name came up – not at the top of the pecking order – for the vacancy created when Steve Spurrier retired. The administration knew that Shane Beamer would receive one of those phone calls. The earliest stages of the search consisted of South Carolina’s administrators working through the first version of the candidate list, beginning with research and speaking with coaches via phone. It also forced South Carolina’s administration – and Beamer – to be creative during the process. The search was conducted against the backdrop of a COVID-19 pandemic that had drastically cut crowd sizes, eliminated recruiting travel, and annihilated operating budgets across college athletics. The proceedings were not without challenges, however. The search appeared tidy and was certainly shorter than the 50-day plus affair from back in 2015. spoke exclusively with Beamer, Tanner, Senior Deputy Athletics Director Chance Miller, and other sources familiar with the 2020 head coaching search to piece together how the three-week undertaking landed on the former Gamecocks assistant. “The day that it was announced, from my standpoint, it was like full speed ahead trying to put myself into position to be here,” Beamer said. And Shane Beamer now had a chance to go get the job he had wanted from the moment he left Columbia in 2010. Athletics Director Ray Tanner now had a search on his hands. The University of South Carolina now had an opening for a head football coach. South Carolina gave up 59 points in a loss to the Rebels, and Will Muschamp was relieved of his duties the following night. By the time the next game, a road matchup with Ole Miss, rolled around, the writing was on the wall. “There’s only so much you could do.”įollowing the off week, the Gamecocks were non-competitive in a 48-3 home loss to Texas A&M. Certainly, I was keeping up with it and trying to follow what all was going on,” Beamer recounted to. “Just filed it away because I was busy with my own team at Oklahoma. The Gamecocks still had a coach, and his current team had a game to play the next night. His dream job could be opening, but Beamer was careful not to get overly excited. The Charleston native spent four years as an assistant coach under Steve Spurrier, longing for a return to George Rogers Boulevard as head coach. To say the call grabbed Beamer’s attention would be an understatement. Texas A&M was next, then Ole Miss, Missouri, Georgia, and Kentucky. The Gamecocks were sitting at 2-3 and a tough stretch loomed. If Beamer does that, the award might be all but his.Beamer’s source-not anyone from South Carolina’s administration, he says-was calling to pass him a message: do not be shocked if a head coaching change is made in Columbia. Now, fans are excited for a possible upset of archrival Clemson and a chance to get to seven wins. Beamer has been able to completely change a culture in Columbia that had gotten stale and used to losing. Things are ticking up for the program in year one. The offensive front is opening up holes for Gamecock rushers like ZaQuandre White, who’s posted 100-yard performances in three straight matchups. With those defenders in the secondary missing, the Gamecocks have put together a top 15 defense against the pass.Ī third-string quarterback has led the Gamecocks to two SEC wins in his first three tries. To make matters worse, he lost the top five defensive backs from last year’s squad, battled multiple injuries at the quarterback position, and struggled with offensive line inconsistency throughout the year.ĭespite some of those struggles, progress is being made. There’s certainly a case that can be made, too.īeamer inherited a group that won just six games over the last two seasons combined. The #SEC Coach of the Year is and should be Brandon Marcello November 21, 2021įolks around college football are looking to Beamer as SEC Coach of the Year.
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