The highs have been high, but the lows have been low. In three years leading the South Carolina Gamecocks, head coach Shane Beamer has been consistently inconsistent. Although he is the son of Virginia Tech icon Frank Beamer, some questioned if the tight ends coach at Oklahoma was ready for a big job like this. Oh, he will win big games, but South Carolina also failed to reach a bowl game...
Ahead of the 2024 college football season, a few anonymous coaches had some interesting things to say to Lindy's about Beamer. One firmly believes that he is on the hot seat, after having had issues with the transfer portal, NIL and things of that nature. He believes that if Beamer was a more seasoned assistant, he would be a little bit more polished at the podium and not such a lightning rod.
The most damning thing this coach said about Beamer is that his program is "dead in the water."
“I think Shane Beamer is on the hot seat. He had some issues with the portal, NIL. I don’t think Cocky (nickname for Beamer) is very happy now. Shane Beamer’s first head coaching job was at South Carolina. Beamer wasn’t ready for that. You can tell by the way he handles his press conferences. He’s had a few big wins, yes. But I see that program dead in the water.”
Conversely, another anonymous coach loves that Beamer was able to pry former Georgia State head coach Shawn Elliott back to the program. He served as the interim before and is beloved by everyone.
“One thing Beamer did that was really smart, he brought back (tight ends coach and run-game coordinator) Shawn Elliott. He’s beloved by South Carolina people and coached there for a while (2010-16). Many thought he’d have been a better head coach move than Will Muschamp or Beamer, Shawn will get the locker room right where Shane lost the locker room last year.”
While both statements have slivers of truth in them, the definitive answer lies somewhere in between.
Shane Beamer is 'dead in the water' leading South Carolina Gamecocks
First off, the one coach who not-so-casually referred to Beamer as Cocky is absolutely hysterical. Yes, that is South Carolina's mascot, but Beamer's brash approach to leading this mid-tier SEC team certainly comes across that way. Again, I think he will be able to do what no other former South Carolina coach has done before, which is to lead his own program again after South Carolina's mess.
However, the up-and-down nature the Gamecocks seem to have under him will be his undoing. South Carolina may need to win more in the transfer portal, but this is an SEC program that does recruit well from an out-of-high-school standpoint. Being able to get Elliott back is undeniable huge for the program. Honestly, he could be Beamer's successor if things were to hit the fan for him here soon.
Ultimately, I don't think we're doing justice to how challenging of a season South Carolina has ahead of it this season. Much has been made how truly difficult of a schedule Billy Napier and the Florida Gators will have to navigate this season. That could be a 3-9 team down in Gainesville. South Carolina may be a 5-7 team again. If they don't get to a bowl game in back-to-back years, Beamer will be gone.
When you live and die by the mayo bath, you may not ever be able to overcome the sacred baptism.