COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA/Gamecocks Athletics) – The University of South Carolina announced on Sunday that Shane Beamer will be its next head football coach, confirming earlier reports of the hire.
An official press conference with Beamer, Athletics Director Ray Tanner and University President Bob Caslen has been scheduled for Monday, December 7.
“I believe that Shane Beamer is the perfect fit to be the head football coach at the University of South Carolina,” said Tanner. “He has worked under some of the greatest coaches in college football and has taken those lessons to become one of the bright, young minds in the game. I believe Shane’s energy, enthusiasm, commitment and fondness for our school and program will be met favorably by our student-athletes, staff and fans.”
Beamer, 43, has been an assistant coach at seven Football Bowl Subdivision schools for 21 seasons. During his career, he has coached in 17 bowl games, including a College Football Playoff National Championship Game, has posted 18 non-losing seasons, six of those with double-digit victories and his teams have won 62.5 percent of its games.
“I have been preparing for this moment my entire life,” said Beamer. “I am ready and excited to be the head football coach at the University of South Carolina. I am thankful to all the head coaches that I have worked for, the assistant coaches and student-athletes I have worked with. My family and I are thrilled to be coming back to Columbia and the state of South Carolina.”
Beamer has been a part of building programs throughout his career. He has been a part of three coaching staffs, where the head coach was in his first or second season at the school. He joined Lincoln Riley’s unit at Oklahoma in his second season, Kirby Smart’s program at Georgia in his first season and Sylvester Croom’s staff at Mississippi State in his first season.
He comes to Carolina from Oklahoma, where he has served as the assistant head coach for offense for the last three seasons. The Sooners led the nation in total offense, scoring offense and yards per play in 2018.
The Charleston, S.C. native, returns to one of his previous coaching stops, having been with the Gamecocks for four seasons (2007-10), coordinating special teams and coaching outside linebackers, as well as serving as recruiting coordinator during his last two seasons.
In 2009 at South Carolina, Beamer was nominated for the Frank Broyles Award, which goes annually to the nation’s top assistant coach. His special teams’ units recorded five blocked kicks that season, tying for the SEC lead and tying for the eighth-highest total in the nation. He also helped coach a defensive unit that ranked third in the SEC and 15th in the country in total defense, and second in the league and eighth in the country in passing defense.
As the Gamecocks’ recruiting coordinator, his 2009 class was ranked 12th-best by both Rivals and Scout, and the 2010 and 2011 classes were ranked in the Top 25.
“President (Bob) Caslen, (Senior Deputy Athletics Director) Chance Miller and I talked to some outstanding candidates for this position,” said Tanner. “Shane’s candidacy set the bar high as we were talking to other coaches. I want to add my appreciation for Chad Chatlos of Turnkey Search, who helped us navigate through this process.”
During Beamer’s tenure as recruiting coordinator at Carolina, nine of his signees were selected in the NFL draft. Those include first round selection Stephen Gilmore (Buffalo Bills) and second round selections Alshon Jeffery (Chicago Bears) and D.J. Swearinger (Houston Texans).
The Gamecocks all-time winningest quarterback, Connor Shaw, and rushing touchdown leader, Marcus Lattimore, were also in the 2010 class.
In between stops in Columbia and Norman, Beamer spent two seasons on the staff at Georgia as tight ends coach and special team’s coordinator. In 2017, the Bulldogs won the SEC Championship, finished second in the nation, falling in the CFP title game to Alabama in overtime.
The son of Hall of Fame coach, Frank Beamer, he worked with his father as the running backs coach at Virginia Tech from 2011-14. In his first year, he coached David Wilson, who broke the Tech single-season rushing record and was named All-American and ACC Player of the Year and went on to become a first-round NFL draft selection by the New York Giants.
Beamer’s first full-time coaching position was at Mississippi State, joining the Bulldogs in 2004 as defensive backs coach. In his first two seasons at State, he guided three defensive backs to SEC All-Freshman Team accolades. He made the move to running backs coach in the spring of 2006 and coached running back Anthony Dixon to SEC All-Freshman honors. He also served as the program’s recruiting
coordinator.
Beamer spent three seasons (2001-03) as a graduate assistant at Tennessee, helping with the cornerbacks, coaching the placekickers, punters, and long snappers, and assisting in all special teams’ areas. He also oversaw game opponent scouting and earned a master’s degree in sport management in December 2003.
Before joining the staff at Tennessee, he worked one season (2000) as a graduate assistant at Georgia Tech, helping with the Yellow Jacket quarterbacks and wide receivers.
A 2000 graduate of Virginia Tech, Beamer was a member of five bowl teams (1995-99 seasons) and three Big East Conference championship squads on the Hokie football team as a long snapper and wide receiver. He was a long snapper on the 1999 Tech team that played for the BCS National Championship.
Beamer and his wife, Emily, are the parents of three children – two daughters, Sutton and Olivia, both born in Columbia, and a son, Hunter, born in Blacksburg, Va.
