Paul Mainieri 'not afraid' to work under a legend like Ray Tanner

South Carolina is hoping the recent hire of former LSU national champion Paul Mainieri can help revitalize the program, and there’s at least one compelling reason to think it just might.

The circumstances Mainieri inherits in terms of working structure are very close to what he walked into with the Tigers.

Try Fubo for FREE today and don’t miss any of the action!

“Well it’s going to be very similar to when I went to LSU and took over there and Skip Bertman was the athletic director,” Mainieri said Thursday on the Paul Finebaum Show. “Some people are afraid of the shadows cast by legendary coaches like Skip and Ray (Tanner). But I’m not afraid of it. I embrace it.”

Tanner, the South Carolina athletics director, is a famed former coach himself, having brought the program a pair of national championships in the early 2010s. For some coaches, having that overshadow you ever day at work can be a burden.

Mainieri has his own national title to hang his hat on, though. He’s also squared off against Tanner more than a few times on the diamond.

“Ray, when we played each other, I think we played each other like 14 times, and we always had some great games and I just always had the greatest respect for him and his team and the way that they played the game,” Mainieri said. “And of course ultimately won those championships and played for a third in three consecutive years, how could you not admire somebody like that?”

Mainieri was quick to point out that his relationship with Tanner is much closer to one as peers than as boss and subordinate.

“When Ray and I were on the phone talking about doing this, we were talking as old peers,” he said. “Ray’s career kind of paralleled mine in coaching. We’re the same age. And even when we didn’t compete against each other we were on the phone talking to each other about various topics that affected college baseball. So I just always liked Ray. I felt like we had become friends and we could kind of throw things at each other.”

So what will the working relationship look like going forward? How involved will Tanner be on a day-to-day basis with the Gamecocks?

The new ball coach did his best to answer that question.

“Listen, nothing’s going to stop now. I know he’s my boss, but it’s a great relationship,” Mainieri said. “Even this morning I was on the phone with him talking about his take on some of the veteran players on the South Carolina roster from last year and the year before. So his input to me is only going to be helpful. He’s never going to step out of his lane and try to tell me what I have to do or what I don’t have to do. I certainly would have never taken the job if he was going to do that.

“But his advice and his counsel is going to be well-received by me, and he’s always going to be welcome to sit right next to me and share anything he wants with me.”