Shane Beamer is agitated: Why is there a sudden joylessness surrounding South Carolina?
Shane Beamer sounded like a coach swatting hot seat rumors and not someone coming off consecutive upsets over Top 10 teams to end the 2022 season.
“I feel like some people might need a reminder of some of the things we’ve done here at South Carolina this past season, Beamer said, just getting warmed up.
“There’s a lot of excitement and momentum going into the Gator Bowl and that’s because of the excitement and momentum we’ve created here at South Carolina this past season that we continue to build on that momentum. An 8-4 team, a nationally-ranked team, going to a historic bowl game, beating Clemson for the first time in a while, snapping Clemson’s home winning streak that they’ve had however many years, back-to-back wins for the first time ever in South Carolina football history and only the seventh team in the history — HISTORY — of college football to beat two top 10 teams as an unranked team in back to back to weeks.
“I feel like some people need a reminder of some of the things we’ve done here at South Carolina this past season.”
Remember three weeks ago? When Williams-Brice Stadium was a hornets nest and fans rushed the field after South Carolina dropped 63 points on No. 5 Tennessee in a historic upset?
“It’s a new Carolina,” Beamer said during the postgame scene.
Careful what you wish for, I guess.
A couple of notable playmakers hit the transfer portal and Beamer makes an odd offensive coordinator hire and suddenly the sky is falling in Columbia.
Get it together, Gamecock Nation.
Fans should always want more. To dream big. To ask why? That’s the point of being a fan. But it doesn’t actually entitle you to anything. And that fanaticism can come with repercussions, too.
Jaheim Bell and MarShawn Lloyd entering the portal isn’t some sign that Beamer has lost the locker room. Hiring Arkansas tight ends coach Dowell Loggains as the Gamecocks’ new OC, while a strange choice, isn’t some sign that Beamer is in over his head.
But to hear him passionately defend his program Wednesday you’d think ‘Cocks fans were ready to run him out of town.
“I’m not interested in winning the press conference, guys. I’m interested in hiring the best coach available for what we need as a program,” Beamer said, who was peppered with questions about why he hired Loggains, who is a journeyman NFL OC but has never called plays in college.
“There are a lot of hot names last year in college football that got hired places. People who are not as aware of what’s going on in college football said, ‘Oh my god, that’s a home run hire by that school.’ Well, some of those schools are sitting home for Christmas right now ’cause they’re not in a bowl game with what they did.”
Beamer further snapped at reporters for criticizing the hire, saying, “I’m sure you guys knew Dowell Loggains turned down a job in the SEC last year, right? I’m sure you guys knew I’m the fourth SEC head coach that has reached out to him in the last two weeks about coming to work for him? We were fortunate to hire Dowell Loggains.”
He then named-dropped close to a dirty dozen of famous football coaches and players who gave Loggains a stamp of approval, including the likes of Bill Parcells, Sean Payton, Kyle Shanahan, John Fox, James Franklin, Connor Shaw and Alshon Jeffery.
For a guy who preached “joy” for much of the 2022 season, Shane Beamer doesn’t sound like a coach having a whole lot of fun right now. The “excitement” and “vibe” in Carolina sure seems off just weeks removed from a couple of program-defining wins.
And this is where fandom meets consequences, Gamecock Nation.
Shane Beamer doesn’t need South Carolina.
No, he’s not going anywhere now, but unlike almost every other coach in Gamecock history, Shane Beamer would have suitors — plural — tomorrow if he wanted a different job.
“It’s a high-pressure job. It’s demanding. I get it: You’re judged on what you do the 12 Saturday’s a year. If you don’t win football games, you get fired,” Beamer said back in July at SEC Media Days.
“But I’m gonna have a hell of a time as long as I’m here as the head coach at South Carolina and I’m having a blast right now.”
He then went out and went 8-4 in Year 2, once again exceeding expectations.
So where’s the joy?
South Carolina is a tough job that has run almost every other coach in its program’s history through the woodchipper. The Gamecocks have a passionate and loyal fan base, but typically, they’ve understood their hierarchy within the SEC.
Get hired by South Carolina, and you’re almost certain to get fired by South Carolina.
Steve Spurrier is the lone head coach to end his Carolina tenure with a winning record since the school joined the SEC in 1992.
Beamer is 15-10 in two seasons in Columbia. The Gamecocks wildly exceeded expectations in 2021, and did so again this fall.
There are legitimate nits to pick with some of Beamer’s decisions — particularly his OC choice — but he’s proven he has a vision for his program. He engineered a sweeping cultural change in 2021, and the locker room still believes in his direction for the team with the way they ended the 2022 regular season.
Spoil Tennessee and Clemson’s playoff hopes and who cares about criticism from fans and columnists?
Well, Shane Beamer hears the chatter and it clearly bothers him.
The Gamecocks don’t need to don a banner for their 8-4 season, but they don’t need to hang their head coach just because they dislike his coordinator choice, either.
Let the process play out, Gamecocks. This isn’t the moment for some program existential crisis. We’ll find out one way or another if Shane Beamer can truly buck history and make it “a new Carolina.”
So let’em.