Shane Beamer shades Lane Kiffin for not calling before hiring Sterling Lucas at LSU

Last month, On3’s Pete Nakos and GamecockCentral reported South Carolina assistant Sterling Lucas would be leaving for LSU. He will be part of Lane Kiffin’s new staff in Baton Rouge.

However, speaking with reporters Friday, South Carolina coach Shane Beamer shaded Kiffin regarding Lucas’ departure. He said he did not receive a customary call from Kiffin about his interest in speaking with Lucas.

While Beamer noted there’s no written rule about calling other coaches before hiring an assistant, he mentioned the timeline of Lucas’ departure. The two had a phone call one night, and the news broke Dec. 19. Before that, though, Beamer did not hear from Kiffin.

“Happened fast, as you guys know,” Beamer said Friday. “Got a call on a Thursday night after 11 p.m. from the previous coach that was here, telling me that he had been offered a job at another school. And by 9 a.m. the next morning, he was gone. A little bit unusual. Usually, you get a phone call from the head coach of the school kind of giving you a heads up that he’s interested in maybe talking to one of your coaches or things like that. That didn’t happen – which, again, there’s no rule that that has to happen. But it’s kind of an unspoken rule.

“Didn’t hear anything from the other school, didn’t hear anything from the previous coach until he called to tell me that he had been offered a job. It wasn’t a very thorough interview process where you have a few days to plan and think this might be coming down the track.”

Lucas arrived at South Carolina in 2022 as defensive ends and outside linebackers coach and later became the defensive run game coordinator in January 2025. He worked closely with Gamecocks standout pass rushers Dylan Stewart and Bryan Thomas Jr. during his time in Columbia, but will now prepare to join Kiffin at LSU.

Prior to his arrival at South Carolina, Lucas worked for the Jacksonville Jaguars as assistant defensive line coach in 2021 and was with the Baltimore Ravens from 2016-20. He started his coaching career at his alma mater, NC State, in 2013 as a graduate assistant.

Lane Kiffin left Ole Miss at the end of the 2025 regular season to take the head coach job at LSU. He’s also preparing to bring some Rebels staff members with him to Baton Rouge, although they are still in the College Football Playoff after taking down Georgia in the quarterfinals on Thursday.