Clemson's Dabo Swinney provides perspective on Shane Beamer, South Carolina

In November of 1968, South Carolina and then-head football coach Paul Dietzel introduced a new fight song for the university. The song was a lyrical adaptation of “Step to the Rear” from the Broadway show How Now, Dow Jones, written by Elmer Bernstein.

The song’s tune is that of the Broadway song. However, add Dietzel’s lyrics, and it becomes a fight song titled “The Fighting Gamecocks Lead The Way”. Some 57 years later, those Gamecocks now have to find their way out of the doldrums of the Southeastern Conference with head coach Shane Beamer running the show.

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When South Carolina left Williams-Brice Stadium for the final time in 2025, its players, fans, alumni, and staff looked at a 2-3 start against its bitter rival, Clemson, under Beamer.

The fifth-year head coach provided the program its first win over Clemson since 2013 in 2022. Then, in 2024, added back-to-back wins in Clemson’s Memorial Stadium for the first time since 2010-12. However, three home losses are tough to swallow.

It becomes more frustrating when the losses extend Clemson’s streak over South Carolina at Williams-Brice to six.

A coach who started 1-5 in the historical rivalry between South Carolina’s premier programs understands partially what Beamer is going through.

While he knows he is not who South Carolina fans want to hear from, Dabo Swinney did provide some perspective on the Gamecocks’ future under the first-time head coach.

“I mean, listen, they don’t want to hear me. I got a lot of F–u’s walking in. But, I mean, all I can tell you, Shane’s a good football coach, better person, and he cares,” Swinney said.

South Carolina has had a difficult season; there’s no question about it. However, to Dabo at least, it’s not indicative of the talent in Columbia.

“[South Carolina is] a good football team. I mean, they should have beat Alabama,” Swinney said. “I mean, they should have won that game. … Just one of the years that didn’t quite go their way.”

South Carolina had seven games where they entered the fourth quarter with a chance to win. They won only one of those games, the season opener against Virginia Tech.

“I mean, there were so many weeks where we absolutely got our guts ripped out of our bodies on Saturdays,” Beamer said following Clemson. “And that sounds crazy and intense; it’s true. I mean, we got our guts ripped out with some heartbreaking losses.”

These kinds of losses are prone to reactionary comments, which Swinney is all too aware of over his eighteen-year career with the Tigers.

South Carolina fans’ reactions to the 33-30 Beamer are likely more justifiable than to Swinney, who went 51-23 in his first five years. However, he knows fans are liable to overreact at times. He recalls his early years with the Tigers when Clemson fans told him that they’d rather be 7-5 with a win over South Carolina than have 10 wins without it.

“But mostly people just hung in there, and you just, you just got to keep battling. I mean, eventually, these things, you find a way,” Swinney said. “I’m not gonna evaluate the Gamecock people, but all I can tell you is Coach Beamer, he’s a good coach and cares he’s about the right things, and I got a lot of respect.”

Whether or not Beamer will find a way with the Gamecocks remains unseen. For now, South Carolina is full steam ahead into next season. He hopes the lessons learned through the tumultuous 2025 season create a dominant team in 2026.

“I still remember my dad’s 1992 team at Virginia Tech. They led or tied, similar to us this year, six games in the fourth quarter and won two of them,” Beamer said. “And then, the next year they won nine, and went to 29 straight bowl games, or whatever it was, after that, and went on a run.”

Beamer said he’s 100 percent sure South Carolina will have a great season next year. They’re gonna look back on 2025 and remember the hurt, but that it set up a strong 2026. Beamer expects this team to be heavily in the playoff conversation this time next year.

“I’m sick as heck about this feeling right now. I’m responsible, I’m going to get it fixed, so we’re never feeling this feeling again,” Beamer said.

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