Everything Kendal Briles said in his introductory press conference on Friday

South Carolina formally introduced Kendal Briles as its new offensive coordinator in a press conference on Friday morning. Here’s everything Briles had to say, along with some words from head coach Shane Beamer.

Opening statement

“It’s been an unbelievable 24 hours just being here for my family. Just incredibly blessed and grateful to be here for the opportunity Coach Beamer has given us to join and be just a small part of the incredible staff that he already has with his defensive staff and Clay White and Joe D, the special teams, and to join the other guys offensively. So very grateful to be back in the SEC. I know how big a deal that is, and we’re incredibly excited. So thank you to Jeremiah (Donati) and President (Michael Amiridis), and Jeff (Crane), and everybody who’s involved with the situation. We’re excited to get to work. Columbia looks like a beautiful place. We’ve seen it kind of only in the dark, but we get to go out and look around a little bit today. But we’re incredibly blessed to be here and get ready to get to work.”

Will you stay with TCU for the upcoming bowl game?

“I’ve had communication with Coach (Sonny) Dykes and the guys there. We’re going to elect to not continue with the season with them and get focused on this job and what we need to do to get ready to go here and prepare and be ready when the kids come back in January.”

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Back in those Baylor days, I think your dad’s offenses didn’t even have a playbook because the guys knew it so well. How imperative are these first couple of months going to be to get the guys integrated in your system and to be able to go out in August and September and be able to play fast?

“I don’t think he had a playbook because he didn’t want anybody to get anybody. I think that’s kind of the biggest deal about never having one. But obviously we’re going to have one and talk to the offense today about that as soon as soon as we get them information, get them going when they come in here in January. And I’m sure we’ll have some skills and drills we’re able to do some things throughout the offseason. It’s imperative. I mean, obviously, the more they know, the faster they can go play, so they’re not having to think on the field. So yeah, it’s huge that we get that information to them as fast as we can, while we’re learning our personnel and what these guys can be.”

Can you talk about the hiring process of the first opportunity you had to put eyes on film in what South Carolina did offensively in 2025, and what your thoughts were?

“Yeah, I believe it was that Friday, might have been about nine days ago. (TCU) finished playing Cincinnati. I was able to peek at it and, you know, don’t want to say too much, just like (Randy Clements) said, because I want these guys to have a clean slate moving forward, so we can judge them for what they are whenever we see them practice and get on the football field instead of what they were. But I saw some guys that are really talented. We just gotta fine-tune it a little bit. So that’s our job, and that’s why they call us coach. So it’s a great opportunity to be able to do that. But definitely got some players.”

You and Randy Clements have worked together for a number of years. How would you describe the connection y’all have and why it was so important for him to be here?

“I’ve known coach, Coach Clement since I was 12 years old. My dad hired him in Steamville, Texas, a long time ago, and been around him. I mean, it helps so much just to be on the same page on the offensive line. We can get in there once we do that with the rest of the staff, and we’re already going to be on the same page. It’s not a deal where I’m going to have to be teaching him; he’s going to be teaching the other coaches. And so it’s just a tremendous way to elevate already where we are. So it’s crucial. And then, like Stan (Drayton) talked about earlier, adversity is coming, and I know how he’s going to handle it. He’s a foxhole guy. He’s going to grind with the players. He’s going to continuously coach the players. He’s going to encourage the players. He’s not going to talk down to the players. He’s going to obviously require that they go out there and perform at a high level, and he’ll hold them accountable for that. But when you’ve been in wars with the guy, you know how he’s going to react, and Coach Clem is one of the best around.”

Have you had conversations with LaNorris Sellers in the last couple of weeks, and how would a guy with that skillset fit into your offense?

“No, not within the last couple of weeks. Once the business thing was pretty much done, I had an opportunity to speak with him on the phone. But it’s really more the offense fitting around him, and he’s a quarterback; he’s touching the ball every single snap. I’m not going to go out there and ask him to do something he’s not great at, so we’re going to build the offense around him and the rest of the personnel and do the things that he’s really good at. So we want him to be comfortable. He’s out there with people running full speed at him, probably in a bad attitude, and trying to get after him. So we’re going to do the things that he feels really comfortable with, and I’m excited to work with him. He seems like a great kid.”

Some added thoughts from Shane Beamer on Briles

“When you talk about being able to bring in Kendal Briles as our offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, he’s a proven Power Four offensive coordinator. This job is not for on-the-job training. When you talk about someone that has done it in this league and done it in other conferences at a high level, has done it with multiple personnel, different styles of quarterbacks, it’s really impressive. Offensively, explosive, wants to run the ball. Go back in 2021-2022, his offense in Arkansas was one of three offenses in the entire nation that averaged over 230 yards a game, rushing and passing. They protect the quarterback, which we need to do a better job of. We need to do a better job of protecting the football and being explosive, and he certainly can do that.

“I called a lot of people, called Rocket Sanders about him. Had him on speaker phone in my house last week. Emily (Beamer) was sitting there with me, and she had a Hallmark Christmas movie on or something, but she heard the conversation that was going on, and I said to Rocket, ‘Hey, I didn’t tell anyone I was calling. Good to talk to you all that stuff. How’s the NFL going?’ And I said, ‘If I said the name Kendal Briles to you, what would you say?’ And he didn’t hesitate. And he said, ‘Get it done,’ is what Rocket said. And I said, ‘Hold up, though, like, get it done, like hiring or get it done like he can get it done?’ And he goes both. So knowing how I feel about Rocket and the kind of player he is and the person he is, that said a lot. Talked to a lot of coaches about him, for sure, but couldn’t be more excited about him and welcoming his wife, Sarah, his daughter, Kinley, and his two sons, Jaytn and Kru, here to Columbia.”

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