The signs were everywhere for Frank Beamer as he built his own coaching career in the Hall of Fame.
And yes, most parents are partial when it comes to their children. But there was no doubt in Beamer’s mind that her son, Shane, would one day be the head coach.
Today is the day that Shane will be introduced on Monday as the 36th South Carolina football coach.
“As a boy, he never missed a thing, he never just assumed everything would work out,” said Beamer, who won 280 games during his coaching career, including 238 over 29 seasons at Virginia Tech.
“He practiced a lot, planned a lot and worked hard so that the result was what he wanted.”
Before wireless headphones, Shane carried the cable for his father on the sideline during games. Shane, just 11, also did not carry the cord, but practiced carrying the cord at night in the family garage.
“It probably says everything you need to know about him,” said Frank. “Most of the people who will handle the rope on the sideline go there and do that, but Shane – even that young man – wanted to make sure he was perfect.”
Only once was there a small hiccup. Shane went home one night after a game and told his mother, Cheryl, some of the “colorful” things his father said during the game.
“It was a tough game, I remember, and I called Shane aside and said, ‘Look, what happens on the sideline is on the sideline.’ He was fine after that “, joked Frank.
There are never guarantees in the coaching world, but Frank is convinced that his son is “more than ready” for this job, a job that Frank said Shane long ago told him was his dream job after working in Carolina. South as an assistant to Steve Spurrier from 2007 to 2010.
“He’s so detailed and so organized,” said Frank. “He pulls his mother in that respect. Thank God. I always said to take care of the little things and the big ones will come. And this is Shane.”
Frank and Cheryl will be proud to watch on Monday, albeit virtually due to the restrictions of COVID-19, when their 43-year-old son follows in the footsteps of his father’s head coach.
They’ll remember Shane diligently practicing how to charge the earphone cord those nights in the garage.
They’ll remember him standing on the deck of his home in Blacksburg, Virginia, with his Fisher-Price walkie-talkie and playing on the radio to his younger sister, Casey, while the kids in the neighborhood played soccer downstairs.
They will remember him wearing a jacket and tie and reviewing his father’s old travel itineraries since Frank’s first head coaching job at Murray State and planning a simulated trip.
They’ll remember him sifting through Frank’s old handbooks since Frank’s defensive coordinator days at the Citadel. Shane kept each of those old game books in his desk drawers in his childhood home.
They’ll remember Shane even leaving football briefly when he was a kid just so he could be present at all of his father’s training and games, and then when he returned to football just before high school, ensuring his flight as early as possible on Saturday mornings to fly alone be present at the Hokies away games and then fly back with the team.
“There were so many signs. It was on the cards that we would be here one day, and here we are,” said Cheryl.
Frank is particularly proud that Shane made his own way as a coach and didn’t train with his father until the last few years before Frank’s retirement in 2015. Shane also played for his father at Virginia Tech on special teams.
“He never once asked me to make a call to him,” said Frank. “He wanted to do it alone, and he did it. He worked for a lot of great people and learned from a lot of great people. He trained a lot of positions and had the opportunity to learn a lot about football.”
One of the defeats against Shane for being the head coach was that he was never a primary scorer in attack or defense, but Frank thinks that the fact that his son has experience as an attack, defense and special team coach will be to his advantage head coach.
“I used to say about Bobby Ross [whom Frank worked under at The Citadel] that he was one of the most experienced guys I knew, “said Frank.” He could sit there and talk to you about the offense, talk to you about defense and he could talk to you about special teams. Shane is the same way. He has a lot of knowledge about all parts of the game. “
As a recruiter, Frank said that Shane’s authenticity and his ability to relate to people from all walks of life is what makes him so effective. Shane was the recruiting coordinator for South Carolina in 2009 and 2010, when Gamecocks brought together some of their best recruiting classes in the school’s history, serving as the basis for three consecutive 11-win seasons and three consecutive top-10 results in final searches.
Many of the players in these classes were firmly in Shane’s corner, and publicly, to get the job in South Carolina.
“Recruitment involves work and relationships,” said Frank. “Shane is going to write an extra note or make an extra call to find out who’s really going to make the decision. He cares about people. He cares about his players. He respects people and gives them respect, and that’s what everything is about. on.”
Frank and Cheryl did their best not to disturb Shane throughout the search process. At least twice during Frank’s career, he had a chance to go to the SEC as a head coach, once to Alabama and once to Georgia. But he never had the courage to leave his alma mater.
“We knew from Frank’s experience when he was ready for jobs how stressful everything can be,” explained Cheryl. “So we didn’t ask Shane a lot of questions.”
But finally, last Saturday night, Cheryl received a FaceTime call from Shane’s granddaughter and eldest daughter, Sutton. Cheryl and Sutton FaceTime often, so Cheryl didn’t know for sure that it was The turn on.
Sutton asked where Frank was. All grandchildren call him “Da”. Cheryl went to get Frank to the other room, where he was watching television.
When they returned, Shane was there holding his son, Hunter, with a smiling Sutton standing beside him.
Shane’s youngest daughter, Olivia, was with her mother, Emily, while she was filming the whole scene.
“You are looking at the new coach at the University of South Carolina,” Shane told his parents.
Frank and Cheryl immediately started to cry.
“We were both crying, just seeing the joy on his face,” said Cheryl.
She lost control again the next day when she saw a photo of an emotional Shane looking at Williams-Brice Stadium after flying on Sunday.
“He loves the place, he loved his time there, he and Emily,” said Cheryl. “Shane was born in Charleston, and the two girls were born in Columbia. It’s a blessing.”
Frank, who had only two winning seasons in his first six years at Virginia Tech, gave only one piece of advice to his son.
“Be exactly who you are,” said Frank.
Gamecocks are betting that this will be good enough.