South Carolina Football Coach Shane Beamer was waiting for the right opportunity to jump into a head coaching position and he found the right place on December 5th when the athletics director Ray Tanner offered him the job. Beamer was looking for the right place at the right time, but he had to convince a school to accept it too.
On Saturday morning, making an appearance at Marty & McGee on the SEC Network, Beamer was asked what prepared him to be a coach in a place like South Carolina.
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“On the one hand, I have lived this all my life, growing up as the son of a head coach,” said Beamer. “Not just the years that Virginia Tech started killing him, leaving high school for bowling. In my first year of high school, Virginia Tech won five games; in my second year, Virginia Tech won two games. I saw the good and the bad.
“The coaches I know – Lincoln Riley and Kirby Smart, who were head coaches for the first time, I could see how they did it for the first time in that role. From people like George O’Leary of Georgia Tech, Phillip Fulmer in Tennessee, Sylvester Croom in the state of Mississippi, Steve Spurrier here, my father – so many great coaches that I have around.
“I like to think about the roles I played – I directed the attack, I guided the defense, I coached special teams – so I am familiar with all three phases. The roles I played, from recruiting coordinator, associate coach, interim coach at Virginia Tech for a short period of time – I think all of these experiences have shaped and helped me prepare to sit in this chair.
“The fact that I’ve been here before. I lived in Columbia, I know this state, I know this region, I know this university. I’ve seen how we were able to do this before and I’m even more excited about it now, because of the resources we have available in Columbia that we didn’t have before when I was here.
“My relationship with former players. It was great to see so many of these guys come by last week. In Alshon Jeffery on Monday night, for Melvin Ingram yesterday for Stephen Garcia yesterday. It was great to reconnect with those guys.
“This is too much. The right place, the right time. Wherever we went, I knew it had to be a good fit. I thought it was a good fit for me and my family ”.