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by WILL FOLKS
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Embattled South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer announced the hiring of a trio of new offensive coaches this week – including a new offensive coordinator – as he seeks to turn around his flailing program.
Beamer announced the hiring of Texas Christian University (TCU) offensive coordinator Kendal Briles – son of former Houston and Baylor head coach Art Briles – as the Gamecocks’ new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Briles, 43, of Abilene, Texas was TCU’s top offensive coach for the past three seasons following offensive coordinator stints at Arkansas (2020-2022), Florida State (2019), Houston (2018), Florida Atlantic (2017) and Baylor (2015-2016).
Beamer also announced the hiring of former Temple head coach Stan Drayton as the Gamecocks’ running backs coach and assistant head coach for offense – and the hiring of former TCU offensive line coach Randy Clements to the same position on his staff.
Briles received a three-year contract which will pay him $2 million in 2026, $2.1 million in 2027 and $2.2 million in 2028. Drayton’s deal will pay him $775,000 annually while Clements will be paid $725,000 annually.
Beamer, incidentally, received a huge raise in January bumping his annual salary to $8.15 million – including annual increases of $100,000 a year. His buyout in the event the school were to fire him without cause is currently an estimated $27.9 million.
“These hirings are Beamer’s Alamo,” one Reddit commenter noted, underscoring frustration with the declining trajectory of the program.
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RELATED | SHANE BEAMER EXPERIMENT NEEDS TO END
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After cracking the Top Ten in September with Heisman Trophy contender LaNorris Sellers (one of the nation’s elite dual-threat quarterbacks) under center – and All-American edge rusher Dylan Stewart anchoring a stout defense – Beamer’s team fell apart, losing eight of its last ten games.
As a result, a team many expected to contend for the College Football Playoff (CFP) didn’t even qualify for a bowl game… with Beamer’s free fall reminding many Gamecock fans of the disastrous tenure of former head coach Will Muschamp, who also failed to find an offensive coordinator worth a damn.
Muschamp’s disastrous reign in Columbia concluded with a 28-30 (.482) overall record, a 17-22 (.435) conference mark and a 3-15 (.166) record against ranked opponents. Beamer isn’t faring much better. Through five full seasons, he’s 33-30 (.524) including a 16-24 (.400) record against SEC foes and a 7-21 (.250) mark against ranked opponents.
Carolina’s 2025 implosion was driven by an utterly atrocious offense – which the fifth-year head coach failed to address until it was far too late. Beamer belatedly fired offensive coordinator Mike Shula, but retained (and actually promoted) ground game coordinator Shawn Elliott – despite the fact South Carolina’s total lack of a rushing offense was the root of its woes.
Elliott, incidentally, will inexplicably remain on Beamer’s staff as run game coordinator and tight ends coach.
Through twelve games last year, South Carolina averaged 22.7 points per game (No. 102 nationally) – but its defense contributed four touchdowns and its special teams added three scores. That means the Gamecock offense was responsible for just 18.6 points per game.
South Carolina averaged 336.3 yards per game – ranking No. 106 nationally – but its nonexistent rushing attack was the anchor dragging it down, ranking No. 118 nationally with just 111.1 yards on the ground per game.
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The Gamecock passing offense was better, ranking No. 67 nationally (225.2 yards per game) – but South Carolina struggled mightily on third down, converting just 31.9% of attempts (No. 125 nationally).
Also, South Carolina’s porous offensive line gave up a staggering 43 sacks on the year – or 3.58 per game. That figure was third-worst in the entire country while the 358 yards lost on sacks ranked second-worst nationally.
Talk about moving in the wrong direction…
The Gamecocks were also one of the most penalized teams in America this season, drawing 88 flags (tied for No. 109 nationally) – or 7.33 flags per game (tied for No. 113 nationally).
Briles’ offense at TCU ranked No. 30 nationally, generating 425.3 yards per game – most of it through the air. TCU ranked No. 8 nationally in passing offense 292.8 yards per game. Junior quarterback Josh Hoover has been a fixture for Briles during his three seasons in Fort Worth – throwing for 9,629 yards and 71 touchdowns in 34 games.
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While TCU’s aerial attack dazzled, the Horned Frogs’ rushing offense struggled to keep pace – amassing just 132.6 yards per game on the ground (which ranked No. 93 nationally).
All told, TCU scored 30.8 points per game last year, tied for No. 43 nationally. Briles’ unit was also clutch on third down, ranking No. 23 in the country with a 46.8% conversion rating. Unfortunately for Briles, his offense sputtered in its only two games against ranked opponents – scoring just 13 points in a humiliating road loss to No. 12 BYU and only 17 points in a road win over No. 23 Houston.
Can Briles’ schemes find success against elite SEC defenses?
During his lone stint as an SEC offensive coordinator at Arkansas, he used the ground game to great effect – guiding the Razorbacks to a No. 7 national ranking with 227.8 rushing yards per game in 2021. Arkansas eclipsed 300 yards on the ground three times that season – including a season-high 353 yards against Penn State in the 2022 Outback Bowl.
Briles left Arkansas following the 2022 season for TCU after the Horned Frogs lost their previous offensive coordinator, Garrett Riley, to Clemson.
South Carolina’s offense will have to show significant improvement against stiff competition next season – with games on tap against four playoff teams (No. 3 Georgia, No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 8 Oklahoma and No. 9 Alabama). How well they fare will depend in large part on whether Sellers sticks around for another season in Columbia after Beamer’s former staff squandered his potential in 2025.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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3 comments
I’m sure they’re offensive coaches all right. When fans see how well the Gamecocks do next year they’ll be pretty offended all right.
Cocka Doodle Doo, LOL!, and “Wait til next year.” Another dumpster fire and then Beamer ball will be a thing of the past. None of these coaches are worth what they are paid and then there is the subject of the buy out to make them go away. Why piss away good money over and over again. Go Gimpy Birds!
My daddy should have told me to be a college football coach! If you do well, you make lots of money while working hard. If you do poorly, you get paid lots of money to go away, and usually with enough money to never have to work again.