Report: OU assistant Shane Beamer a strong candidate for South Carolina opening

The son of hall of fame Frank Beamer coached the Gamecocks for four years, was the recruiting coordinator in Columbia and is reported to have an interview on Friday

Shane Beamer :: David Purdy/Getty Images

According to a report published Tuesday in The Athletic, Oklahoma assistant coach Shane Beamer will be interviewed for the head coach position at South Carolina.

The report, citing unnamed sources, says interviews will begin after Thanksgiving and the school intends to have Will Muschamp’s replacement hired before the early signing period begins on Dec. 16.

The report says Beamer — a former Gamecocks assistant — is one of “six or seven” candidates for the job and identified him as “the candidate with the most momentum at this point.” Beamer’s interview is “believed” to be scheduled for Friday, according to the report. 

Beamer will be in Morgantown, WV, this weekend as No. 11-ranked Oklahoma (6-2) takes on the West Virginia (5-3) in a key Big 12 Conference game.

Beamer is Lincoln Riley’s assistant head coach, oversees special teams and is in charge of the tight ends and H-backs position. The 43-year-old son of College Football Hall of Fame coach Frank Beamer was actually born in Charleston, SC, and was an assistant for Hall of Fame Steve Spurrier at USC from 2007-10. His previous ties as the team’s recruiting coordinator could make him an appealing candidate with high school coaches in the region.

The report says several former South Carolina lettermen are “pushing his candidacy internally.”

Beamer is in his third season coaching under Riley, and his position — which includes current players Jeremiah Hall, Austin Stogner, Brayden Willis and Mikey Henderson — has developed into one of the keystones of Riley’s offense.

Riley said Monday that Beamer’s candidacy in Columbia “won’t be a distraction, because we’ve got guys in here that are professionals and care about this place, care about this team. Just from a professionalism standpoint, I got no concerns about that.”

Beamer was a long-snapper and wide receiver for his dad at Virginia Tech. He worked as a graduate assistant at Georgia Tech and Tennessee before full-time assistant jobs at Mississippi State (2004-06), South Carolina (2007-10), Virginia Tech (2011-15) and Georgia (2016-17) before joining Riley’s staff at Oklahoma.

“I think Shane’s going to be a really good head coach, I do,” Riley said. “He’s got great experience, being able to work with several different guys and several different programs, different parts of the country. And obviously, you know, very inside knowledge from one of the best to ever do it in his dad, Frank Beamer.

“Shane’s got a good way about him. Does a great job with the kids and has been fantastic. I’ll be excited for him. He’s one of those guys that I think certainly will get his opportunity at some point. Obviously, we love having him here. Certainly will be excited for him and any of our other coaches when they get that chance to be a head coach because those just don’t come around very often.”

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