Optimistic Beamer reiterates his lofty 2026 expectations

TAMPA, Fla. — A tip to Shane Beamer, the excitable South Carolina Gamecocks football coach.

Choose words more carefully.

On Tuesday at Southeastern Conference Media Days, Beamer thought back to six years ago when he was hired to replace Will Muschamp.

“At the press conference, I talked about two things,” Beamer said. “There was no ceiling on the football program at South Carolina, and nothing has changed.”

Change the comma to a period, and the last sentence is highly accurate.

Anyway, that was one of the things he discussed. The other? We’ll get to that later.

As far as his first point. Beamer is right.

Except for an uncharacteristic three-year run of 11-win seasons under Steve Spurrier, South Carolina has historically been a struggling program that manages a good year or two and then sinks back to mediocrity.

The Gamecocks had a nine-win season under Muschamp but struggled in four other years.

Lou Holtz had a nine-win campaign but never won more than six games afterward.

Under Beamer, nothing has changed.

Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Shane Beamer was the AP’s SEC Coach of the Year in 2024 despite going 5-3 in conference. He is 16-24 against league opponents in five seasons.

In six seasons, he has led South Carolina to a 33-30 record. The Gamecocks posted nine wins in 2024. Then went 4-8 last season.

They entered last season with a top-15 national ranking, a quarterback hailed as a leading Heisman Trophy contender and a coach popular with fans.

After that Beamer bummer, they may not have any of those this year.

“Last year at this time, most of you guys (media) picked us very high because of the players that we had returning on our team,” Beamer said. “This year, we won't be picked very high. I get that, but we got the same players that you picked us high for last year.”

That doesn’t really seem like a flex. But Beamer is highly optimistic.

Late last season, he said the Gamecocks this year would be firmly in the playoff picture come November.

He reiterated that on Tuesday.

“The expectation always has been since I've been the head coach and always will be at South Carolina to compete for championships and to compete for a spot in the 12-team playoff,” Beamer said.

He has reasons beyond star quarterback LaNorris Sellers and All-SEC defensive end Dylan Stewart to be optimistic. Those he listed include:

• The team is a year older.
• Transfer portal additions.
• The 2026 recruiting class was 14th.
• New offensive coordinator Kendal Briles.
• Since Beamer’s arrival, South Carolina leads the SEC in defensive takeaways.
• Since Beamer’s arrival, South Carolina leads the SEC in blocked kicks.
• Six of last year’s losses were one-score games in the fourth quarter.

He probably should have omitted the last one, especially considering that includes blowing a 27-point lead in a 31-30 loss to Texas A&M.

Beamer left the field at halftime celebrating a 30-3 lead. Then, he looked perplex as A&M scored four unanswered touchdowns in the second half.

“I think that was one of three games last season that we led going into the fourth quarter,” Beamer said. “So for me, I look at it, why did we not play better in the fourth quarter?”

Losing close games doesn’t endear a coach to his fan base. Patience evaporates fast in the SEC. Beamer is now on the proverbial hot seat.

The schedule includes Tennessee, A&M and Georgia, along with road trips to Alabama, Oklahoma, Florida and Clemson. That’s not ideal for a coach hoping to keep his job.

Which brings us back to the second thing Beamer talked about in his introduction.

“I said that this was my dream job when I got hired back then, and nothing has changed,” he said.

If nothing changes, the prospect of Beamer keeping his job may be just a dream.