For 48 hours after Champ was fired there was a lot of talk (and it continues even now to a degree) that there was an enormous pool of high-caliber, knock-your-socks-off coaches who were banging down our door to come coach the Gamecocks. Hugh Freeze, it was intimated, was there for the taking. Joe Brady's name was floated around. Mario Cristobal too.
Then within a day or two, the talk coalesced around...Billy Napier and Shane Beamer. I'm not saying either of those guys would fail, but there are a lot of people who will feel like we "settled," big time, if one of those guys gets the job. A couple things:
We have no money. Like, less than no money. We're about three Dodie buildings' worth of cash in the red right now. We have a buyout to pay, assistant coaches' contracts to settle up, etc. When a coaching search happens, media and fans talk endlessly about qualifications, "checking boxes," etc. The big box they never bother checking in their minds, or don't pay a lot of attention to as though it's some kind of afterthought, is money. "I'd throw whatever amount of money we needed to at Coachy McSupercoach and make him say no!" Yeah, spoken like somebody with zero skin in the game. The reality is that money is going to be THE driving factor in this hire. That's why Freeze won't happen. He costs real money. Napier and Beamer don't. Period, end of story, and the same people who pushed for Champ to be fired are the ones who will be bankrolling his buyout, and they're the same people hiring the next guy. Welcome to college sports.
Secondly, this is a time for rallying around the program and the school. Connor Shaw gave the most impassioned, and frankly the most important speech by a Gamecock coach since Lou Holtz was here. That pride, excitement, and passion for the school has been gone since the day Spurrier quit mid-season, and maybe even before then. The real decision makers evidently want somebody who understands the culture here and who can take pride in it. It's not just "wanting the job," it's about moving in with all your chips and building a true identity here. Gamecock football stands at the crossroads and a lot of people want a head coach who is all-in for what it takes to make this a winner, not just from a schematic standpoint on gameday, but from a program-building and an institutional standpoint.
Lots of coaches believe they understand the challenge here, but nearly all of them are wrong. Even SOS had no idea what he was in for, and it wasn't until he got the right people around him--including guys like Beamer, who really did understand what needed to be done--that he was able to make anything happen here worth remembering.
Anyway, I'm not actually advocating for those two guys. If I had my druthers, we'd be having a totally different conversation. I am saying that I understand what's pushing them into pole position and I also see why people are feeling massive disappointment. When you tell people, "You cannot believe the outpouring of interest in the coaching world, and some of these names are eye-popping!" your next sentence can't be "And therefore we are hiring the Beamer kid at Oklahoma who used to work here."
It's a shame because we are not going to make a big flashy hire, no matter what people want, and right now we can't afford to have a divided fan base. It really is a time for rallying around the program, for supporting the next coach with all the enthusiasm we can muster, because a full-spectrum roster collapse due to transfers is definitely a possibility if the program stays mired in negative vibes, both inside and out. People really need to prepare for the inevitable, though, and we'd best pray we get more than our money's worth, and in the meantime get behind the team like never before.
Then within a day or two, the talk coalesced around...Billy Napier and Shane Beamer. I'm not saying either of those guys would fail, but there are a lot of people who will feel like we "settled," big time, if one of those guys gets the job. A couple things:
We have no money. Like, less than no money. We're about three Dodie buildings' worth of cash in the red right now. We have a buyout to pay, assistant coaches' contracts to settle up, etc. When a coaching search happens, media and fans talk endlessly about qualifications, "checking boxes," etc. The big box they never bother checking in their minds, or don't pay a lot of attention to as though it's some kind of afterthought, is money. "I'd throw whatever amount of money we needed to at Coachy McSupercoach and make him say no!" Yeah, spoken like somebody with zero skin in the game. The reality is that money is going to be THE driving factor in this hire. That's why Freeze won't happen. He costs real money. Napier and Beamer don't. Period, end of story, and the same people who pushed for Champ to be fired are the ones who will be bankrolling his buyout, and they're the same people hiring the next guy. Welcome to college sports.
Secondly, this is a time for rallying around the program and the school. Connor Shaw gave the most impassioned, and frankly the most important speech by a Gamecock coach since Lou Holtz was here. That pride, excitement, and passion for the school has been gone since the day Spurrier quit mid-season, and maybe even before then. The real decision makers evidently want somebody who understands the culture here and who can take pride in it. It's not just "wanting the job," it's about moving in with all your chips and building a true identity here. Gamecock football stands at the crossroads and a lot of people want a head coach who is all-in for what it takes to make this a winner, not just from a schematic standpoint on gameday, but from a program-building and an institutional standpoint.
Lots of coaches believe they understand the challenge here, but nearly all of them are wrong. Even SOS had no idea what he was in for, and it wasn't until he got the right people around him--including guys like Beamer, who really did understand what needed to be done--that he was able to make anything happen here worth remembering.
Anyway, I'm not actually advocating for those two guys. If I had my druthers, we'd be having a totally different conversation. I am saying that I understand what's pushing them into pole position and I also see why people are feeling massive disappointment. When you tell people, "You cannot believe the outpouring of interest in the coaching world, and some of these names are eye-popping!" your next sentence can't be "And therefore we are hiring the Beamer kid at Oklahoma who used to work here."
It's a shame because we are not going to make a big flashy hire, no matter what people want, and right now we can't afford to have a divided fan base. It really is a time for rallying around the program, for supporting the next coach with all the enthusiasm we can muster, because a full-spectrum roster collapse due to transfers is definitely a possibility if the program stays mired in negative vibes, both inside and out. People really need to prepare for the inevitable, though, and we'd best pray we get more than our money's worth, and in the meantime get behind the team like never before.
