South Carolina football: Dabo Swinney talks about Shane Beamer hire

Dabo Swinney addresses the South Carolina football hire.

News of South Carolina’s hiring Shane Beamer to be the leader of its football program has been circulating ever since the move was made on Sunday afternoon. Talk show hosts, former players, and even opposing coaches have chimed in on the hire, both with excitement and skepticism as Beamer begins his first stint in a head coaching role.

One of those opposing coaches was Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, who was asked about the hire on Monday.

"“Well I think they made a good hire. I consider Shane to be a good friend. He’s a good person. I’ve known him for a long time. He’s always stayed in touch over the years. He has a sweet wife. Great family guy. Have tons of respect for his entire family. Coach (Frank) Beamer is one of the good guys in this business. Shane, I’ve known for a long time, he was with Woody (McCorvey) at Mississippi State. Just think he’s a really good person. Has obviously been very successful as a football coach. He’s our rival and all that type of stuff, but have a lot of respect for him as a man, father, husband and football coach. I think they hired a good man.”"

Swinney also gave a little advice to the new coach, as he maneuvers through his first offseason.

"“Just be yourself. He knows what he needs to do. I reached out to him last week and had a good conversation with him. Just surround yourself with good people. Be an inside out program. That’s where it starts.”"

This seems to be a drastic change from the last head coach in Columbia, as Swinney and Will Muschamp were far from “good friends.” Of course, hard feelings can arise when you lose four straight matchups to your archrival, with all being by at least three touchdowns.

Beamer will be tasked with cleaning up the mess left behind by the last staff, as he attempts to get the Gamecocks back into bowl contention, become relevant again in the SEC East, and, of course, end the six-game skid to Swinney’s Tigers. He should his first opportunity to do so in 2021.