When it comes to perspective in college football, few voices carry more weight than Chris Low's, and he is not buying into the noise surrounding South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer's future in Columbia. The veteran national college football reporter for On3 made it clear during The Garnet Trust Hour that he believes South Carolina is making the right call by giving Beamer the chance to regroup and rebuild heading into 2026.
“In the last 40 years, two guys have won nine games in the regular season in Carolina. Shane, and a guy by the name of Steve Spurrier,” Low said. “There’s no way there should really be any consideration given to fire Shane Beamer right now. To me, I’d be asinine to push him out after this year.”
Low's résumé speaks for itself. Nearly four decades of college football coverage, with a sharp focus on the SEC, he knows what winning in this league looks like, and he's seen how difficult it can be to sustain it. “To be able to sustain that over two, three, four seasons in a row, that’s the hard part,” he added.
There is no sugarcoating it, however, this season has not met expectations in Columbia. The Gamecocks' offense sputterd, the record slipped, and frustrations mounted. But Low pointed to Beamer's previous success as proof that he can still get it done... if the right staff and system are in place. And that is where the challenge really begins.
“It’s going to be hard,” Low said of South Carolina’s upcoming offensive coordinator search. “I don’t think it’s impossible. How many established OCs, quote unquote, are going to come in? I do think that’s a hard hire. Now, that doesn’t mean they won’t get somebody good or you won’t get somebody that can help them get back on track offensively, but it won’t be easy. To me, that will be interesting to see who that is and then what he does in the offseason.”
South Carolina fans know all too well that patience isn't easy in the SEC. But as Low pointed out, the reality is that 2026 will be pivotal, and the heat will be on.
“Clearly, it’s been substandard for the Gamecocks on offense this year. Generally, when you start firing coaches on your staff – and this is not a given – then that means that you feel pressure,” he said. “There’s pressure outside that, hey, you’ve got to fix this and fix it in a hurry. Next year’s a big year that, I think we all agree that, against what’s going to be a hard schedule that they need to show improvement.”
There is absolutely no denying that the clock is ticking in Columbia. But if you ask Chris Low, Beamer has earned the right to have the chance to fix what is broken with the Gamecocks. And for a fanbase that has lived through the highs of Spurrier and the rebuilds that have followed, that perspective might be exactly what South Carolina needs to hear right now.