South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer admitted entering this season that he was squarely on the hot seat. Just three games into the season, his seat might be as hot as it's ever been, coming off of a blown lead at home to Mississippi State and a blowout loss to Alabama.
Unsurprisingly, after two back-to-back disappointing games, the national media has begun to call out the Gamecock's sixth-year head coach.
The knives come out for Coach Beamer
One of the first was SEC Network's Paul Finebaum, who took things so far as to call Beamer "the most hapless coach he saw" over the weekend. Finebaum said it while making an appearance on The Matt Barrie Show:
“The most hapless coach I saw yesterday was Shane Beamer,” Finebaum said as transcribed by On3Sports. “They got off to a fast start, a 56-yard run on the first play. They should have scored a touchdown … They missed the field goal, they went for it the next time, and then they just got destroyed.
“And that was the guy who everybody said at Media Days, he’s the SEC coach on the hot seat. I can assure you, after losing to Mississippi State and getting run by Alabama, his his case for coming back next year has not gotten any better.”
Finebaum expanded on Beamer's status with the program, during an appearance on McElroy and Cubelic over the weekend. While the radio host added that if South Carolina were to rebound and have a 7-5 season, that could be enough to keep Beamer in Columbia.
But if he doesn't it's a whole different ball game. He also pointed out that the Gamecocks have athletic director Jeremiah Donati in place, who did not hire Beamer himself personally.
"If he can’t, I don’t think he’s going to [stick around] because with a new athletic director, I mean he’s been there you know a year and a half now," Finebaum added via On3. If the program seems stuck in the mud, if there’s a lack of discipline, if you get embarrassed on national television, then you have to start thinking about where do we go next.”
Another national media member that called Beamer out was ESPN's Josh Pate. During his show released on Sunday, Pate believed that the Beamer era in Columbia has likely run its course:
“It’s run its course, which I hate. I love Shane Beamer,” Pate said. “I love a lot of these dudes, but this is a bottom-line business, and they’re not getting the job done. So I’d be surprised if it didn’t end up going that way eventually for Shane and South Carolina.”
Of course, South Carolina imploding on national television two weeks in a row is going to elicit some national reaction. But there are several games left for South Carolina, and there is indeed time for Beamer to turn this around.
What's left in front of South Carolina, and where wins could come
It's not an easy remaining road for the Gamecocks. This week, South Carolina has to play Kentucky at home. The Wildcats looked even more competitive against Alabama earlier this season, and knocked off Texas A&M. The Gamecocks are luckily listed as 3.5-point favorites early.
From there, South Carolina goes on the road to play newly-ranked in the Top-10 Florida Gators. The Gators just knocked off No. 4 Ole Miss this weekend, so the Gators play well at home. The Gamecocks then get a bye before playing Tennessee at home. The Vols nearly upset the No. 1 Texas Longhorns this past weekend, so it will be a challenge.
South Carolina should get a win over Oklahoma on Oct. 31, as the Sooners have struggled in back-to-back weeks. The game on Nov. 7 at home against Texas A&M could go either way, but South Carolina luckily gets it at home. The Gamecocks should be able to beat Arkansas on the road, and you can pencil in a loss to No. 2 Georgia at home.
As for the last week of the season, the jury is still out on Clemson, who despite getting blown out against LSU has looked better in wins over UNC and Cal. The good news there is Beamer has won the last three games against Dabo Swinney at Clemson.
As things look now, the best case scenario is reaching six wins. South Carolina will likely need to win one of those aforementioned games that the team is not supposed to for Coach Beamer to survive.
His buyout with the school is $27.9 million, but that drops to $22 million in December.
Of course, no one can predict the future, and there's a chance South Carolina can rebund and play as it was expected to this season. But with the way things have gone the last two weeks, it's hard to have a ton of belief in that happening.
We'll see if Beamer proves us wrong.
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