South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer knew this question was coming.
Shortly after Virginia Tech fired football coach Justin Fuente on Tuesday, Beamer was in the crosshairs for a question about his potential interest in the Hokies job.
After all, his father– Frank Beamer– was the football coach there from 1987 to 2015. So connecting those dots was pretty easy for the national media.
The first-year Gamecocks head coach delivered an answer that was both respectful to his Hokie roots and his current employer at South Carolina.
“Obviously, I love Virginia Tech — I moved there when I was 10 years old, went to high school there, went to college there and coached there … my parents still live there. So I have special memories of my time in Blacksburg and that’ll always be special to me, but this I where I want to be. When I said this (South Carolina) was my dream job, I wasn’t just saying that to make it sound cool in a press conference or to get the job.”
“This is where my wife and I, my family, want to be. We didn’t put that sign up at Williams-Brice Stadium that says, ‘Welcome Home,’ just because it was trending in a slogan. This is home for me. I want to be the head football coach here at South Carolina.”
– Shane Beamer
That was a really strong answer that should make Gamecocks fans feel even better about having the right man for this job.
Beamer is 5-5 in his first 10 games at South Carolina.
The highlight of his first year in Columbia was a Week 10 beatdown of the hated Florida Gators at Williams-Brice Stadium. Though he did follow that up with a disappointing loss to Missouri at Faurot Field in Week 11.
Beamer will need a sixth win against either Auburn or Clemson to gain bowl eligibility in his first year on campus. That would be considered a huge win for a program that was struggling under former coach Will Muschamp.
Cover photo via Faith Worrell of the Daily Gamecock
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