Should Marcus Satterfield stay at Carolina?

Two years ago the South Carolina football team was in search of an offensive coordinator. Last year, they were in search of an offensive coordinator.

This year, the Gamecocks are potentially in the search for an offensive coordinator.

Marcus Satterfield wrapped his first year in Columbia leading one of the worst offenses in the country, ranking 116th out of 130 teams. 

That equals out to 319.6 yards per game and just 27 touchdowns on the year. 

Granted, the drop wasn't much from the previous year under Mike Bobo, which finished 72nd overall, but that unit was able to field a 1,000-yard rusher in Kevin Harris.

This year's team, under new head coach Shane Beamer, did not have a 1,000-yard rusher, but the overall yardage was comparable to last year, and was spread across four backs.

The top passer Luke Doty didn't eclipse 1,000 yards, but battled injury and missed the latter half of the season.

Top receiver Josh Vann, had 679 yards but the rest of the corps was inconsistent to invisible.  

LINK: Grading South Carolina in 2021

LINK: Beamer's first year cause for optimism

Why was it so bad?

• Pro-style scheme. Fit matters, and if your players don't fit your scheme, you won't find much success. This was a case of a square peg being sledgehammered into a round hole, and destroying the board the hole was drilled in.

• Inconsistent play calling. At times, the offense flowed pretty well, see the Florida game. A majority of the time was ill-conceived gadget plays, bad sequencing and hapless efficiency. Add in baffling management, such as calling slow developing plays with an offensive line that struggled to block air.

• Talent. This one is a big umbrella. The offensive line was ineffective at best and porous most of the time. The line play drastically limited what Satterfield could run.  Add in a second straight year with one consistent wide receiver (Vann), inexperienced quarterback play and inconsistent tight end play and all the elements are there for a bad offense.

In all fairness, the offense wasn't good the previous year, but Bobo was able to work a scheme and run the ball. Satterfield found virtually nothing new with only a small measure of improvement.

With the offense's inabilty to do much, it is a wonder, and a testament to defensive coordinator Clayton White, that South Carolina got bowl eligible. Side note, give White a hefy raise before he gets scooped up by another program. 

Clearly, Beamer knocked it out of the park year one with his defensive hire and his special teams hire of Pete Lembo. 

But Satterfield was a gamble on a guy who was an assistant in the NFL and had mixed to little success as a play-caller. 

Since a bad offense statistically regressed to a worse one, you have to make a change. 

Moving forward, the main question for fans is does Beamer find another pro-style coordinator, or does he look to more of a spread offense?

The other issue is that a big-name coordinator likely isn't coming. So younger coordinators from the Group of 5, or an underused NFL assistant, is the likely target.

Also, can the coordinator get the most out of, let's be generous, less than ideal talent. So you are also looking for an OC that maybe isn't coming from a big name program. 

Go ahead a mark Garrett Riley off your list. All reports are he is heading to Texas Christian with Sonny Dykes. Sure, give him a call just so you can say you tried. But don't get your hopes up.

Also, the blue bloods such as LSU, Notre Dame, Florida, Oklahoma and the like will get first pick of coordinators. So Beamer may have to wait and see who is left. If not, he may run into a scenario similar to last season where he retained Bobo, then had another program offer more money and find himself in a scramble again.

Here are some names to keep an eye on.

Zach Kittley, Western Kentucky offensive coordinator

Beamer found success with the Hilltoppers pulling Clayton White away. Kittley's air-raid offense is ranked in the top 5. Kittley comes from the Kliff Kingsbury coaching tree, which is rooted in Mike Leach's philosphy.

A move to Carolina would mean a pay raise, with Kittley currently making $200,000, and also won't break the bank for an athletic department that had to pay $12.9 million in a buyout of previous head coach Will Muschamp.

A relatively young coach, he checks the boxes of getting a lot out of lesser talent. Can he recruit at power 5 level is a bug question.

Joe Sloan, Louisiana Tech offensive coordinator

Sloan isn't going to move the excitement needle with the Bulldog offense ranked well outside the top 50. Sloan comes from the Skip Holtz coaching tree, runs a more pro-style scheme mixed with spread principles, and is accustomed to working and finding under scouted talent. 

Sloan has a lower salary like Kittley, and again would come with a price-friendly raise. 

He likely isn't the first phone call, but may be a good option if candidates higher on the board say no or are picked up for bigger jobs. 

This may have gotten easier for Carolina with Tech announcing it is parting ways with Holtz, the program's winningest coach, after nine seasons. 

Tom Herman, Chicago Bears offensive analyst

Strangely a name not floating around many searches, but is hot fodder for message boards. Herman "flamed out" at Texas, going 32-18 over four years. Before that his offense at Houston lit up scoreboards.

Now working in the NFL, Herman would be a proven name and will likely incorporate some pro-style principles in his offense. 

The question of wanting to take over an offense this bad, and those head coach jobs may be too much for Carolina to overcome.

This would also likely be a one-year relationship, especially if the Carolina offense improves to be a top 50 offense. 

Still, if he is there only a year, it means it was a good move. 

Tim Cramsey, Marshall offensive coordinator

The Thundering Herd finished in the top 15 of offenses this year, averaging 470 yards per game and had 53 touchdowns. Cramsey has a good bit of experience calling plays and has been an offensive coordinator since 2009 at New Hampshire. Also has two years experience at the FBS level, but a move up to South Carolina would be his biggest job.

Also has previous work experience with current South Carolina offensive line coach Greg Atkins and head of strength and conditioning Luke Day. 

Jared Ambrose, Delaware offensive coordinator 

The Blue Hens run a pro style offense, keeping the philosophy under Satterfield so it isn't s complete overhaul. 

Also, Ambrose brings in-roads into Delaware, home of current 2021 QB commit Braden Davis, as well as Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Delaware hasn't been great on offense this year, ranked 99 out of 123. He does have a proven track record with also a stint at Towson. 

Tee Martin, Baltimore Ravens receivers coach

Martin has bounced around in his 15-year career as a coach, from the high school ranks to college and pros. His most recent time as a play-caller was from 2016-2018 at Southern Cal. Martin and Beamer both have a common link with Tennessee, though Martin graduated a year before Beamer was on staff as a grad assistant. 

The question of does Beamer go to the pro ranks again to find a coordinator. 

Brennan Marion, Pittsburgh wide receiver coach

A young coach, Marion would add to the stable of assistant coaches at Carolina with professional playing experience. While he coaches receivers for Pitt, Marion was a coordinator and coaches QBs from 2017-2019 with stops at Howard and William & Mary. 

This would probably be considered a reach hire, but the word around coaching circles is that Marion is a bright up-and-comer. 

Greg Stevens, SE Louisiana offensive coordinator

Stevens has piloted the top offense in FCS, averaging nearly 567 yards per game and scoring 69 touchdowns. An experienced offensive coordinator who has a proven track record. Granted, that track record is almost exclusively in the junior college and FCS levels, outside of a three-year stint as receivers coach at Utah State.

 

Not a major splash hire, but a coach who likely knows how to find under recruited talent and get a lot out of it. 

Also, a likely price-friendly hire. 

Erik Kimry, South Carolina tight end coach

A fan friendly move. Kimry grew up a fan of the program, played quarterback, so if it worked, he likely wouldn't leave for a bigger job, at least immediately.

Kimry was also an accomplished play-caller as a high school coach, but the question of could he transition to the college game is a valid question. 

He would also be a big gamble by Beamer to name him offensive coordinator. Outside of Kimry's time at Hammond, there isn't much to base the decision on.

G.A. Mangus, Kutztown offensive coordinator

Beamer is looking to get the program back to the prominence it experienced under Steve Spurrier. May he want to bring back a key hire in Mangus? An experienced offensive coordinator with a track record, and coming from the Spurrier coaching tree is something you can sell to the fanbase and recruits. 

Mangus also brings an experienced recruiter to the staff, and would likely bring contacts in the mid-Atlantic region, an area Beamer is seemingly trying to make in-roads. 

Kutztown isn't awful on offense this year, averaging 370 yards per game and has 31 touchdowns this year, for 80th in Division II. 

Jesse Correll, Shepherd offensive coordinator

Hear me out here. To answer your first question of who?

Correll pilots the top-rated offense in Division II. The offense looks to utilize a power-run game and loves to get the ball to its tight ends, two things Beamer said is looking to be the identity of Carolina's offense. 

Second, Shepherd gets the bulk of its roster from the Mid-Atlantic region, so Correll likely brings recruiting ties to the area, which Beamer and staff have been looking to early on in recruiting efforts. 

The move won't generate much excitement if at all from fans. It will likely get Beamer a lot of "What the hell are you doing?" emails, tweets and calls on his radio show. But I'd argue play-calling at one level likely means you can play-call at any level. 

The question is identifing and signing the right talent.