Shane Beamer, Gamecocks look to build off strong second season
Coming off a two-win season that saw former coach Will Muschamp fired during the season, Beamer has injected the near dead program with energy on the back of going 16-10 and a two bowl game appearances. The bowl game this year has not been played yet.
There are still plenty of kinks to work out, but it is clear Beamer is building the program identity around special teams and defense in an attempt to replicate the reputation and success his father had at Virginia Tech.
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He also has a major hire coming at offensive coordinator with Marcus Satterfield moving on to Nebraska.
LINK: Beamer has program-making decision replacing Satterfield
The two year-run ranks as one of the bests for a debuting Gamecock coach, dating back to 1966.
The trio of Joe Morrison, Steve Spurrier and Will Muschamp all won 15 games in their first two years, with Jim Carlen (13), Sparky Woods (12) and Brad Scott (11) also notching double-digit wins. Lou Holtz (8) and Paul Dietzel (6) had low results, but for Holtz, those eight wins came after a winless debut campaign.
Historically, it is the third year is a down year where the coach truly has a foundation to build with their players, and is a key year determining the direction the program will go.
After going 5-5, Dietzel slipped with a 4-6 finish in 1968. It turned out to be an omen where the program would stay around the 4-to-6 win mark until a pair of 7-4 years (69,73).
Carlen's third year marked a steady decline falling to back-to-back 5-win seasons before back-to-back 8-win seasons (79, 80).
Morrison also saw a big slip in year three, going from 10-2 to 5-6. The downward trajectory would follow in year four before back-to-back 8-win seasons (87, 88) before Morrison's death.
Woods' third year marked the beginning of mediocrity and his team never had a winning season before being fired after year 5.
Scott improved marginally to 6-5 in year three, yet proved to be a high point before winning six games over his last two years.
Holtz had his best year in year three, going 9-3, capping it with a second straight Outback Bowl win. Sadly, it was a case where the coach should have retired, but instead saw the program slip back to mediocrity.
Spurrier had a bad third year, marking a decline to 6-6, before squeaking out back-to-back 7-win seasons. He later had three straight 11-win seasons, so you can probably count his third year as an outlier.
Muschamp saw a precipitous drop, going from 9 wins to 7, and was indicative of the death spiral trajectory his tenure was on.
Coach Year 2 record Year 3 record Diff.
Paul Dietzel 5-5 4-6 -1
Jim Carlen 6-5 5-7 -1
Joe Morrison 10-2 5-6 -5
Sparky Woods 6-3 3-6-2 -3
Brad Scott 4-6-1 6-5 +2
Lou Holtz 8-4 9-3 +1
Steve Spurrier 8-5 6-6 -2
Will Muschamp 9-4 7-6 -2
So what should Gamecock fans expect.
If history is any indication, probably a backstep in record or 1-2 wins. With the mass losses expected on defense due to graduation, the unit will probably take a step back. Unfortunately, you have to say the offense will remain inefficient until it proves otherwise, either through results or a change of coordinator.
But, this is unheard of territory for a Gamecock coach in their second year, so no one really knows. Hell, I predicted they win just seven games this season, so what do I know?
I would say fans still need to show patience. Year four will be the deciding factor on if things are going in the right direction or not.
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