In defense of Beamer

[HoldenOversoul]

Flukes are not the basis for a pattern, though. IU simply got plain lucky with the Cignetti hire.

Look at Florida and UCLA. Made a good hire and things have turned around pretty much immediately. You don't need 4-5 years to turn over a roster anymore. If our fanbase is half what we've always held ourselves out to be, we've got plenty of support to get this thing fixed if the right coaches are in place.

I don't think talent acquisition/NIL have been what's holding Beamer back in any event. We've given him what he needs to succeed and he just isn't the guy to do it. I'm not expecting to win a national title in two years, but this program is too well supported to just sit around praying to go 7-5 every couple of years.

 

[GamecockAlum90]

Beamer is a nice man and a mid football coach. We are never going to be any good with this guy in charge. We never were any good, but after 6 years we do not seem to headed in the right direction with Beamer.

Heard the same about Carlen, Bell, Morrison, Woods, Scott, Holtz, Spurrier & Muschamp. Fire Beamer and we'll add another name after his.

 

[Piscis]

Look at Florida and UCLA. Made a good hire and things have turned around pretty much immediately. You don't need 4-5 years to turn over a roster anymore. If our fanbase is half what we've always held ourselves out to be, we've got plenty of support to get this thing fixed if the right coaches are in place.

I don't think talent acquisition/NIL have been what's holding Beamer back in any event. We've given him what he needs to succeed and he just isn't the guy to do it. I'm not expecting to win a national title in two years, but this program is too well supported to just sit around praying to go 7-5 every couple of years.

The anointment of UF as "back" might be a little premature. They beat an Ole Miss team who was without their best offensive playmaker. Losing Lacey was HUGE for Ole Miss. They beat a very mediocre Auburn team in a shootout and two cupcakes. UF plays at Missouri Saturday, let's see what happens. I don't follow UCLA, so I can't comment on them. Right now, a team being 4-0 doesn't mean they are necessarily good, it means they probably aren't terrible.

 

[Go Gamecocks]

Why then, since we spend more on NIL than UGA, are we not even close to UGA's level of success in recruiting or on the field?

If teams are buying their wins, why hasn't Texas won even the SEC since joining? Why has aTm been its usual underperforming self? Why didn't Ole Miss win the SEC or the NC last year? They spent a fortune of players and had a roster full of portal transfers.

 

[Nm7710]

Most everything said in these post is true, I think it all points to one answer , it’s got to be the Chicken Curse

 

[SouthernBelly]

And, see, that's the thing. Fans look back wistfully on a coach who had a marginally better win percentage than Beamer does.

But, just about all of Morrison's big wins came in the 1984 season. Outside of 1984, the only top 25 wins he had were Clemson in '87 and UGA in '88. He beat Clemson 2x, same as Beamer has so far. And, we can't forget, he coached us to what is our most legendary cataclysmic loss in the history of our entire athletic program. That loss IS the hallmark of the Chicken Curse.

I'm not saying any of that to dog Morrison but rather to point out how fine the line is between loving a guy and having the pitchforks out.

But it’s only cataclysmic because of the position he got them into. It was inexcusable. But because of what that team had going at the time it wasn’t just another bad and stupid loss. If all else from that season remains the same except for losing that game then they play for a national championship.

 

[mckinnjp]

I don’t think he is just all of the sudden a bad coach. I think the question is whether he has control of the program right now. I believe in him, but maybe those in the program don’t.

 

[Jonesz2]

I will agree AND Disagee.... After the 2024 season, this squad and Players were the talk of the town, 2025 was a disaster with these guys, 2026 is turning into a disaster with these guys, So just think how bad it will get next yearr W/O the "Stars"?? I realize He can recruit, but I dont think he knows how to develop these guys?? Not sure, I am not "AT PRACTICE EACH DAY"..... But no other explanation.

Can he recruit? We seem to be talent deficient.

 

[SouthernBelly]

Flukes are not the basis for a pattern, though. IU simply got plain lucky with the Cignetti hire.

They did not. He is the most visible good decision in a series of good decisions when Indiana decided they finally wanted to take football seriously. Indiana got a new president in 2021 and changes to football investment by way of facility upgrades and more efforts to fund raise began in 2022. They decided to eat Tom Allen's buyout and then they hired a guy who was a proven winner everywhere he went. Very few people heard of him and as we all know from his introductory press conference he said "Google Me". Evidently their president and AD already had. Now, all the rest of us know about him too.

 

[18IsTheMan]

They did not. He is the most visible good decision in a series of good decisions when Indiana decided they finally wanted to take football seriously. Indiana got a new president in 2021 and changes to football investment by way of facility upgrades and more efforts to fund raise began in 2022. They decided to eat Tom Allen's buyout and then they hired a guy who was a proven winner everywhere he went. Very few people heard of him and as we all know from his introductory press conference he said "Google Me". Evidently their president and AD already had. Now, all the rest of us know about him too.

They got lucky. I'm not saying they didn't do their research, but there wasn't a person in the world who paid attention when they hired the head coach from James Madison. If anyone noticed, they probably thought "yeah, it makes sense that Indiana would hire James Madison's coach." You simply cannot predict how coaching hires will work out. You could write a book filled simply with the names of great hires who flopped.

 

[atl-cock]

college sports are essentially semi-professional sports. The coaches job is to win, right now Beamer is not winning enough. Its nothing personal but for the money being spent the return on the investment should be better.

I personally reject the aww shucks mentality that .500 football is ok. It ******* isnt, I refuse to settle for mediocrity. We as a fan base should expect more.

D-I college sports are essentially semi-professional sports. No so much with other collegiate divisions.

 

[TheRoo]

They did not. He is the most visible good decision in a series of good decisions when Indiana decided they finally wanted to take football seriously. Indiana got a new president in 2021 and changes to football investment by way of facility upgrades and more efforts to fund raise began in 2022. They decided to eat Tom Allen's buyout and then they hired a guy who was a proven winner everywhere he went. Very few people heard of him and as we all know from his introductory press conference he said "Google Me". Evidently their president and AD already had. Now, all the rest of us know about him too.

or Mark Cuban wanted to see his college team win a NC and got their NIL budget up to $40mil

 

[SouthernBelly]

or Mark Cuban wanted to see his college team win a NC and got their NIL budget up to $40mil

Yeah, I'm sure he was part of the funding. But he didn't graduate in 2020, and he's been rich for quite a while. If he wanted to get in on improving Indiana football he could have done so already. The right people, got to the right places and made the right decisions.

 

[atl-cock]

And, see, that's the thing. Fans look back wistfully on a coach who had a marginally better win percentage than Beamer does.

But, just about all of Morrison's big wins came in the 1984 season. Outside of 1984, the only top 25 wins he had were Clemson in '87 and UGA in '88. He beat Clemson 2x, same as Beamer has so far. And, we can't forget, he coached us to what is our most legendary cataclysmic loss in the history of our entire athletic program. That loss IS the hallmark of the Chicken Curse.

I'm not saying any of that to dog Morrison but rather to point out how fine the line is between loving a guy and having the pitchforks out.

Coppin State stands out to me.

 

[SouthernBelly]

They got lucky. I'm not saying they didn't do their research, but there wasn't a person in the world who paid attention when they hired the head coach from James Madison. If anyone noticed, they probably thought "yeah, it makes sense that Indiana would hire James Madison's coach." You simply cannot predict how coaching hires will work out. You could write a book filled simply with the names of great hires who flopped.

Come on man, you're usually much more logical than this. We all know that any coaching hire is a gamble. But it's hardly luck with the track record he has. Hiring someone who has proven they can win in a few places and then does that at his new place is not luck, it much more so fits the trend of who his is as a coach. Anyone noticing or not noticing who Indiana hired is irrelevant to his success.

 

[18IsTheMan]

Coppin State stands out to me.

That is certainly the basketball equivalent.

 

[Cockofdawn]

Can he recruit? We seem to be talent deficient.
[/QUOTE

IMO, yes. I know Money is an issue, but he got Sellers, Stewart, Harbor, Woods, Duckworth, etc etc etc

 

[TheRoo]

Yeah, I'm sure he was part of the funding. But he didn't graduate in 2020, and he's been rich for quite a while. If he wanted to get in on improving Indiana football he could have done so already. The right people, got to the right places and made the right decisions.

He's been at it for quite awhile:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7256199/2026/05/05/mark-cuban-fernando-mendoza-nil-deal/

 

[SouthernBelly]

He's been at it for quite awhile:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7256199/2026/05/05/mark-cuban-fernando-mendoza-nil-deal/

Yeah...that's right in the time frame we're talking about. Define "quite awhile."

 

[TheRoo]

Yeah...that's right in the time frame we're talking about. Define "quite awhile."

At least the last few years according to article.

 

[SouthernBelly]

At least the last few years according to article.

Ok, so like I said originally then. These are things that have all happened since 2022.

 

[TheRoo]

Ok, so like I said originally then. These are things that have all happened since 2022.

Yep --- I thought you were arguing that the team got "coached up" by a genius playmaker.

 

[Jonesz2]

Look at their stats. Are they great players? The numbers don’t lie

 

[Rob Hawk]

3-5
4-4
3-5
5-3
1-7
0-2
16-26 is Beamer's SEC record. Is this what is expected or accepted based on our past history?

 

[Deathstar]

Heard the same about Carlen, Bell, Morrison, Woods, Scott, Holtz, Spurrier & Muschamp. Fire Beamer and we'll add another name after his.

No, we cannot afford to fire him, we are stuck with him for two more years. In the next two years I expect more of the same, mid coaching and 3-4 wins a year. With our luck he will go 8-4 next year and earn a big contract extension, then go right back to 4-8.

 

[Piscis]

3-5
4-4
3-5
5-3
1-7
0-2
16-26 is Beamer's SEC record. Is this what is expected or accepted based on our past history?

I'd have to say yes, this is exactly what is expected and accepted. Beamer was 16-24 in conference play through 5 seasons. The High Exalted Lord Spurrier was 18-22 in SEC play through his first 5 seasons. Beloved Lou Holtz was 19-29 in SEC play for his entire 6 season tenure.

The numbers say Beamer's record is exactly what gamecock fans expect.

 

[18IsTheMan]

I'd have to say yes, this is exactly what is expected and accepted. Beamer was 16-24 in conference play through 5 seasons. The High Exalted Lord Spurrier was 18-22 in SEC play through his first 5 seasons. Beloved Lou Holtz was 19-29 in SEC play for his entire 6 season tenure.

The numbers say Beamer's record is exactly what gamecock fans expect.

It is. This spell sucks, but maybe we just have to ride it out. I had previously advocated for giving Beamer a 10-year contract (@KingWard has advodated for a lifetime contract....maybe he's walked that back lol).

My rationale is that we've largely been doing the same thing over and over and over and expecting a different result. We change a coach after 5 or 6 years and start all over and end up getting the same result.

Our history is rock solid. We're never going to be great. But we're also never going to be awful for a prolonged period. We are consistently mediocre (or slightly worse) with the occasional really bad year or two and the rare good year. It's who we are. It's been proved over decades and decades of coaching and player changes. Let's face it, we had two HOF football coaches back-to-back for nearly a 20-year span and never built a consistent winner. It just ain't happening. Our Cignetti moment will never come.

I'm willing to bet if we gave Beamer a 10-year contract, after 10 years, we'd be about the same as we historically have been. On the other hand, if we fired Beamer and burned through 2 other coaches, after 10 years, we'd be about the same as we always have been.

Maybe we just embrace a guy who loves being here, has a good culture in the program, family loves the area, a guy and family who are well-liked by everyone. Maybe we say "Hey, we want to keep here a long time, but we can't pay you $8 million/yr for these results" and reach some agreement. Who knows, maybe the continuity would end up in him building a consistent 7-8 win team. Probably not, but I also don't think it would run the program into the ground.

 

[Lurker123]

I'd have to say yes, this is exactly what is expected and accepted. Beamer was 16-24 in conference play through 5 seasons. The High Exalted Lord Spurrier was 18-22 in SEC play through his first 5 seasons. Beloved Lou Holtz was 19-29 in SEC play for his entire 6 season tenure.

The numbers say Beamer's record is exactly what gamecock fans expect.

How many losing seasons did Holtz and Spurrier have? I would say that impacts perception quite a bit.

 

[atlanta cock#]

Holtz's losses were very front loaded though. Meaning he came into a bad situation, and steadily improved us.

Beamer has been erratic, and not steadily improving.

Holtz limped out. Got his *** whipped by Clemp. His greatest accomplishment was helping land Spurrier.

 

[18IsTheMan]

Holtz limped out. Got his *** whipped by Clemp. His greatest accomplishment was helping land Spurrier.

It's kind of ironic that we look at the end of Holtz's time as he was limping out and that the program was in disarray. We finished his last year 6-5 (4-4). By any measure for Gamecock football, that's a pretty good year. One of our better years in the SEC, frankly. In 34 seasons, we've only finished 3rd or better in the East 11 times (yes, I know the East doesn't exist now). Only 14 times have we finished 4-4 or better.

I'd sign up for 6-5 (4-4) in perpetuity.

 

[atlanta cock#]

It's kind of ironic that we look at the end of Holtz's time as he was limping out and that the program was in disarray. We finished his last year 6-5 (4-4). By any measure for Gamecock football, that's a pretty good year. One of our better years in the SEC, frankly. In 34 seasons, we've only finished 3rd or better in the East 11 times (yes, I know the East doesn't exist now). Only 14 times have we finished 4-4 or better.

I'd sign up for 6-5 (4-4) in perpetuity.

So your point is to lighten up on Beamer bc Holtz was mediocre and got whipped by Clemp? What's the point of spending all this time, energy and money competing if everyone signs up for .500? Last time I checked I'm still an American and we play to win.

 

[atlanta cock#]

nm

 

[KingWard]

It is. This spell sucks, but maybe we just have to ride it out. I had previously advocated for giving Beamer a 10-year contract (@KingWard has advodated for a lifetime contract....maybe he's walked that back lol).

My rationale is that we've largely been doing the same thing over and over and over and expecting a different result. We change a coach after 5 or 6 years and start all over and end up getting the same result.

Our history is rock solid. We're never going to be great. But we're also never going to be awful for a prolonged period. We are consistently mediocre (or slightly worse) with the occasional really bad year or two and the rare good year. It's who we are. It's been proved over decades and decades of coaching and player changes. Let's face it, we had two HOF football coaches back-to-back for nearly a 20-year span and never built a consistent winner. It just ain't happening. Our Cignetti moment will never come.

I'm willing to bet if we gave Beamer a 10-year contract, after 10 years, we'd be about the same as we historically have been. On the other hand, if we fired Beamer and burned through 2 other coaches, after 10 years, we'd be about the same as we always have been.

Maybe we just embrace a guy who loves being here, has a good culture in the program, family loves the area, a guy and family who are well-liked by everyone. Maybe we say "Hey, we want to keep here a long time, but we can't pay you $8 million/yr for these results" and reach some agreement. Who knows, maybe the continuity would end up in him building a consistent 7-8 win team. Probably not, but I also don't think it would run the program into the ground.

I told you before, that idea came with provisions that would repel him if he weren't winning.

 

[Lurker123]

So your point is to lighten up on Beamer bc Holtz was mediocre and got whipped by Clemp? What's the point of spending all this time, energy and money competing if everyone signs up for .500? Last time I checked I'm still an American and we play to win.

Or, point out that if 6-5 is "limping out", then two actual losing seasons out of three is something much worse.

 

[18IsTheMan]

I told you before, that idea came with provisions that would repel him if he weren't winning.

But, certainly no matter who the coach is, over any 10-year period (my proposed contract length) of Gamecock football you're going to have ride out some leaner than usual years. That may cover mutiple coaches or multiple coaches. I would be willing to wager we'd have the same overall types of results over 10 years with Beamer vs 10 years among his 2 successors.

Even SOS was entering lean years by Year 10. He just quit and walked away.

 

[18IsTheMan]

So your point is to lighten up on Beamer bc Holtz was mediocre and got whipped by Clemp? What's the point of spending all this time, energy and money competing if everyone signs up for .500? Last time I checked I'm still an American and we play to win.

6-5 (4-4) is NOT mediocre by our historical standard. Any year we finish 4-4 in the SEC is a darn good year for us.

 

[Deadwood]

Rex Enright was HC for 15 seasons and his record was 64 wins,69 losses & 7 ties . His name is still prominent in Gamecock history. So maybe it is not wins and losses but how you play the game.

 

[fwm]

In this age of portals, a college with top notch facilities/University, one of the most loyal fan bases, a competitive football budget- there should be no excuses for not having a competitive football team every year.

 

[18IsTheMan]

In this age of portals, a college with top notch facilities/University, one of the most loyal fan bases, a competitive football budget- there should be no excuses for not having a competitive football team every year.

Our facilities and resources are middle of the pack in the SEC.

 

[fwm]

"Our facilities and resources are middle of the pack in the SEC."

Based on your "middle of the pack"
logic we should be able to win 50%
of SEC gamed every year.