Georgia State began spring practices on Tuesday. Two days later, the program has been forced to pause.

Following the resignation of head coach Shawn Elliott — who is reportedly joining South Carolina as the Gamecocks’ new tight ends coach and running game coordinator — the Panthers said in a release they will be postponing spring ball and their March 7 spring game.

“We are proud of what this football program has accomplished in such a short time. Six bowl games and four bowl victories in our first 10 years at the FBS level – I don’t know of another start-up program that has had that kind of success so quickly,” athletic director Charlie Cobb said in a statement. “I am confident that we will hire an outstanding football coach who will take Georgia State football to even greater heights. We plan to move quickly, and we have retained Parker Executive Search to assist in the process. We’re excited about the future.”

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In stepping down at Georgia State, Elliott joins a burgeoning list of coaches who have left head coaching jobs for assistant positions. Recently, Chip Kelly left UCLA to take the Ohio State offensive coordinator job. Last month, Jeff Hafley departed Boston College to become the Green Bay Packers’ defensive coordinator. Kane Wommack (South Alabama) and Maurice Linguist (Buffalo) left their respective schools to join Kalen DeBoer’s staff at Alabama.

Elliott’s decision was quickly linked to the modern challenges facing college coaches (i.e. issues with NIL and the transfer portal) but many speculated on social media that he would have entered the 2024 season on the hot seat at Georgia State and his move might have been more about self-preservation.

Georgia State went 4-8 in 2022, then narrowly produced a winning record in 2023 by defeating Utah State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl to finish 7-6. The Panthers lost each of their final five regular-season games after a 6-1 start.

Regardless of Elliott’s reasoning, the players at Georgia State are now left in limbo while the school figures out who will step in to lead the program.