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Shane Beamer addresses reports linking him to Oklahoma head coaching job
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Media reports over the past few days brought up an interesting option to replace Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma: South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer.
It wouldn’t be completely far-fetched as Beamer was Riley’s associate head coach in Norman from 2018-2020 before taking the job in Columbia. That said, he led the Gamecocks to a 6-6 record and a bowl game in his 1st season, so that’s at least a step in the right direction for the program.
Beamer, though, has gone on record that he’s happy at South Carolina, especially as he was tapped as a possible candidate at Virginia Tech before it selected Penn State defensive coordinator Brent Pry. He reaffirmed his comments on Sunday after it was announced that the Gamecocks would play North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, while stating that he had never spoken to anyone officially at Oklahoma about its position:
Beamer: No one from Oklahoma in an official capacity reached out to him, and the answer he gave when asked previously about the Virginia Tech job was meant for any opening, he's where he wants to be at USC and wouldn't look elsewhere. #Gamecocks
— SportsTalk Media Network (@sportstalksc) December 5, 2021
Beamer did have a humorous quip about the rumors, though. “I talked to the golf coach, so I guess I did talk to someone at Oklahoma,” he joked.
The Duke’s Mayo Bowl is set for Dec. 30 at 11:30 a.m. ET at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
