Identifying 5 South Carolina Gamecocks Coaching Candidates to Replace Shane Beamer

The South Carolina Gamecocks entered the 2026 college football season hoping to be a top-25 team led by quarterback LaNorris Sellers and edge rusher Dylan Stewart. Instead, the program is headed for another disappointing season under head coach Shane Beamer.

Barring a dramatic turnaround, South Carolina’s football program will finish with five or fewer wins for the second consecutive season and the third time since 2023 under Beamer. The program has exercised enough patience and it feels like 2026 is the time to finally make a change.

Let’s dive into our list of potential Gamecocks coaching candidates if there winds up being a South Carolina coaching search this year.

Buster Faulkner, Florida Gators Offensive Coordinator

Florida Gators offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner should be one of the hottest names in the college football coaching carousel next offseason. At Georgia Tech, he orchestrated an offense with quarterback Haynes King (2023–25) that caused headaches for defenses around the country. The success resulted in Jon Sumrall bringing him to the Florida Gators, where he is now drawing up one of the best rushing offenses in that nation. Faulkner, age 45, also spent a few years learning from Kirby Smart (Georgia Bulldogs quality control coach and quarterbacks from 2020–22) and he now has years of play-calling experience. If South Carolina is willing to be patient with him as he learns the ropes of being a head coach, it could pay off nicely in the long run.

Lance Taylor, Western Michigan Broncos Head Coach

Western Michigan Broncos head coach Lance Taylor has worked all around the country, coaching in both the NFL and at the collegiate level. He served on the New York Jets coaching staff starting in 2010 under head coach Rex Ryan before stints coaching the Carolina Panthers’ wide receivers (2013, 2017–18) and becoming Notre Dame’s running backs coach in 2019. By 2022, he was the Louisville Cardinals’ offensive coordinator, and that work earned him his first head-coaching job at Western Michigan.

The Broncos went 4-8 in his first season, followed by a two-win improvement in 2024. The program took a massive leap forward last season, posting a 10-4 record with a MAC title and a Myrtle Beach Bowl win. This year, Taylor’s Broncos made noise by beating the Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor until fate intervened and took it away. Taylor will be attracting interest from Power 4 schools this winter, and South Carolina could be one of them.

Chris Hampton, Oregon Ducks Defensive Coordinator

If Beamer is fired, there is a possibility that the next Gamecocks head coach could be an alum. Oregon Ducks defensive coordinator Chris Hampton played safety at South Carolina, serving as a two-year starter and earning South Carolina’s Harold White Award for the highest GPA on the team. The 40-year-old got into coaching in 2008 immediately following his playing career, making stops at Central Arkansas, Tulane, and Duke as a defensive backs coach. Hampton became a defensive coordinator for the first time in 2021 with the Tulane Green Wave, learning from standout coach Willie Fritz, and his defense ranked 31st in yards per play allowed (5.0) and 24th in points per play (0.316) in his final season there. That excellent work caught the eye of Ducks head coach Dan Lanning, who brought Hampton over to work with Oregon’s safeties and serve as co-defensive coordinator. When Tosh Lupoi left, Hampton got the gig to himself and he could be the next Ducks defensive coordinator to land a head-coaching gig.

Jake Dickert, Wake Forest Demon Deacons Head Coach

Considering that Shane Beamer had no head-coaching experience before being hired, the next Gamecocks coaching search might prioritize someone with a proven track record. That should put Wake Forest Demon Deacons head coach Jake Dickert squarely on South Carolina’s radar. After working with defensive backs and linebackers early as he made his way up the coaching ladder, Dickert eventually became defensive coordinator at Wyoming and then Washington State. When the Cougars fired head coach Nick Rolovich mid-season, Dickert landed the interim gig and he proceeded to deliver winning records in two of three full seasons. It caught Wake Forest’s attention, with the school bringing him in after Dave Clawson won eight total games from 2023-24. Dickert turned the football team around instantly, going 9-4 in 2025 with a win over Mississippi State in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. He will likely be among potential Wisconsin Badgers coaching candidates if Luke Fickell is fired, but that job might ultimately go to alum Jason Eck.

Jimbo Fisher, Former Texas A&M and Florida State Head Coach

After being fired by Texas A&M in November 2023, cashing in with a $77 million buyout, former head coach Jimbo Fisher didn’t find a job satisfactory enough for him to take. In the years since he left his former two employers, Florida State (.783 winning percentage vs .515) and Texas A&M (.643 vs .700), they’ve either gotten worse or are treading water. Fisher has made it clear he wants to coach again, and South Carolina has proven it isn’t afraid to take an older, proven coach even if it means hiring a retread who might not stick around for eight-plus years. A 128-48 lifetime record with a national championship speaks for itself, and, at a minimum, Fisher could help South Carolina post a winning record more frequently.