South Carolina Needs a Head Coaching Change, Make Glenn Schumann Say "No"
Do you want to be taken seriously, Carolina? If so, South Carolina Gamecocks Head Football Coach Shane Beamer has to go. South Carolina Athletic Director Ray Tanner got a tad excited and flew too high to the sun giving Beamer this deal through 2027 after two upset wins against Tennessee and arch-rival Clemson to end 2022. You’re 2-5 now. Wasn’t this supposed to be the big year? For conversation purposes, let’s assume you can and are interested in moving on from Beamer. You make Georgia Co-Defensive Coordinator Glenn Schumann tell you “No.”
Kirby Smart didn’t have to think long before making his first hire after accepting the Georgia Head Coaching job: Glenn Schumann. Smart said Schumann, “was my right-hand for four or five years over there”, speaking on their time in Tuscaloosa from 2008 to 2014. Kirby was so confident that he historically made Schumann the youngest on-field coach in the SEC at 26 years old.
Former Dawgs Defensive Coordinator Dan Lanning was 35 years old when he accepted the Head Coaching position at Oregon, and even at that young age, he did not have the length of experience with Coach Saban and Coach Smart of Schumann. The 33-year-old Schu is at the absolute most 1-2 years away from his head coaching break. Get in early Carolina….And while mentioning Schumann's youth, I’m going to get my “Beamer (aged 46) broke his foot throwing a post-loss tantrum” comment in here: don’t expect that kind of behavior or similar from Schumann. Years don't necessarily equal emotional maturity.
Glenn Schumann has six National Championship rings and counting (2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2021, 2022). He has been employed by Nick Saban or Kirby Smart since 2008. He has gone through interview rounds with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Baltimore Ravens in 2023 for defensive coordinator roles. Schumann is paid $1.9 million per year entering the 2023 season, a raise of more than $1 million from his salary in 2022 ($805,000). He’s paid $900,000 more than any other UGA assistant.
For further perspective, Ohio State Defensive Coordinator Jim Knowles is the highest-paid assistant coach in college football with a $1.96 million salary. That’s how important it was for Coach Smart to keep him and that’s how wanted Schu is out there on the market. It’s like my old man used to always say, “I want our coaches to be good enough that other people want them.” Mel Tucker (Colorado/Michigan State), Sam Pittman (Arkansas), and Dan Lanning (Oregon) are a few examples of the Kirby coaching tree branching out in college football.
Schumann is the next piece of a P5 program wanting a taste of that Georgia cultural mindset. SEC football is all Schumann knows, we can keep going further back. He's a graduate of Alabama. He was the recipient of the Bear Bryant Scholarship. His dad played football at Alabama. He is the son of a football coach. This is all Schumann knows.
Let’s touch on some recruiting numbers real quick. Here are recruiting class ranks under Beamer according to Rivals.com:
2023- 17th
2022- 26th
2021- 74th
With the consideration of that first starter year being more of an outlier, that’s an average of the 39th-ranked class in the country in a 3-year span. The Gamecocks currently sit 28th in the 2024 class. Schumann is one of the best recruiters in the country and gets whoever he wants, particularly at linebacker. This is speculatory, but you can rest assured trust my ass that Schumann would have South Carolina recruiting in the Top 20 consistently. It doesn’t just stem from elite recruiting at an elite base though, the developmental examples are there as well.
Schumann took a former three-star running back in Tae Crowder and developed him into a starting linebacker for the New York Giants. Under Schumann, Roquan Smith won the Butkus Award as the top linebacker in college football in 2017. Four years later, Nakobe Dean became the second Georgia linebacker to win the Butkus Award. Google search examples of players raving about signing with and playing for Glenn Schumann, it's too many links: here’s one. Everyone likes this guy.
Check these last four Dawgs' defenses with Schumann’s paws all over them:
2019 Georgia Bulldog defensive ranks:
1st in scoring defense - 12.9 points per game
1st in rushing defense - 74.9 rushing yards per game
2020 Georgia Bulldog defensive ranks:
16th in scoring defense - 20 points per game
1st in rushing defense - 72.3 rushing yards per game
2021 Georgia Bulldog defensive ranks:
1st in scoring defense - 10.2 points per game
2nd in rushing defense - 78.9 rushing ypg
2022 Georgia Bulldog defensive ranks:
5th in scoring defense - 14.3 ppg
1st in rushing defense - 77.1 ypg
Let’s dive deeper and look at your last Head Coach turnover in Columbia going from Will Muschamp to Shane Beamer in comparison through 34 games:
Muschamp Beamer
20-14 17-17
1 Bowl Wins 1 Bowl wins
0-9 vs ranked 3-9 vs ranked
1 week ranked 4 weeks ranked
Yes, there are some positives there for Beamer. And Beamer has beaten Clemson. Give him that. But let’s get real, you paid Will Muschamp $12.9 Million to walk away for that? Muschamp’s been cashing checks in Athens with Schumann and company having a good ole time since.
Let's look at your postseason activity Gamecocks:
2021- 7-6 (3-5) won the Mayo Bowl
2022- 8-5 (4-4) lost the Gator Bowl
2023- 2-5 (1-4) *A bowl is not happening
The third year of a regime and the best quarterback situation you will have (Spencer Rattler) blowing up in your face this hard tells you this is not the answer going forward. Beamer will not turn this around. That 8-5 year last year and a Gator Bowl loss is your ceiling. Do you want more? Go get more then.
Let’s look lastly at those resumes top to bottom comparing Beamer to Schumann:
Beamer
2000
Georgia Tech (Grad Assistant)
2001–2003
Tennessee (Grad Assistant)
2004–2005
Mississippi State (CB/RC)
2006
Mississippi State (RB/RC)
2007
South Carolina (OLB/co-ST)
2008
South Carolina (CB)
2009–2010
South Carolina (S/ST/RC)
2011–2015
Virginia Tech (AHC/RB)
2016–2017
Georgia (TE/ST)
2018–2020
Oklahoma (AHC/TE)
2021–present
South Carolina
Schumann
2008–2011
Alabama (Student Assistant)
2011–2014
Alabama (Graduate Assistant)
2014–2015
Alabama (Director of Football PPS)
2016–2018
Georgia (ILB)
2019-present
Georgia (co-DC/ILB)
Let’s hit the Sparknotes real quick one more time about why Glenn Schumann is the obvious choice for South Carolina to pick up the phone and take their shot: Integral part in the two recent dynasties of college football, 14+ years experience working for Nick Saban and Kirby Smart, Top 10 assistant coach recruiter in the country and incredibly relatable to kids, 100% of his experience is in the SEC, 100% of his experience is recruiting the South, his 33-year-old youth is ready to handle the hours that comes with cleaning up this dumpster fire, and while he is a Top 3 paid assistant in the country there is a sizable pay increase in coming to South Carolina (Beamer made $6.125 Million this year). Do I need to keep going?
Make him say no.
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