Mike Shula out as Gamecocks OC

After a 9-4 season last year, there was a lot of preseason hype, and College Football playoff aspirations for the Gamecocks unfortunately for them this season has not gone the way they planned. The Gamecocks are now 3-6 overall and 1-6 in the conference, and will have to win out to make a bowl game. After yet another abysmal offensive showing in a 30-14 loss in Oxford to Ole Miss on Saturday, South Carolina Head Coach Shane Beamer has made another change to his staff. Offensive Coordinator Mike Shula was relieved of his duties earlier this afternoon, and WR coach Mike Furrey and Offensive Line Coach Shawn Elliott will be co-offensive coordinators for the rest of the season. This is the second move Coach Beamer has made this season, as just a few weeks ago, Offensive Line Coach Lonnie Teasley was let go after the LSU game. The move to hire Shula was made after former offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains took the Appalachian State head coaching job at the end of last season made sense. Shula was already on staff as an analyst, and worked very closely with star QB Lanorris Sellers, and it would keep continuity. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. The South Carolina offense has been one of the worst offenses in the country statistically. Just against Ole Miss, they had 230 total yards and allowed 6 sacks and a few of those when they only rushed with 2 people. In the conference, they are dead last in both points per game (19.7) and yards per game at only 294. They had only gained 350 or more yards once under Shula, and that was in the Citrus Bowl game loss to Illinois last season. When asked by reporters about the decision, Coach Beamer said: “This was a decision I needed to make for the betterment of our program.” This will be Coach Beamer's fourth offensive coordinator since he took over the Gamecocks in 2021, and without a doubt, this will be his most important decision so far in his tenure as the head coach at South Carolina.  South Carolina is on a bye week this week before traveling to College Station to play the unbeaten, #3 ranked Texas A&M Aggies.