Josh Pate Names SEC Coach Who Doesn't Belong On the Hot Seat

South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer is one of the most popular coaches on hot seat lists.

Shane Beamer's Mixed Results

Beamer has spent five seasons in Columbia after serving as an assistant at places like Oklahoma and Georgia. He's gone 33-30 during his tenure.

That has included a couple of highs, but also quite a few lows. He's had two seasons of eight or more wins, including a 9-4 season in 2024, that saw South Carolina just narrowly miss the College Football Playoff.

However, there have also been some lows, as he's had two losing seasons, including last season's 4-8 season despite returning star quarterback LaNorris Sellers and star EDGE Dylan Stewart. That's why there have been hot-seat talks happening this offseason.

Due to the success in 2024, the Gamecocks started the year ranked No. 13 and climbed as high as No. 10 in the country. After a 2-0 start, the team would lose eight of the next 10 games. That would leave them with a 4-8 record, the worst season since 2020.

South Carolina, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer directs his team. | Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

Josh Pate Defends Beamer

Despite the hot-seat talks, college football analyst Josh Pate revealed on his show, "Josh Pate's College Football Show," that he doesn't feel Beamer belongs on those lists.

"Shane Beamer nearly made the playoffs a couple of years ago," Pate said. "Now look, I shared my opinion on this, and that is anytime you do that at South Carolina in the modern era, that ought to buy you a pretty good length of runway. But when he went 4-8, a lot of people look at that and say, 'Nope, does not matter what you did the year before. 4-8 is never acceptable at South Carolina.'

"And look, it's your program. So if enough people feel that way, it doesn't matter what I say. I just think the margins in this sport are such that there are a lot of 8-4 teams out there that are a few bounces closer to 4-8 any given year than people realize."

Is the Hot Seat Fair?

Pate makes a good point: having a season like the Gamecocks did in 2024 should buy him time. South Carolina isn't a program like Oklahoma, Georgia, Alabama, USC or Ohio State.

The Gamecocks don't have the same standard as them, which is championship or bust. Instead, the goal at South Carolina is to be respectable and, every now and then, pop off for a big season.

But on the flip side, South Carolina also isn't a program that should be accepting 4-8 seasons. That's why Beamer being on the hot seat is a fair complaint, especially when two of the best players in the conference are on your team.

2026 Is a Pivotal Year

Being on the hot seat doesn't mean you are for sure going to be fired. It means you'd better turn things around this upcoming season, or it could get ugly. So, that 9-4 season has bought him this year to fix things, but it likely won't buy him another season.

The 2026 season will likely determine how Beamer's tenure is remembered in Columbia. A return to bowl contention and another winning season would quiet much of the criticism surrounding the program.

But if the Gamecocks stumble again after last year's disappointment, the conversation will quickly shift from whether Beamer is on the hot seat to whether South Carolina needs a new direction altogether.

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