Major College Football Coach Put On Hot Seat Notice After 7th Straight SEC Loss

South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer landed in ESPN's hot seat conversation after a 49-18 loss at No. 8 Alabama gave the Gamecocks their seventh straight SEC defeat and dropped them to 0-2 in conference play.

"Let me tell you something: that seat's going to get awfully hot in Columbia, South Carolina," ESPN's Sam Ravech said on The College Football Show. "Shane Beamer has now lost seven straight games against SEC competition and 11 of his last 13 against Power Four competition."

Shane Beamer's SEC losing streak

Shane Beamer On Hot Seat Notice After 7th Straight SEC Loss — South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Gamecocks fell to 2-2 after Saturday's game in Tuscaloosa. Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell threw for 365 yards and four touchdowns, and the Crimson Tide built a 35-3 lead late in the second quarter.

The loss came one week after South Carolina blew a 16-point second-quarter lead in a 41-34 home loss to Mississippi State.

"I'm the head coach. This is on me," Beamer said after the game. "I've got to get us playing more consistent football for four quarters and not as up and down as we are right now."

The sixth-year coach is 35-32 overall and 16-26 in SEC games. South Carolina went 4-8 with a 1-7 conference mark in 2025, and that season included a 31-30 loss at Texas A&M after the Gamecocks led by 27 points at halftime.

How much is Shane Beamer's buyout?

Beamer's buyout is $27.9 million if South Carolina fires him before the season ends. That figure drops to $22.1 million after Dec. 31, 2026.

He earns $8.25 million per year, the ninth-highest salary among SEC coaches, and his contract runs through the 2030 season.

After a loss at Ole Miss last November, a source close to athletic director Jeremiah Donati said Beamer would get the rest of 2025 and the first half of 2026 before an evaluation of his future.

LaNorris Sellers and South Carolina's offense

Ravech also said quarterback LaNorris Sellers "doesn't look like he's taken that next step either."

Sellers completed 18 of 30 passes against Alabama with one touchdown and one interception. The Crimson Tide returned that interception 23 yards for a touchdown with 2:20 left in the first half.

"It seems like they've been the same offense and the same team for the past few years," former NFL quarterback Matt Simms said. "They're not showing growth and progress as a program. You can see it through LaNorris Sellers and their struggles offensively."

Sellers came back to South Carolina for 2026 instead of entering the NFL Draft, and he started the season as one of four Gamecocks with potential first-round buzz for the 2027 NFL Draft.

Kentucky at South Carolina kicks off Oct. 3 at 4:15 p.m. ET at Williams-Brice Stadium. The Gamecocks then play at Florida in Week 6 before an open date.

Add us as a preferred source on Google