In a recent interview with Shane Beamer, the head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks, he joked about getting into a fight with some of his fellow SEC coaches. While Beamer did not name any names, it is clear that there are some coaches that he has had some less than amicable interactions with.
Beamer has had tremendous success since taking over as the head coach of the Gamecocks in 2021. Under his leadership, South Carolina won eight games, their best season since 2017. However, as Beamer himself noted, success in the SEC often means stepping over a few bodies along the way.
When asked if there were any SEC coaches he would like to fight, Beamer responded, “There’s a few I can say that certainly at times I definitely would want to fight with. Fight. Fight as well. You sit in those head coaches meetings, and we’re all competitors and we’re intense. There’s great respect for one another but there’s things that happen outside that room and things like that where you’re kind of like, ‘come on.’”
While Beamer declined to name any names, it is widely believed that he has had some contentious interactions with Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops. Beamer famously trolled Stoops, taking shots at the Gamecocks, and it is clear that there is no love lost between the two.
But could Beamer actually take on any of the other coaches in the SEC? While he may not be the biggest guy, he is confident in his abilities. He joked that he might be agile enough to take on Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman, but admitted that he would lose in a beer drinking contest.
Beamer is only 45 and still in shape, so he believes there are a few coaches he could take on. However, he would likely get crushed by some of the bigger coaches in the conference, such as Georgia’s Kirby Smart or Arkansas’ Sam Pittman.
At the end of the day, it is unlikely that we will ever see Beamer or any other SEC coaches actually get into a fight. Conference commissioner Greg Sankey would surely put an end to any such nonsense. But it is fun to think about which coaches would come out on top if such a scenario were to play out.
For now, Beamer will have to settle for battling his rivals on the football field. And based on his success so far at South Carolina, it seems like he is more than up for the challenge.
