Just one week ago, former South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier announced his resignation and allowed the Gamecocks to begin their search for a new head coach.
Immediately following the announcement, I wrote about the five likeliest candidates to take over for the Head Ball Coach. This week, I’m giving my opinion on the five best candidates for the job.
Athletic Director Ray Tanner mentioned a “roots over resume” approach when looking at outside candidates and in my opinion could go one of three directions with his hiring decision: proven veteran, big-name coordinator or small school success story.
All three are viable options as there have been successful hires from each of the three categories in the past few seasons. The deciding factor, though, will obviously be the candidates themselves rather than the category to which they belong.
Proven Veterans
I do not see the Gamecocks going with someone in this category at all. Not only would Tanner and South Carolina rather go with a younger, more dynamic coach of-the-future after two successive retirees, but South Carolina could avoid competition with other schools, namely Southern California, with a younger pick.
Miami and Southern Cal are more appealing to big-name coaches, so anyone looking for the Philadelphia Eagles' head coach Chip Kelly would be better off looking in those directions. The two exceptions to this would be Texas head coach Charlie Strong and Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio. Both have ties to South Carolina which, at this point looks to be the only reason either would be considered.
South Carolina would be better off with a younger coach that could start something in Columbia. I think they’ll go that direction.
Dynamic Coordinators
Tanner will certainly look at some of the best coordinators in the country, some of whom are waiting to make the jump to a head coaching position.
The downside to hiring a coordinator as a head coach is that in order to maximize success, the school would need a top-notch coordinator to run things on the opposite side of the ball. Still, the Gamecocks could find some success in this category.
The top name is Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart. Arguably one of the top three recruiters in the country, Smart has reportedly turned down several head coaching offers in the past but is quite interested in the South Carolina job.
The other, less publicized name in this group, however, is Jeremy Pruitt. Georgia’s defensive coordinator, hired along with Smart at Alabama in 2007, has actually recruited more five-star prospects than Smart.
I believe Pruitt is one of the top potential head coaches at South Carolina. Experts have argued that Pruitt is a better in-game schemer than Smart and would perform better in that regard at South Carolina.
Interim head coach and former co-offensive coordinator Shawn Elliott also fits in this category and holds the edge in roots and passion over almost any candidate. If the team responds well to his leadership, he will be strongly considered for the full-time head coaching position.
Small School Success Stories
Schools always need to be careful when hiring coaches from schools outside of the Power Five. Many simply struggle to make the transition from small school obscurity to major conference contender.
However, many failures result from the jump in attention rather than competition. Often there is a learning curve when it comes to constantly being in the spotlight. That being said, there are scores of talented small-school coaches, and South Carolina could have major success if Tanner does his research.
The two names being thrown around are Tom Herman and Justin Fuente, the head coaches at Houston and Memphis, respectively. Both coaches are undefeated this season and were recently coordinators at current College Football Playoff contenders. Both would seemingly be good fits for a South Carolina program seeking rejuvenation, and both are reportedly interested in the job.
Personally, I like Fuente slightly better because of his experience, but both have the talent and personalities fit to make the jump from mid-majors to South Carolina. Neither name will go away anytime soon.
Biggest Competition
The Gamecocks will not be competing in a USC competition for a coach with the Trojans as Southern Cal will almost certainly look for a veteran following the failures of Steve Sarkisian and Lane Kiffin. Few candidates will overlap between the two USCs.
Maryland will be South Carolina’s primary competition. If Miami does indeed fire Al Golden, the Hurricanes could compete with South Carolina for a few potential coaches, but overall, Maryland poses a much bigger threat.
South Carolina and Maryland have both flashed potential in the past and have the resources and draw that comes with being in major conferences.
The two schools will likely interview many similar candidates and could come down to a bidding war, which would give the Gamecocks a slight advantage.