Is Clayton White the $2 million man?

[18IsTheMan]

That's the price tag for the top assistants in college football. Given the performance of our defense this year, does White warrant that kind of money? Rumors were put out there (it seems mostly by Gamecock fan sources) that White would be considered for the ECU job. Those seem to have fizzled out, but I'm sure he will garner some interest from other mid-major type programs. He said he's not in any hurry to become a head coach, which I presume to mean he's waiting on the right opportunity and not just willing to jump on the first sucky school that offers him a head coach job.

If he can hang here for a 2-3 more years and put out consistently strong defenses, he would probably be in a line for a P5 head coaching job. Not at a marquee school, but a mid-tier P5 job should be easily attainable for an accomplished SEC DC.

Beamer is in a precarious situation for next year. We are losing a lot of key talent from this year's team. Quality assistant coaches are hard to come by (as we are well aware) and anyone we bring in to replace White would almost certainly be a downgrade. The offense has slowly come around, but we are where we are this year only because of our defense. You don't know how often you'll have chances to keep momentum going. We failed to capitalize in any way on the strong finish to the 2022 season. We are trending strong again this year, so Beamer needs to do all it takes to keep all the key pieces here so this thing keeps going next year.

I'd say we need to put him up there with the highest paid DCs in the game, which all make around $1.9 million. This is what we'd do if we were serious about winning?

 

[will110]

That's the price tag for the top assistants in college football. Given the performance of our defense this year, does White warrant that kind of money? Rumors were put out there (it seems mostly by Gamecock fan sources) that White would be considered for the ECU job. Those seem to have fizzled out, but I'm sure he will garner some interest from other mid-major type programs. He said he's not in any hurry to become a head coach, which I presume to mean he's waiting on the right opportunity and not just willing to jump on the first sucky school that offers him a head coach job.

If he can hang here for a 2-3 more years and put out consistently strong defenses, he would probably be in a line for a P5 head coaching job. Not at a marquee school, but a mid-tier P5 job should be easily attainable for an accomplished SEC DC.

Beamer is in a precarious situation for next year. We are losing a lot of key talent from this year's team. Quality assistant coaches are hard to come by (as we are well aware) and anyone we bring in to replace White would almost certainly be a downgrade. The offense has slowly come around, but we are where we are this year only because of our defense. You don't know how often you'll have chances to keep momentum going. We failed to capitalize in any way on the strong finish to the 2022 season. We are trending strong again this year, so Beamer needs to do all it takes to keep all the key pieces here so this thing keeps going next year.

I'd say we need to put him up there with the highest paid DCs in the game, which all make around $1.9 million. This is what we'd do if we were serious about winning?

He's already making $1.2 million, so it's not like we're talking about a huge raise.

I don't think you throw money at him just to throw money at him, but also it would be embarrassing for him to leave for another DC job.

 

[92Pony]

If the D is anywhere near as strong next year as it was this year, *THEN* you give him a raise. He’s had a room full of STUDS this year. Ole Wammy Ward could have had success with this kind of talent.
Typical SC, we will probably bump him to nearly $2mill and have the 120th ranked D next year.

 

[18IsTheMan]

If the D is anywhere near as strong next year as it was this year, *THEN* you give him a raise. He’s had a room full of STUDS this year. Ole Wammy Ward could have had success with this kind of talent.
Typical SC, we will probably bump him to nearly $2mill and have the 120th ranked D next year.

I think White, in part, is responsible for our D playing like studs. Kennard was good at Ga Tech but nothing close to what he's been here. Even Beamer admitted that.

Maybe it won't take $1.9 million to keep him, but he's certainly worth more than $1.2 million to the team. With the talent we lose next year, if we lose White on top of that (and maybe he's not even looking to leave), this could all go down the toilet in a hurry.

 

[Lakemurraycock]

No need to wait and see how next year goes. Sometimes you have to just do it. Losing him and possible recruits plus his evaluation skills would be bad. He has earned it. Especially in an era where college players are getting 7 figure NIL deals.

 

[Lurker123]

From his perspective, this may be a "strike while the iron is hot" year.

18 mentioned the large amount of players graduating, throw in even a couple transfers and this is a total rebuild of the defense.

Do the HC offers dry up if his defense has a major drop off next year?

 

[18IsTheMan]

From his perspective, this may be a "strike while the iron is hot" year.

18 mentioned the large amount of players graduating, throw in even a couple transfers and this is a total rebuild of the defense.

Do the HC offers dry up if his defense has a major drop off next year?

It could go a number of ways for sure.

Unless Stewart leaves for a better NIL deal (and it does not sound like he's 100% Gamecock), you've got him coming back and he's an absolute stud you can build a defense around.

 

[KingWard]

He's a good coach. But how good was he before we assembled this group of players?

 

[TrueGarnet]

anyone we bring in to replace White would almost certainly be a downgrade.

I don't want White to leave but I would disagree with this right here. White has only had one really good year here and we're very talented across the defense (likely 7 players drafted). Obviously he gets a lot of credit for that, but can he replicate success with a rebuilt defense next season?

If White leaves, I imagine Torrian Gray gets promoted. He's never been more than a DB coach which is wild for a successful 23 year career, however, it's a logical step up for him and a sensible promotion Beamer could make. If not Gray then Chris Hampton would be a great candidate. Hampton is the co-DC at Oregon and was previously the DC at Tulane (one year overlap w/ Trav Robertson who was DL coach) and is a former Gamecock player (another one year overlap w/ Trav, this time as teammates). Supposedly he's turned down SEC and ACC DC job opportunities before.

 

[18IsTheMan]

He's a good coach. But how good was he before we assembled this group of players?

I was told earlier this season our defenses have been statistically solid under White's tenure. I have not bothered to look up the stats, so I took the statement at face value.

Like any coach, of course, they do better with better players. Then you have the question of how much of a factor was White in assembling this group of talent. Did we just luck into this collection of players or do we have a good group of players because White put together a good group.

I don't know the answer. I know we had some good defensive players here under Muschamp and consistently underperformed.

 

[18IsTheMan]

I don't want White to leave but I would disagree with this right here. White has only had one really good year here and we're very talented across the defense (likely 7 players drafted). Obviously he gets a lot of credit for that, but can he replicate success with a rebuilt defense next season?

If White leaves, I imagine Torrian Gray gets promoted. He's never been more than a DB coach which is wild for a successful 23 year career, however, it's a logical step up for him and a sensible promotion Beamer could make. If not Gray then Chris Hampton would be a great candidate. Hampton is the co-DC at Oregon and was previously the DC at Tulane (one year overlap w/ Trav Robertson who was DL coach) and is a former Gamecock player (another one year overlap w/ Trav, this time as teammates). Supposedly he's turned down SEC and ACC DC job opportunities before.

Just looking at our history, though, how many times have we upgraded when an assistant left for a better opportunity?

 

[KingWard]

I was told earlier this season our defenses have been statistically solid under White's tenure. I have not bothered to look up the stats, so I took the statement at face value.

Like any coach, of course, they do better with better players. Then you have the question of how much of a factor was White in assembling this group of talent. Did we just luck into this collection of players or do we have a good group of players because White put together a good group.

I don't know the answer. I know we had some good defensive players here under Muschamp and consistently underperformed.

White's defenses have out-performed our offenses, mainly because our offensive line play has been so bad and we languished with Satterfield for too long. Pretty solid defenses actually, but $2 million-worth, up until now? I don't think so.

 

[3USC1801]

I find it interesting with all this talk about White and recruits that Beamer isn’t cited for (a) hiring a good staff and (b) recruiting.

If you recall, his organizational skills, forward-thinking capabilities, and recruiting wiles were cited when he was hired. Maybe, just maybe, he’s a better coach than a lot of you want to believe.

One thing is for sure: if he achieves success at Carolina—and his success against top 10 teams could an indicator—I’d take him over Spurrier in a heartbeat. Spurrier is Florida through and through.

 

[Lurker123]

It could go a number of ways for sure.

Unless Stewart leaves for a better NIL deal (and it does not sound like he's 100% Gamecock), you've got him coming back and he's an absolute stud you can build a defense around.

It could. You can certainly build around him, but I wonder if we could rebuild a defense as good as this year's through the portal, basically overnight.

 

[Lurker123]

I find it interesting with all this talk about White and recruits that Beamer isn’t cited for (a) hiring a good staff and (b) recruiting.

If you recall, his organizational skills, forward-thinking capabilities, and recruiting wiles were cited when he was hired. Maybe, just maybe, he’s a better coach than a lot of you want to believe.

One thing is for sure: if he achieves success at Carolina—and his success against top 10 teams could an indicator—I’d take him over Spurrier in a heartbeat. Spurrier is Florida through and through.

Is our defense more recruited or transfers?

Bu the point stands. Beamer was sold as a ceo who would hire good coordinators. After 4 years, White is a success in that department. Now, he just needs to hire a real OC.

Edit: I forgot to add to the Spurrier comment. I think Beamer should win a double digital season at least once, much less 3 in a row, before we begin to compare him with Spurrier.

 

[18IsTheMan]

Is our defense more recruited or transfers?

Bu the point stands. Beamer was sold as a ceo who would hire good coordinators. After 4 years, White is a success in that department. Now, he just needs to hire a real OC.

Jury is still out on Loggains, for sure. They seem to be improving as Sellers adjusts to the college game, so I don't look for any change here. Certainly not for next season.

The bigger question to me is Teasley. His overall body of work is terrible, but the OL has been playing better in recent games (though Sellers has bailed them out a bunch...A&M was in our back field all night long). If we finish with 8-10 wins, I don't see Beamer making any changes, though. When you look at the team overall, OL has been the weak link. Coaches like Saban would go out and make a change, even if it was overall a good year. I just don't see Beamer having that mindset.

 

[RUMMENIGGE]

 

[3USC1801]

Is our defense more recruited or transfers?

Bu the point stands. Beamer was sold as a ceo who would hire good coordinators. After 4 years, White is a success in that department. Now, he just needs to hire a real OC.

Edit: I forgot to add to the Spurrier comment. I think Beamer should win a double digital season at least once, much less 3 in a row, before we begin to compare him with Spurrier.

I agree with you on comparing him to Spurriers success. That’s why I said, “IF he achieves success. . . .“

But I was never enamored with Spurrier‘s personality and think Beamer picked up on the fact Spurrier was never really a Gamecock. Beamer used that perception to his advantage by portraying the opposite to fans.

 

[LonghornsGamecocks]

Exchange value for value. Pay Clayton White at or near top of market for a 3 year contract. Make it extremely financially painful for him to leave for anything other than a head coaching job via material buyout. We get continuity for a very good coach, if not an elite coach.

The arguments in this thread regarding, "his defense is performing better because we've got better players this year," well - part of the reason we've got better players is because they want to come play for White and his staff. Credit accrues to recruiting just as it does Xs and Os just as it does player development.

 

[LonghornsGamecocks]

The bigger question to me is Teasley. His overall body of work is terrible, but the OL has been playing better in recent games (though Sellers has bailed them out a bunch...A&M was in our back field all night long). If we finish with 8-10 wins, I don't see Beamer making any changes, though. When you look at the team overall, OL has been the weak link. Coaches like Saban would go out and make a change, even if it was overall a good year. I just don't see Beamer having that mindset.

I have a hard time seeing how our OL coach next year is not Shawn Elliott.

 

[KingWard]

You know what, I'm not jumping on any bus where the destination display reads "Panning Spurrier in order to Puff Beamer". Y'all can go without me.

 

[KingWard]

I have a hard time seeing how our OL coach next year is not Shawn Elliott.

I think he's doing it right now, a la Freddie Kitchens calling plays at the end of the '22 season.

 

[Maccmaine12]

He's a good coach. But how good was he before we assembled this group of players?

He was a broyles award finalist before he got to SC, so he was a good DC.

 

[KingWard]

He was a broyles award finalist before he got to SC, so he was a good DC.

$2 Million worth - or its equivalent whatever year that was?

 

[ThinnyJ]

He's already making $1.2 million, so it's not like we're talking about a huge raise.

I don't think you throw money at him just to throw money at him, but also it would be embarrassing for him to leave for another DC job.

Since when is over 3/4 of a million dollars a year not a big raise?

 

[Benjdan]

Beamer has made it pretty clear that he values contracts. Why would White change from job security to strong armed robbery? Honor the contract. Then talk.