South Carolina expected to hire Georgia State coach Shawn Elliott as TE coach

The South Carolina Gamecocks are hiring Georgia State Panthers head coach Shawn Elliott to be the team’s next tight ends, per GamecockCentral.

Elliott has been the head coach at Georgia State since 2017, compiling an overall record of 41-44 with five bowl game appearances. Prior to that, he was an assistant at South Carolina, primarily as an offensive line coach. That was a role that he began in 2010 and held through 2016 before he left for Georgia State. During that time he also spent time as the co-offensive coordinator and running game coordinator.

In 2015, following head coach Steve Spurrier‘s resignation, Shawn Elliott was the interim head coach at South Carolina, going 1-5. The next season, Will Muschamp retained him for the new coaching staff.

That previous stint as an assistant under Spurrier included some of the best seasons that South Carolina has had as an SEC team. From 2011 to 2013, the Gamecocks went 33-6.

Before initially joining the staff at South Carolina, he was a long-time assistant coach at Appalachian State, where had also played. In 1999 and 2000, Elliott was the Mountaineers’ tight ends coach, which was the only previous stint he’s had in that role.

Shawn Elliott is set to replace Justin Stepp at South Carolina. Stepp left to become the wide receivers coach at Illinois after previously being moved to the tight end room to take over for Jody Wright. That was a position Wright held for two seasons before leaving to become the head coach at Murray State.

Unfortunately, this is also a move that puts Georgia State in a difficult position for the 2024 season. It was reported that Elliott was leaving the program on the third day of Spring Practice for Georgia State. Now, the program will need to operate without a head coach during practices, quickly find a replacement, and prepare for the program’s spring game on March 7th.

Interestingly, Shawn Elliott joins a growing group of head coaches who have recently left their programs to become assistant coaches elsewhere. The most notable is Chip Kelly leaving UCLA to become the offensive coordinator at Ohio State. However, he’s not alone. Alabama hired Kane Wommack, the head coach at South Alabama, to be its defensive coordinator. Meanwhile, Alabama also hired Buffalo head coach Maurice Linguist to coach the defensive backs and be the co-defensive coordinator.

Still, for head coach Shane Beamer and South Carolina, this was a key hire to make ahead of the Gamecocks’ own spring practice.