Gamecocks' Shane Beamer reflects fondly on Georgia, Kirby Smart
Though it’s been almost six full years since they shared a sideline, the names Shane Beamer and Kirby Smart are still linked in the minds of many as a result of the time the Gamecocks’ head coach spent on Smart’s first staff in Athens.
Beamer certainly remembers those days fondly.
“Everyone knows or should know the respect I have for Kirby Smart and his coaching staff and the way they do things,” Beamer said during his press conference on Tuesday. “Had a fantastic two years as an assistant coach in Athens working for Kirby. Learned a lot. He made me a better coach in my two years in Athens.”
And while Georgia was far from Beamer’s first coaching stop, it’s one that has impacted his view of the profession and his handling of his own squad in a major way.
“I’ve been fortunate to be around some great head coaches in my career, starting with Coach O’Leary there in Atlanta when I first got into coaching,” Beamer said on the SEC teleconference earlier this week. “But honestly, those two years I spent in Athens with Kirby had as much of an impact on my career and philosophy as anywhere I’ve been.”
That’s because the Georgia coach’s attention to detail in each and every area was what set him apart even then.
” I had been a lot of places before I got to Athens, but Kirby made me a better coach,” Beamer said. “He’s demanding, he sees everything, he holds you accountable, he knows all three phases, it was great for me from a recruiting standpoint to be a part of that program.”
Time with Georgia a key for shaping Beamer’s first heading experience
Spending time with Smart in his first year at the helm of any program was also an experience that left an impression on Beamer and has helped to shape his approach in his own first opportunity.
“I’ve taken from everywhere I’ve been and certainly we’re not identical to the Georgia program here – there’s a lot of differences, but there’s a lot of things that would be very similar if you spent time around both programs,” Beamer said. “Fortunate for the time I got to spend with him, and it was also really helpful, too, the fact that I was with Kirby from day one when he got to Athens as a first-time head coach. That really helped me when I took this job as a first-time head coach, using some of those things that I learned seeing Kirby go through it in his first year in Athens.”
The biggest lesson of all from the Georgia head coach, however, came from an openness toward change, a trait Beamer still credits Smart with.
“From day one, the willingness and the ability to adapt, and if there’s a better way of doing things, show him, you know, going maybe special teams, how you do things in practice or stuff like that that maybe we tweaked that Alabama didn’t do and offense and defense,” Beamer said. “He’s just done a great job of continuing to evolve, and, in my opinion, stay ahead of things. Maybe there’s a scheme that in one season offenses attack and hit some plays on. Well, the very next season, very next week, whatever it might be, they’re going to have it corrected and they’re going to have an adjustment for it.
