South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer should be ashamed of himself after his most recent decision.
News broke on Thursday that South Carolina is hiring Georgia State head coach Shawn Elliott to serve as the Gamecocks' new tight ends coach.
Elliott previously coached the offensive line at South Carolina before leaving to become the new head coach at Georgia State ahead of the 2017 season.
Because of the timing of the hire -- Georgia State's spring practice started this week with their spring game scheduled for March 7 -- the Panthers have reportedly postponed spring practice and their spring game.
Hopefully Georgia State can figure out their head coaching situation and get spring practice back on track. The players deserve it. And remember, this sport is about players, not the ego-maniac head coaches who dominate headlines.
Beamer should've had enough class to recognize that hiring Elliott would throw Georgia State's program into disarray. I guess Beamer, despite what he's selling on the recruiting trail, doesn't believe in putting players first.
And sure, those aren't his players at Georgia State. But he should still care about their experience. Again, this sport is about the players.
Beamer showed he has no regard, though, for players unless they're helping him achieve his goals at South Carolina.
I'm sure plenty of South Carolina fans will dismiss this and say "oh, it's just Georgia State". And I get it, that's not a program that's relevant on the national stage. But those players matter. They're just as important as players at Georgia, Ohio State, or any other major program. And Beamer showed a complete disregard for them by poaching their head coach in the middle of spring practice.
The right thing to do would've been for Beamer to tell Elliott that he'd love to have him back in Columbia, but the timing isn't right at the moment. But instead, Beamer put himself and his wants above the student athletes.
It would've been different if this move happened a few weeks ago when Georgia State had time to find a new head coach before the start of spring practice. And I understand that it's a business. But come on, Shane. Have a little decency. How would you feel if your son was on the team at Georgia State and got ditched by their head coach in the middle of spring practice? I gotta imagine most parents would be incredibly disappointed.
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