I’m not exactly sure what Shane Beamer is doing or why he’s doing it.
Why he’s playing to the lowest common denominator of sludge in the social media streets, and willingly carrying his family into the fray.
This is the business he chose. These are the unavoidable potholes.
Deal with it.
Deal with a ticked off fanbase that hasn’t seen an SEC win since September of 2025. That has witnessed blown fourth-quarter leads to ranked teams not once, not twice, but four times since 2025.
That has watched a horrific decision in 2025 to hire Mike Shula as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach — with talented yet raw quarterback LaNorris Sellers on the verge of stardom — wildly backfire and take a College Football Playoff-ready team into the SEC basement.
That has — like every other maniacal and twisted college football fanbase — taken to social media to vent their grievances. Because there’s no other place to go.
The last thing — the very last thing — Beamer should do is recognize the lunatic fringe and give them oxygen. And that’s exactly what he did earlier this week during his weekly news conference.
If I didn’t know better, I’d swear it was Jim McElwain at the podium earlier this week, except Beamer didn’t manufacture death threats to his family. Or was he laying naked on a shark. Allegedly.
But that’s another fish tale for another time.
“My daughters never signed up for the scrutiny that comes with their father’s profession,” Beamer said, when explaining how his daughters have had their social media posts hijacked by unruly responses from fans.
He was emotional. His eyes were welling. He was frustrated and angry and couldn’t believe it had come to this for a South Carolina team that has lost 12 of its past 18 games, including eight consecutive SEC games.
A team that has lost 12 of its past 14 games against Power conference schools.
He did all of this, let's not forget, a week after he stood at the same podium and gave red meat to those same social media sharks by declaring the Gamecocks had another good practice. Like it was a badge of honor or something.
And in the shock of all shocks, the social media sewer drug another coach.
“I feel for my family,” Beamer continued. “That’s who I hurt for.”
Here’s an idea: get off social media. It’s not real.
It’s a haven for the demented, the unheard and unloved and all of the worst things of society congregating within their miserable safe haven of anonymity.
But instead of ignoring it, instead of focusing on football and football only ― fans are ticked off, and have every right to be ― Beamer blatantly heaved kerosene on a raging oil fire.
They very last thing social media dimwits care about is a guy who makes $8.25 million annually, who has a $22 million buyout if he sucks at his job, complaining that it’s not fair. Even if it isn't.
There are two ways to avoid the social media sewer: ignore it — and let’s just say Beamer has a history of feeding the frenzy — or win games. You can't play to the masses one day and feed your inner Soulja Boy, then complain the mean nobodies are turning on you.
Just win games.
Beat Florida this weekend, and you’ll get a week reprieve. Win a few more games, and maybe get another year to try and figure out how to bring the program back to the cusp of the College Football Playoff.
Or lose and take your millions in walkaway money, and take your family on a long vacation to a tropical island. By the time you get back, the social media sewer will have moved onto the next poor sap who gets the job.
Then he has to deal with it.
Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB. Listen to him daily, from 12-2 p.m., on 1010XL-Jacksonville.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shane Beamer latest to wilt in losing game with social media sewer
