Just days after losing newly hired offensive assistant coach James Coley to Kirby Smart and rival Georgia, Shane Beamer is close to finalizing a deal for a new South Carolina wide receivers coach, sources tell FootballScoop.
Beamer is targeting and in deep negotiations with Mike Furrey, an NCAA Division II head coach with extensive professional experience -- as both a player and assistant coach in the NFL, several sources tell FootballScoop this week.
Most recently the head coach at Limestone College in South Carolina, his second stint at the school, Furrey also has 10 years' experience as a pro player -- time with five different NFL franchises, as well as the XFL and Arena Football -- as well as a four-year run as an assistant coach for the NFL's Chicago Bears from 2018-21.
Beamer is again trying to get his Gamecocks staff to full strength following an offseason of considerable change.
The program just recently hired away Shawn Elliott from his post as Georgia State's head coach to help with the Gamecocks's tight ends unit and as run game coordinator.
Coley had been hired to the staff after Illinois hired Justin Stepp, who was shifted in the offseason from coaching South Carolina's wideouts to tight ends.
Beamer earlier had parted ways with running backs coach Montario Hardesty, the former All-SEC tailback from Tennessee, and hired Marquel Blackwell.
He also saw vaunted special teams ace Pete Lembo garner a head coaching opportunity at Buffalo after Maurice 'Mo' Linguist departed the Bulls's program to become co-defensive coordinator at Alabama. Beamer hired Joe DeCamillis, who has more than 30 years' NFL coaching experience and was on staff last year as Texas as South Carolina's special teams coordinator and assistant head coach in late January.
South Carolina, in a key Year 4 for Beamer after slumping to an 5-7 campaign in 2023, opens spring camp March 19.
The Gamecocks start their 2024 season Aug. 31 against Old Dominion before immediately transitioning into SEC play with back-to-back games at Kentucky Sept. 7 and home against Brian Kelly's LSU squad Sept. 14.
Update> Sources tell FootballScoop the deal has been finalized. Furrey's contract is two years at $425,000 per year. Limestone is planning to make Jerricho Cotchery their new head coach. Cotchery, himself a former NFL receiver, has served as assistant head coach / receivers the past two seasons at Limestone.