For the first time in four weeks, Oklahoma football returns to Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium to play an SEC regular season game.
But the Sooners won’t be the only ones returning to Norman.
Saturday’s 11:45 a.m. CT kickoff between Oklahoma and South Carolina will mark the return of former Oklahoma assistant and current Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer.
REQUIRED READING:How Shane Beamer’s time with OU football left lasting impression with South Carolina coach
Beamer spent three seasons in Norman from 2018-2020 on Lincoln Riley’s staff, helping the Sooners to a 33-6 overall record, three Big 12 football championship titles, two College Football Playoff appearances and three New Year’s Six bowl berths.
Beamer’s return to Norman will be the second time this season that a former Oklahoma assistant returns to Norman as the head coach of an opposing team — the first being Josh Heupel at Tennessee.
Here’s a look back at Beamer’s time at Oklahoma, including why he left the Sooners:
Yes. Beamer spent three seasons on Riley’s staff from 2018 through 2020. He previously had served as Georgia’s tight ends coach and special team coordinator for the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
In his three seasons with the Sooners, Beamer served as Riley’s assistant head coach for offense. He also coached the tight ends and H-backs, while assisting on special teams — a specialty in the Beamer family dating back to his dad, Frank Beamer.
As noted on his Oklahoma profile page, the Sooners’ special teams unit improved in punt return average, from 97th in the nation in 2017 to 14th in 2018 — an increase of 8.9 yards per return.
Why did Shane Beamer leave Oklahoma?
South Carolina hired Beamer to replace Will Muschamp, who was fired after a 2-5 start in the condensed COVID-19 pandemic season in 2020.
Beamer, 47, was named South Carolina’s 36th next head coach on Dec. 5, 2020.
“I have been preparing for this moment my entire life,” Beamer said in a statement in 2020. “I am ready and excited to be the head football coach at the University of South Carolina. I am thankful to all the head coaches that I have worked for, the assistant coaches and the student-athletes I have worked with. My family and I are thrilled to be coming back to Columbia and the state of South Carolina.”
Beamer’s hiring at South Carolina not only marked his first head coaching job after 21 years of being an assistant, but also a return to Columbia and the Gamecocks. From 2007-2010, Beamer served as an assistant under coach Steve Spurrier, working with special teams and several defensive position units on top of serving as South Carolina’s recruiting coordinator.
Beamer, currently in his fourth season as South Carolina’s coach, has led the Gamecocks to a 23-21 overall record and two bowl game appearances, both of which came in his first two seasons.
Shane Beamer discusses return to Oklahoma
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