Shane Beamer is all in on getting the Gamecocks into the playoffs this season. But not were all on board with that zeal on his staff. South Carolina will have to bid goodbye to Joe DeCamillis, who is moving up to the NFL. He leaves Columbia after just two years with the program.

The Super Bowl-winning special teams head coach is headed to the Raiders after a three-year stint in college football. The franchise is going through a staff overhaul in the offseason, after Klint Kubiak was hired as head coach. He and DeCamillis have previously worked together at Denver, where the latter was special teams coach for the 2015 and 2016 seasons. The former Gamecocks special teams coordinator already has a tiered legacy in the NFL, having coached for 34 years.

DeCamillis made the move to college football in 2023, landing a spot in Steve Sarkisian’s staff. His special teams ranked 20 in the country in efficiency, per ESPN analytics. Shane Beamer, however, played big and stole him away, bringing him to Columbia. The Gamecocks’ head coach regarded DeCamillis as a “grand-slam hire.”

DeCamillis was nominated for the Broyles Award in 2025. He completely revamped the Gamecocks’ special teams this season, bringing on talents like Mason Love and Max Kelley. Love was ranked second in the country among freshman punters and also earned Freshman All-SEC honors last fall. DeCamillis’s efforts also made an effective punt returner out of Vicari Swain, who made All-SEC honors.

The ties to South Carolina ran deep for the new Raiders special teams coach. Joe DeCamallis is the son-in-law of the late Dan Reeves, who was a longtime NFL head coach and a former Gamecock. He was a three-year starter at quarterback and ended his career as South Carolina’s leading passer at the time with 2,561 yards. Reeves won the Super Bowl as a player and as an assistant coach with the Dallas Cowboys.

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Ironically enough, DeCamillis refused offers from NFL teams to stay in college football in 2024. But the connection with the Kubiaks might have made the Raiders’ offer better than his South Carolina position. Klint’s father, Gary, was the head coach of the Broncos during those two seasons. DeCamilllis also stepped in for the latter as interim head coach while he was navigating a medical issue.

While the move is definitely a win for DeCamillis, it sure does make things a little difficult for Shane Beamer’s 2026 plans.

Shane Beamer is set to roll out a largely new staff for the 2026 season

South Carolina’s troublesome 2025 season forced Shane Beamer to orchestrate an overhaul of his own, too. The Gamecocks now have a new offensive coordinator (Kendal Briles), offensive line coach (Randy Clements), and running backs coach (Stan Drayton). On the defensive front, Beamer brought in Deion Barnes to be the team’s defensive ends/outside linebackers coach. He replaced Sterling Lucas, who left for LSU. These new faces make the Gamecocks’ 2026 campaign a huge question mark, but Beamer was positive about the novelty of it all.

“It is a great start to 2026 with the people we’ve brought in,” Beamer said at a recent press conference. “The high school prospects … the transfers we’ve brought in, the new coaches, new staff members, we’re really fired up about where we are now.”

With Joe DeCamillis’ departure, Beamer will have to begin a coaching search just before South Carolina begins spring ball. It won’t be easy for him, because it’s tough to find someone who can outdo DeCamillis. He’s already set the special teams up for more success in 2026, which the new coach also has to ensure. And, with the coaching carousel thinned out, the search for the Gamecocks’ next special teams coordinator seems murky. Will Shane Beamer get this one right?