Shane Beamer Shades Lane Kiffin In Video For Breaking 'Unspoken Rule' With Staff Hire

South Carolina head football coach Shane Beamer expressed displeasure Friday with the manner in which assistant coach Sterling Lucas was poached from the program by LSU.

Lucas, who had been South Carolina's edge rushers/outside linebackers coach and defensive run game coordinator, was named LSU's defensive line coach under new head coach Lane Kiffin on Dec. 23.

On Friday, Beamer introduced Deion Barnes as the Gamecocks' new defensive ends/outside linebackers coach, and he also addressed Lucas' departure:

Beamer said an "unspoken rule" was broken when Kiffin hired Lucas away from South Carolina without reaching out to Beamer first to inform him of his interest.

Instead, Beamer noted that Lucas called him late one night to tell him he had been offered a job at LSU, and by the next morning he was officially announced as LSU's new defensive line coach.

Kiffin's move from Ole Miss to LSU last month was a chaotic one, as it came amid Ole Miss reaching the College Football Playoff.

Kiffin took several members of Ole Miss' offensive coaching staff with him to LSU, and while Kiffin was not permitted to continue coaching Ole Miss in the playoffs, some of the assistants who are set to join him at LSU were allowed to remain with the Rebels through the CFP.

Ole Miss upset Georgia in the quarterfinals of the CFP on Thursday, bringing the Rebels within one victory of the National Championship Game.

Under Beamer, the Gamecocks are aspiring to reach that level, although they are coming off a highly disappointing 2025 campaign.

South Carolina went just 4-8, marking the team's worst record in five seasons since Beamer was named the head coach.

It was tough sledding for South Carolina in the stacked SEC this season, as Ole Miss, Georgia, Texas A&M, Alabama and Oklahoma all reached the CFP.

All of those teams have a chance to be strong again next year, plus LSU and Texas could re-establish themselves as contenders as well.

Losing an important assistant coach like Lucas won't necessarily make things any easier for South Carolina, but Barnes is a quality replacement after spending the past three seasons as Penn State's defensive line coach.