Baseball coach's experience, track record set him apart
While there are multiple candidates who could assume the role, the obvious choice is right before their eyes.
Ray Tanner has accomplished more as a Gamecock head coach than anyone else in school history. He has won two national titles and competed for four more in his time as USC's baseball coach. His 16 seasons at the helm have been some of the most successful in program history.
If USC wants to keep the athletics programs moving in a positive direction, Tanner is the ideal man for the job. He has brought national exposure to the school and has experience in an administrative position. He served as the assistant athletic director at N.C. State during his time in Raleigh.
Although there may be USC fans who cannot fathom the idea of Tanner's tenure as baseball coach ending, it's not that far-fetched. Tanner has been USC's head baseball coach for 16 years and was the head coach of the Wolfpack for nine seasons. Add the eight seasons that Tanner served as an assistant coach to Sam Esposito at N.C. State, and Ray Tanner has been on a baseball diamond for the past 33 years. At 54 years of age, Tanner has been a collegiate baseball coach for 60 percent of his life.
Furthermore, there is nothing left for Tanner to accomplish on the baseball field. He has two national championships, a gold, silver and bronze medal as a member of the coaching staff for the U.S. national team, and multiple Coach of the Year honors. At this point, short of starting his own program somewhere else and leading it to a national title, there's really nothing else Tanner can do on the collegiate level.
Ray Tanner could continue to rack up hardware for 10 or 20 more years at USC, but there is no way to know if he wants to continue to coach into his 70s or even his 60s. As an athletics director, Tanner would still be able to keep his finger on the baseball program. More importantly, the job of head coach would more than likely go to current associate head coach Chad Holbrook, who has worked under Tanner for four seasons and has 19 years of coaching experience under his belt. Knowing the head coaching job would fall to a man who has been on his staff would likely make the transition easier for Tanner.
South Carolina's athletics program is currently experiencing its most successful era in recent memory. Tanner has been one of the faces of USC for several of the past years and has been essential to the school's most noteworthy accomplishments. He has succeeded as a coach and has the backing of the fans in and around Columbia.
Tanner has already brought the baseball program two national titles. He may not be able to bring any to the school's other programs, but it couldn't hurt to let him try.