I wish it weren't decided like this. I wish that a coach were judged solely on his team’s performance, not the tallies in the win-loss column. I wish that recruits made decisions based solely off the words of the coach speaking to them, with his name having no impact at all on their decision. I wish that a coach’s job security rested solely on the honest belief of his players in him, not the belief of the alumni, fans and non-football-related administrators who have no idea what happens behind locker room doors or on the practice field.
I wish that the future looked bright for Shawn Elliott and his head coaching tenure here at USC. Sadly, it does not.
When you take a surface level glance at Elliott’s short head coaching stint, you aren’t overly impressed. In fact, there probably isn’t much of an impression left at all. Under Elliott, the Gamecocks won the game that they were expected to win and lost the ones that they were expected to lose.
But if you actually watch the games he has coached, you’ll see a different look and demeanor to this team, most noticeably in their continual fighting back. Since Elliott took over, this team has faced adversity on the field. Take the last two games, for example. Both games at one point or another seemed all but over. Down 17-3 against Tennessee coming out of the first half, feeling lucky to even have three points at all, the team stormed back — and if not for a costly fumble in the closing seconds, would have almost certainly put the game into overtime and may have even won. Florida, too, was much of the same, with a valiant comeback at the end of the game falling one defensive stop short.
Shawn Elliott cares about this team and its players. Whether he is in the center of the huddle getting them fired up or running onto the field to both calm and comfort them after a costly mistake, no one can question whether or not he loves this football team.
I respect him for the job he has done this season. I respect the intensity he has brought and how this team has responded to his leadership. These positives should be considered by every Gamecock fan before they steer conversations toward who will be his replacement next season.
I hope that Shawn Elliott remains the head coach here for years to come and is given the shot he deserves. But regretfully, the reality of the situation is as such: He is not a big-name coach, not the first choice of alumni and has not put up the wins this year that would be needed to overcome those first two strikes against him. I wish that it weren't decided like this, but it is. Whoever takes over for Elliott should look to his example when leading this team in the coming years.