The South Carolina football team has decided to move on from offensive coordinator Mike Shula after nine games, according to Tony Morrell of TheBigSpur and Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports. Shula is the first coordinator to be fired during the five-year tenure of Shane Beamer.
The report comes less than 24 hours after the Gamecocks lost their fourth-consecutive game, a 30-14 rout at the hands of No. 7 Ole Miss, falling to 3-6 on the season. The Gamecocks tallied just 230 total yards of offense on Saturday.
The Gamecocks let go of Shula after scoring just 19.7 points per game, ranking 15th in the SEC and 119th in FBS. South Carolina's 294.1 average total yards of offense ranks 128th out of 136 teams in FBS.The Gamecocks also averaged just 17.1 first downs per game, which is ranked 124th in the country.
South Carolina is also the only team in the entire FBS to not have a single game of at least 350 total yards of offense.
Shula's tenure with the Gamecocks begin in 2024, working as an offensive assistant under former offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains and primarily working with the quarterbacks. In 2024, redshirt sophomore LaNorris Sellers earned SEC Freshman of the Year, the FWAA National Offensive Player of the Year and was a member of the All-SEC third team.
Shula took over for Loggains officially on Dec. 17, 2024, after Loggains was named the head coach of the Appalachian State Mountaineers.
The news comes as no surprise for South Carolina fans, as Shula has been under scrutiny for weeks now as the play-caller. "Fire Shula" chants rang loud through Williams-Brice Stadium during the 26-7 loss to then-No. 14 Oklahoma on Oct. 18. The Gamecocks put up 224 total yards of offense that game.
According to Jordan Kaye of The State, the Gamecocks will owe Shula $2.4 million, which will be paid out in monthly installments until his original contract is up on Dec. 31, 2027. Shula made $1.1 million annually with South Carolina.
It is unknown who will assume play-calling duties for the final three games of the season. The next offensive coordinator at South Carolina will be the fourth offensive coordinator since the beginning of 2021.