Sorting through Virginia Tech's interest in Shane Beamer: Would South Carolina coach leave for alma mater?

His family's name synonymous with uncharted football success at Virginia Tech, one would assume the question was coming for Shane Beamer. South Carolina's coach was immediately mentioned as a top-end candidate for the Hokies following Sunday's firing of Brent Pry amid Virginia Tech's 0-3 start.

Two weeks after taking the microphone inside Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium after beating Virginia Tech to open the season and pledging his allegiance to the Gamecocks' fanbase who made the trip, Beamer was talking again.

This time, he was "not really" interested in addressing speculation concerning reports of being a potential target at his alma mater.

"I think the week of the Virginia Tech game I told everyone how I feel about South Carolina and my love for this place," Beamer said during a Sunday teleconference. "That's where my focus is right now, getting our football team better because I don't like where we are right now, and that's my responsibility."

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Industry sources have beaten the Beamer-to-Virginia Tech drum for years, tying his name to the Hokies every time the job has opened since father Frank Beamer's retirement after the 2015 season.

CBS Sports reached out to a source close to South Carolina immediately after Pry's firing and asked about Beamer.

"He isn't going back there unless Gamecock fans turn on him, which could happen," the source said, noting Beamer still believes he can bring an SEC championship to South Carolina.

Virginia Tech's last two hires have failed quickly, and Beamer was a top-end candidate before Pry was picked to lead in November 2021. That was four years ago following Beamer's first season with the Gamecocks, and at the time, he admitted his attachment to the Hokies.

"Obviously, I love Virginia Tech. I moved there when I was 10 years old," Beamer said in 2021 before reaffirming his commitment to South Carolina. "I have special memories of my time in Blacksburg, and it'll always be special to me, but this is where I want to be. When I said this was my dream job, I wasn't just saying that to sound cool in a press conference."

After leading the Gamecocks to nine wins last fall, Beamer inked an extension and raise ahead of the 2025 season that pays him $8.1 million annually, nearly 40% more than why Pry was getting at Virginia Tech. Beamer's contract includes a $5 million buyout if leaves South Carolina in the first year, then drops by $1 million each year of the contract.

South Carolina's rocky start

Since beating the Hokies in Week 1, Beamer and the Gamecocks struggled through a win over South Carolina State before Saturday night's 31-7 home loss to Vanderbilt, which snapped the program's 16-game winning streak in the series. It marked Beamer's first home loss at night to a SEC opponent since his first season and pushed South Carolina out of this week's AP Top 25 poll entirely.

Reiterating the point a source made about Beamer staying put at South Carolina "unless Gamecock fans turn on him" is an interesting choice of words, to say the least. Never say never, right?

The source was confident Beamer would not leave the SEC for the mid-tier ACC program and mentioned how much his family enjoyed Columbia and living in the Palmetto State.

Beamer was recently retired AD Ray Tanner's unexpected hire to lead after Will Muschamp's firing in 2020 as the Gamecocks plucked their former staffer while he was working at Oklahoma. He has recorded more wins over his first four seasons than Steve Spurrier's previous program-high and has helped the Gamecocks' recruiting efforts reach new highs in recent years.

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Frank Beamer's messy exit not forgotten

Beamer's father announced his retirement at Virginia Tech in 2015, prior to the end of the season, which was not the original plan, a source confirmed to CBS Sports. There was friction there between the Hokies' administration and the Beamer family after the long-time coach and winningest in program history was told before the season that 2015 campaign would be his last.

The decision was "handed down to Frank," as one source put it. Following Frank Beamer's retirement, the Hokies went with then-Memphis hot shot Justin Fuente, who last six seasons with mixed results in Blacksburg.

Shane Beamer, despite walking on at Virginia Tech as a player and later coaching under his father from 2011 through the 2015 season, was not viewed as a serious candidate during that search despite having a great relationship with the players.

And Beamer keeps receipts.

"Shane's not coming to Virginia Tech as long as Whit Babcock is the athletic director," one source with knowledge of the search told CBS Sports on Monday.

Babcock, who has served in the Hokies' AD position since 2014, will assist and help with the search, but only in a supportive role.

Hokies donors mixed on Beamer

Thanks to one of the most generous donor bases in the ACC, Virginia Tech's leading boosters are expected to have a say in the program's next hire. The Hokies have appeared in the ACC title game only once since Frank Beamer's retirement and have finished .500 or worse six times.

This group wants to get back to competing at a national level and demands it happens now after years of lackluster results.

"Part of the donor base is so frustrated, they want to rip everything up from the studs," VTScoop's Kolby Crawford told CBS Sports. "The last thing you want is the fanbase thinking you're just keeping the old guard, but there's also donors who want to bring Shane home."

Crawford said Beamer is "100% on Tech's list" and expects his representation to receive a call from the Hokies' search committee.

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