South Carolina’s offense needs a new play-caller — quickly.
Multiple ESPN reports surfaced on Monday that USC offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield is headed to Nebraska to join Matt Rhule’s staff in Lincoln. That leaves the Gamecocks without a play-caller for their upcoming bowl game.
There are a handful of options to replace Satterfield in the interim. Here are a few names who could take over offensive coordinator duties until head coach Shane Beamer makes a new hire for the Gamecocks:
Nick Coleman, analyst
This might come as a bit of a surprise, but Nick Coleman has more offensive coordinator experience than anyone else on South Carolina’s staff, despite being in his mid-30s.
Coleman came to Columbia, at least in part, through his ties to Satterfield, and would help keep continuity given Satterfield’s impending departure.
The former Middle Tennessee State quarterback has been an offensive coordinator in the Mississippi junior college system and served as the offensive coordinator at Murray State and Faulkner University — an NAIA school in Alabama. Coleman previously worked as Satterfield’s quarterbacks coach and pass-game coordinator at Tennessee Tech when the former was head coach in Cookeville as well.
Coleman has spent the bulk of the past two seasons working as South Carolina’s de facto quarterbacks coach alongside Satterfield and has been a big part of recruiting the position for the Gamecocks. He’s likely in line for an offensive coordinator job in after this year and would give USC an experienced play-caller for their final game of the 2023 season.
Justin Stepp, WRs coach
Securing Justin Stepp on his staff for Year 1 was a major coup by Beamer. Stepp is seen as an up-and-comer in college football circles and is considered one of the best receiver coaches in the country.
He hasn’t called plays at the FBS level, but the work he’s done with South Carolina’s receivers and at his past stops at Arkansas and SMU suggest he’s in line for some level of offensive coordinator job in the not-too-distant future.
It’s also conceivable Stepp gets a look as an internal candidate to replace Satterfield. If he’s not calling plays in 2023, there’s a chance Beamer could elevate him to a bigger title with more coordinator-like duties, such as a passing-game coordinator or co-offensive coordinator, etc.
Stepp’s name will almost certainly surface with bigger programs at some point. This could be a way to ensure the South Carolina native remains in Columbia and, on some level, gets an audition for the full-time gig.
Freddie Kitchens, analyst
This is probably the most obvious choice to call the plays for the bowl game.
Freddie Kitchens has been an NFL assistant coach for decades, most of his work coming with quarterbacks and running backs. He also served as an interim offensive coordinator for the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns.
Kitchens’ hiring as an analyst this offseason felt like an extra layer of protection if Beamer made a change at offensive coordinator at any point during the season given Satterfield’s embattled first year. Beamer did not make a mid-year change, but he does need a play-caller for whatever bowl game the Gamecocks head to.
How much Kitchens actually wants to call plays is TBD. The prevailing thought around the program is the former Browns head coach was in line to spend this year at South Carolina with his old pal Beamer before likely heading back to the NFL sooner than later.
Perhaps he’s willing to take on one game as a play-caller at the college level before heading back to the pros? We’ll see.
Other options
One kicker here is how quickly Beamer makes an offensive coordinator hire.
It’s hard to imagine whoever does get the job calling plays in the bowl game, but they could be involved in the preparation in some capacity should they put pen to paper before the Gamecocks’ postseason contest.
At the worst, a new offensive coordinator could slide into a role as a position coach, or something along those lines, to get a look at some of the pieces that could be coming back for 2023.
Beamer could also take a committee approach to play-calling.. It wouldn’t be shocking to see some combination of the folks listed above work together in this role.