Shane Beamer Jokes There Are 'A Few' SEC Coaches He'd Like To Fight
Shane Beamer apparently wouldn't mind getting in the ring against a few other SEC coaches.
Beamer has had some great success with the Gamecocks since taking the job prior to the 2021 season, and South Carolina won eight games for its best season since 2017.
You can't ever climb to the top of the mountain without stepping over a few bodies along the way and making some enemies. For Beamer, there's at least a small handful of SEC coaches he might not be the biggest fan of.
Shane Beamer jokes about fighting other SEC coaches. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
Shane Beamer jokes about fighting his rivals.
"There's a few I can say that certainly at times I definitely would want to fight with. Fight. Fight as well. You sit in those head coaches meetings, and we're all competitors and we're intense. There's great respect for one another but there's things that happen outside that room and things like that where you're kind of like, 'come on.'" Beamer responded when asked if there were any rival SEC coaches he'd like to fight.
The Gamecocks head coach declined to "say a name" but he did have a big grin on his face.
You know there's at least one person on his mind. Perhaps Kentucky coach Mark Stoops? It's not a secret those two don't exactly love each other.
Beamer infamously trolled Stoops taking shots at the Gamecocks, and later in the clip, the Gamecocks leader makes it clear there's a very specific team he doesn't like.
Could Shane Beamer take any coaches?
Shane Beamer, for the record, isn't a big guy. A quick Google search tells me he's under 5'10," which isn't bad if you're a UFC fighter. Not great if you're just a regular dude looking to strap the gloves on.
However, he apparently doesn't lack confidence. He floated the possibility that he might be agile enough to take Sam Pittman, but would lose a "beer drinking contest."
Beamer also noted there are a "few" he believes he could take given the fact he's still in shape and he's only 45.
Shane Beamer might not be totally cooked in a fight against SEC coaches. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
If there is one guy he'd roll, it's probably Nick Saban. The Alabama coach is also very short, already has had hip surgery and is 71. If there's one coach Beamer could rag doll, my money would be on Saban.
Eli Drinkwitz, Josh Heupel, Jimbo Fisher and Brian Kelly also don't exactly jump off the page as guys who are likely to throw down.
Beamer definitely would get crushed by some people.
Dudes you don't want to strap the gloves on against in the SEC are Kirby Smart, Sam Pittman - despite what Beamer might say - and maybe Clark Lea.
As MMA fighter Connor Matthews once told me, at some point size makes a difference. Beamer simply doesn't have the size. So, of the 14 head coaches in the SEC, there might be an argument that Beamer could be right around that 5-7 range. He's scrappy, small and in shape.
What SEC coaches could beat Shane Beamer in a fight? (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
It's too bad we'll never see this happen. I think Greg Sankey would be VERY unhappy with a March Madness style UFC beatdown among SEC coaches. However, that's what we're here for. Let us know in the comments how you think Shane Beamer would do.