What South Carolina’s Shane Beamer said about connection to Mississippi State football coach opening

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer told reporters Tuesday that he understands why his name would be linked to the Mississippi State football opening, but he’s not interested in the job left vacant by Monday’s firing of Zach Arnett.

“I love Columbia, and I want to be here for a long time,” Beamer said. “When I got hired, I said this is my dream job and I still feel that way, and we’re just getting started here.”

Beamer’s wife, Emily, is a native of Starkville whose family still lives there. However, his connections to MSU extend beyond family ties.

His first full-time coaching job came as an assistant at Mississippi State from 2004-06.

Beamer is also close friends with MSU athletics director Zac Selmon. The two overlapped while Selmon was working in administration at Oklahoma and Beamer was an assistant on Lincoln Riley’s staff (2018-20).

“That night before I interviewed for this (South Carolina) job, we spent Thanksgiving with (Selmon’s) family,” Beamer said. “He and I talk regularly, got a ton of respect for him and he’s done an awesome job, but this is where I want to be.”

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Arnett was fired after a 4-6 start this season, which included a 37-30 loss at South Carolina on Sept. 23.

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @skrajisnik3.