COLUMBIA, S.C. — Shane Beamer has hired his second wide receivers coach in as many months.
Mike Furrey, who has been the head coach at Limestone University in the Upstate for the past two seasons, has officially been named South Carolina’s new wide receivers coach.
He replaces James Coley who abruptly left for Georgia after being hired by Beamer in mid-January. His hiring in Athens was officially announced earlier this week.
Furrey is coming off a two-year stop in the Upstate where he led the Saints to back-to-back 8-4 campaigns, including a share of the title in the South Atlantic Conference’s Piedmont Division and a spot in the Division II playoffs in both seasons. That marked his second stint at the Gaffney school after he previously served as the Saints’ head coach in 2016 and 2017.
A former NFL wide receiver, Furrey has NFL coaching experience as the wide receivers coach for the Chicago Bears, working in the Windy City from 2018-2021 before returning to Limestone. He began his coaching career in 2011 as the head coach at Kentucky Christian University, an NAIA program in Grayson, Ky.
Coley was hired by Beamer on January 12 but was lured to Athens when Bryan McClendon left to become the wide receivers coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.