South Carolina football is searching for answers at a critical position after losing one of its most experienced and respected coaches to the NFL. Joe DeCamillis, who spent the past two seasons serving as the Gamecocks’ associate head coach and special teams coordinator, has been officially named the Special Teams Coordinator of the Las Vegas Raiders. On3 The announcement, made public on Monday, February 16, marks the end of a brief but productive college chapter for a coach whose roots are firmly planted in professional football.
A Decorated Career Returns to the NFL
DeCamillis has three decades of NFL coaching experience and is officially 60 years old, having begun his professional coaching career with the Denver Broncos back in 1988, working his way up from administrative assistant to assistant special teams coach. Tiger Rag From those humble beginnings in Denver, he went on to build one of the most decorated special teams coaching résumés in league history, winning Super Bowl titles with the Denver Broncos in 2015 and the Los Angeles Rams in 2021. The Next
His path to the Raiders is laced with personal and professional history. DeCamillis began his NFL career as an administrative assistant to his father-in-law, then-Denver Broncos head coach Dan Reeves, and is married to Reeves’ daughter, Dana, whom he met while wrestling at the University of Wyoming in the mid-1980s. Reveille The family connection that launched his career now forms the sentimental backdrop to his latest chapter — because during his second stint in Denver from 2015-16, DeCamillis worked for head coach Gary Kubiak, and will now serve under Gary’s son, new Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak, in Las Vegas.
What DeCamillis Built at South Carolina
Despite spending only two seasons in Columbia, DeCamillis left a meaningful imprint on Shane Beamer’s program. In 2025, he was nominated for the Broyles Award — the most prestigious honor for an assistant college football coach — for his work overhauling a special teams unit that had struggled the prior year. Mason Love became the nation’s second-ranked freshman punter and earned Freshman All-SEC honors after averaging 45.1 yards per punt, the SEC’s third-best mark. Max Kelley earned Freshman All-SEC honors as a kickoff specialist. Vicari Swain was named an All-SEC returner, averaging 15.9 yards per punt return with three touchdowns — tying the school’s single-season record. Walk-on placekicker William Joyce was successful on 12-of-15 field goal attempts and all 31 PATs. On3 It was a genuine turnaround story, and it was DeCamillis doing what he has done his entire career: building elite units from the ground up.
The Pressure on Shane Beamer
For South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer, the loss is a significant one — and the timing demands urgency. With DeCamillis now officially gone, the Gamecocks will need to identify and hire their third special teams coordinator of the Beamer era, following previous coordinator departures that have forced the program to continuously rebuild on that side of the ball. Finding a coach with anywhere near DeCamillis’ experience and pedigree in the college market will be a genuine challenge.
Meanwhile, the Raiders are getting a coach who carries enormous credibility and experience. DeCamillis will take over a special teams unit that struggled mightily and went through an in-season coaching change in 2025 — after Las Vegas started 2-7, former head coach Pete Carroll fired ST coordinator Tom McMahon, and Pro Football Focus ranked the Raiders’ special teams a woeful 31st in the league. College Sports Network There is nowhere to go but up, and DeCamillis is precisely the kind of proven operator tasked with making that climb.
For Gamecock fans, the message is clear: an NFL legend passed through Columbia, made the special teams unit elite, and the NFL came calling. Now Shane Beamer must find the next one.
