USC football coach Shane Beamer places a high priority on special teams, that’s why he hired Pete Lembo when he first got the job. Lembo made the Gamecocks special teams a national attraction in 2022 with his variety of fakes and returns. Lembo is now the head coach at the University of Buffalo. To replace him, Beamer has hired an NFL veteran with deep roots in special teams.
The USC Board of Trustees Monday afternoon approved a contract for Joe DeCamillis to join Beamer’s staff and oversee special teams. He received a three-year contract worth 800-thousand dollars per season. He’ll also hold the title of Associate Head Coach.
DeCamillis comes to USC from the University of Texas where he served as a special adviser to head coach Steve Sarkisian for one season. Before that, the 58-year-old DeCamillis coached for nine different NFL teams from 1991-2022, and at each stop he was the special teams coordinator.
DeCamillis won a pair of Super Bowl rings with the Broncos and the Rams.
DeCamillis also has family ties to USC. His late father-in-law was former Gamecock great Dan Reeves.
Here’s the release from USC on the hire:
DeCamillis spent the 2023 season on Steve Sarkisian’s staff at the University of Texas where he served as a special assistant to the head coach while sharing ideas and analysis of the Longhorns’ special teams units with special teams coordinator/tight ends coach Jeff Banks.
Texas ranked 20th in the country in special teams efficiency in 2023, according to ESPN analytics. The Longhorns tied for 10th in the nation with three blocked kicks, ranked 11th in the nation with a 15.9-yard punt return average and 16th in the country with a net punting average of 41.8 yards. The Longhorns won the Big 12 title and advanced to the College Football Playoffs in DeCamillis lone season in Austin.
Prior to his stint at UT, DeCamillis spent the previous 32 years as an NFL special teams coach, winning Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos in 2015 and the Los Angeles Rams in 2021.
DeCamillis began his NFL career as an administrative assistant for his father-in-law, then Denver Broncos head coach Dan Reeves, a former Gamecock football standout. DeCamillis was promoted to a position on Reeves’ coaching staff in 1991 as a special teams assistant and spent two years in that post with the Broncos.
DeCamillis continued to work for Coach Reeves as a special teams coach for the New York Giants from 1993-96 and the Atlanta Falcons from 1997-2003. After Reeves’ departure, DeCamillis remained on the Falcons’ staff through the 2006 season. He has also served as the special teams coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars (2007-08), Dallas Cowboys (2009-12), Chicago Bears (2013-14), Denver Broncos (2015-16), Jacksonville Jaguars (2017-20) and Los Angeles Rams (2021-22).
On Oct. 13, 2016, DeCamillis served as the interim head coach for Denver’s game against the San Diego Chargers while Gary Kubiak was recovering from an illness. The Broncos dropped a 21-13 decision in his head coaching debut.
Born June 29, 1965, and raised in Arvada, Colo., DeCamillis did not play football in college. He wrestled for the University of Wyoming where he was an All-American after placing eighth at the 1988 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.
DeCamillis and his wife, Dana, have two children, Caitlin and Ashley.
SOUTH CAROLINA 2024 FOOTBALL COACHING STAFF
Shane Beamer, Head Coach (4th year; Virginia Tech, 1999)
Joe DeCamillis, Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator (1st year; Wyoming, 1988)
Dowell Loggains, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach (2nd year; Arkansas, 2003)
Clayton White, Defensive Coordinator/Inside Linebackers Coach (4th year; NC State, 2001)
James Coley, Wide Receivers Coach (1st year; Florida State, 1997)
Torrian Gray, Defensive Backs Coach (4th year; Virginia Tech, 1999)
Sterling Lucas, Outside Linebackers/Defensive Ends Coach (3rd year; NC State, 2012)
Travian Robertson, Defensive Line Coach (2nd year; South Carolina, 2011)
Justin Stepp, Tight Ends Coach (4th year; Furman, 2007)
Lonnie Teasley, Offensive Line Coach (2nd year; Winston-Salem State, 2008)