Shane Beamer received significant raise to leave Georgia for Oklahoma

ATHENS ― Shane Beamer might have had several reasons to leave Georgia for Oklahoma, and one of them probably was financial security.

Beamer is set to earn $435,000 annually on a two-year contract, according to information presented at the Oklahoma Board of Regents meeting on Wednesday. That’s a 45 percent raise over the $300,000 annual salary Beamer earned at UGA the past two years as special teams coordinator and tight ends coach.

Not a bad salary for NEW #Sooners assistant coach @CoachSBeamer. Contract up for approval by #OU Board of Regents: pic.twitter.com/eSZBhNxpFb

— Bob Przybylo (@BPrzybylo) January 24, 2018

Georgia had Beamer on a one-year contract, so a two-year deal at Oklahoma also had to be an attraction. Still, it’s not known whether UGA attempted to keep Beamer with a competitive offer, or whether Georgia tried to keep him at all. All that’s known is that Oklahoma and coach Lincoln Riley were eager to add him to their staff.

Beamer’s official title at Oklahoma is assistant head coach for offense. He will coach the tight ends and H-backs.

“I had a great job at the University of Georgia and they’ve been great to me,” Beamer said Tuesday in a statement released by Oklahoma. “At the end of the day, the opportunity to work with Coach Riley and the rest of the staff at Oklahoma was one that I didn’t feel like my family and I could pass up. Lincoln’s reputation as an offensive mind and as a head coach is second to none. It’s exciting for me to be learn from him and his system.”

Georgia’s special teams struggled in Beamer’s first year but saw a rebound in 2017 as the Bulldogs won the SEC title and the Rose Bowl ― knocking off Oklahoma ― and nearly beat Alabama in the National Championship Game.

UGA has not named a replacement for Beamer. Coach Kirby Smart is thought to be concentrating on recruiting and taking his time both to fill Beamer’s role as well as that of the newly allowed 10th assistant coach.

Tyson Summers, the former Georgia Southern head coach, has been hired as a quality-control analyst and has been on the road recruiting in one of those open slots. Jay Johnson, the former Minnesota offensive coordinator who spent last year as a quality-control analyst, has been rehired for that role.