KimreyforCarolina

Objection 01 · They say

“He’s a high school coach.”

The answer

So were some of the best offensive minds the SEC has seen.

• Gus Malzahn went from Springdale High (Ark.) to SEC offensive coordinator. He won a national title as Auburn’s OC in 2010, then an SEC title and a BCS title-game berth as Auburn’s head coach in 2013.
• Chad Morris went 32–0 with back-to-back Texas state titles at Lake Travis High, then ran Clemson’s offense from 2011 to 2014.
• Kimrey isn’t only a high school coach. He played SEC quarterback, was a graduate assistant under Lou Holtz, and coached tight ends and recruited in the SEC at South Carolina in 2021.

Objection 02 · They say

“He’s never been a college head coach.”

The answer

Neither had Dabo Swinney.

• Swinney was a wide receivers coach who had never been a coordinator when Clemson promoted him in 2008. He has since won national titles in 2016 and 2018.
• Kimrey has 22 seasons and 271 games as a head coach. He has hired staffs, built programs, managed budgets, handled parents and boosters, and won.
• The job is leading men and building a culture. He’s done that at two schools in two states, and won titles in Year 1 at the second one.

Objection 03 · They say

“Can he recruit at the SEC level?”

The answer

He has coached at the SEC level, and developed SEC talent.

• He coached five-star Jordan Burch (No. 5 nationally) and four-star Alex Huntley. Both stayed home at South Carolina, and both reached the NFL.
• After 17 seasons coaching in Columbia, he knows South Carolina high school football and the coaches who run it.
• Football families choose him. The Muschamps, the Goodmans and the Mannings put their sons in his program.

Objection 04 · They say

“High school schemes won’t work against SEC defenses.”

The answer

Good offense is good offense. Ask Malzahn and Morris.

• Both coaches took offenses built in high school into the SEC and the ACC and won big with them.
• Kimrey is a former SEC quarterback with a math degree, and he calls his own plays. His teams have won 14 state titles against the best competition in two states.
• Spurrier’s ball-coach offense produced Carolina’s only top-10 finishes. The blueprint already works here.

Objection 05 · They say

“He left South Carolina once before.”

The answer

He left to be a head coach. This is the head coaching job.

• He left a staff job in 2022 to run his own program. He called Baylor “the place between two dreams.”
• He said he would leave Hammond for only two places: South Carolina or Baylor. Carolina was always the dream.
• Since then: 2 state titles, four straight title games through 2025, an undefeated 2025, and a 18-game win streak.

Objection 06 · They say

“It’s too big a risk.”

The answer

So was a walk-on on 4th-and-10.

• The real risk is hiring another coach with no tie to this place and no plan for the offense.
• Kimrey knows Columbia, knows the job, and has won 90.4% of his games for two decades.
• Pair him with a veteran defensive coordinator and a modern GM/recruiting operation. That’s how today’s SEC programs are built.