Dowell Loggains hired as South Carolina’s new offensive coordinator

Ben Portnoy

South Carolina has a replacement for Marcus Satterfield.

USC’s board of trustees on Tuesday approved the hire of Arkansas tight ends coach Dowell Loggains as the Gamecocks’ new offensive coordinator.

His three-year contract working for head coach Shane Beamer runs through Dec. 31, 2025 at a salary of $1 million per year.

Loggains has been on Sam Pittman’s Arkansas staff the past two seasons, but has spent the bulk of his career in the NFL.

He previously served as the offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans, Chicago Bears, New York Jets and Miami Dolphins. The Texas native also worked as a quarterbacks coach for the Cleveland Browns during his almost two decades in the NFL.

“We try to take care of our coaches and do the things they ask us to do,” South Carolina athletic director Ray Tanner said following the board meeting. “It’s always the responsibility of the head coach to hire assistants And from the time that Coach Satterfield left, Dowell’s name was mentioned, among a lot of other people that had reached out. We had conversations and then (Beamer) pursued the opportunity to hire (Loggains).”

In parts of seven years as an offensive coordinator, Loggains’ offenses averaged 305.2 yards per game, toward the bottom of the league. His squads finished in the top 20 of the NFL in yards per game once and the Jets ranked dead last in the NFL in yards per game in Loggains’ final two years in New York.

On-field issues aside, the former Arkansas quarterback was often hamstrung with some of the weaker personnel units in the NFL during his time as an offensive coordinator. He also helped Bears signal-caller Jay Cutler to his best passer rating as a professional in 2015.

Loggains has only spent the past two years as a college coach, working on Pittman’s staff at his alma mater, where he’s quickly developed a strong track record as a recruiter.

He’s currently rated the 22nd-best recruiter in the country by 247Sports. Four of the six players Loggains has served as the lead recruiter for are rated four-star prospects, three of those prospects are ranked inside the top 200 players in the 2023 class.

“I played for Dowell in CLE & CHI — if he’s the guy, we just got better,” South Carolina QB great Connor Shaw tweeted last week.

South Carolina sought a new offensive coordinator after Satterfield left to take the same role on Matt Rhule’s inaugural Nebraska staff.

USC’s offense ebbed and flowed dramatically during Satterfield’s tenure in Columbia, but exploded over the final two games of 2022 in upset wins over No. 5 Tennessee and No. 8 Clemson. The Gamecocks rolled to over 1,000 combined yards and 94 points in wins over the Volunteers and Tigers.

South Carolina (8-4) will conclude its season in the Gator Bowl against No. 21 Notre Dame (8-4) on Dec. 30.

It’s not clear who will call plays for the Gamecocks in the bowl game. Beamer said he hasn’t ruled out calling the plays himself.

Dowell Loggains resume

  • 2005: Dallas Cowboys (scouting assistant)

  • 2006-13: Tennessee Titans (coaching administrative assistant, quality control, quarterbacks/passing game coordinator/offensive coordinator)

  • 2014: Cleveland Browns (quarterbacks)

  • 2015-17: Chicago Bears (quarterbacks, offensive coordinator)

  • 2018: Miami Dolphins (offensive coordinator)

  • 2019-20: New York Jets (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks)

  • 2021-22: Arkansas (tight ends)

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