Qualities Tanner is looking for in a head coach

Ray Tanner understands the way college football is going, and he made no bones about it that it will likely impact his decision making when it comes to the Gamecocks’ head coaching vacancy.

When asked about an ideal candidate Monday, one of the first things Tanner mentioned was going after someone with an offensive background or someone who can reel in an exciting offensive staff.

“It’s important we maybe get an offensive-oriented type situation or maybe a fantastic coordinator to move the needle in that capacity,” Tanner said. “The other things we had with the passion and dedication. You just want to get the right person. You want guys to have fun. It’s a heck of a lot more fun when you’re winning.”

Also see: Early scoop on the coaching search process

Tanner stayed pretty mum on specific candidates, but did go into detail some on the interview process and the things he’s looking for in a future head coach when he sits down for interviews, either in person or virtually.

“A person that would inject a tremendous amount of fun into the program. That’s very important. You want a knowledgeable coach that can win right away,” Tanner said. “He has to have the energy and excitement to do that. I don’t think there’s a perfect formula to be successful but you have to hire the right person and what happens on the field you hope is a great outcome.”

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Tanner said hiring a coach is not a “perfect science” and the Gamecocks aren’t going to lose “character, integrity, work ethic, passion and a student-athlete first mentality” when making the next hire.

He said their candidates will range from a variety of different positions, saying they could opt to interview sitting head coaches along with coordinators and other assistants.

“It’s not going to be a requirement we go out and get a sitting head coach. Certainly we’ll go take a look at sitting head coaches,” he said. “There are other examples around the country that have worked extremely well whether they were a coordinator or position coach. Being a sitting head coach doesn’t necessarily guarantee it’s going to work out perfectly.”

Also see: Full recap from Monday's press conference

Tanner was directly asked about one candidate, former Ole Miss and current Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze, and opted not to speak directly on Freeze and his candidacy for the job.

What he did say was no one is ruled out and everything has to be vetted by the NCAA and SEC before officially hiring a coach.

“No one is ruled out,” Tanner said of Freeze. “We’re looking at a long list of candidates and that work started last night. At this point we’ll consider a lot of different people now we’re in the process of narrowing the list down.”