Ohio State, 2019–23
Ryan Day
2 CFP berths in his first 2 years, 2020 title game
Called his own plays in his first full-time head coaching job.
A campaign for the next South Carolina head coach
KimreyforCarolina
A Gamecock quarterback, a 14-time state champion, and an offensive mind who calls his own plays. Erik Kimrey has won everywhere he’s coached. It’s time to bring him home.
- Career record as a head coach
- 245–26
- State championships
- 14
- Career win percentage
- 90.4%
- Straight wins & counting
- 18
01The case
He’s one of us.He wins.He calls it.
01 / Carolina DNA
A Gamecock, start to finish
A Columbia native and Dutch Fork product, he walked on at South Carolina, played quarterback from 1998 to 2002, and earned a math degree. He came back as a graduate assistant under Lou Holtz and again as South Carolina’s tight ends coach in 2021. He knows this place.
02 / Proven winner
14 titles in two states
He went 194–20 at Hammond with 12 state championships, the most by any coach in South Carolina history. He was the youngest and fastest coach in state history to 100 wins. At Baylor School in Tennessee he won the state title in Year 1, played in four straight title games, and went 12–0 in 2025.
03 / Offensive mind
The head coach is the play-caller
Kimrey calls his own plays, the way Spurrier did. Carolina’s best seasons, three straight 11-win years under Spurrier, came with an offensive head coach.
The campaign film · sound on
Bring backthe magic.
A walk-on, a dynasty, and the throw Williams-Brice never forgot. Stay to the end: the film fades into the real Fade.
1:26 · Original film · Ends on the real FadeMusic: “Also Sprach Zarathustra” (R. Strauss) by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), CC BY 3.0
02The record
Dynasty,
then do it again.
He built one program into the best in South Carolina. Then he moved to another state and did it again.
100
Wins: youngest & fastest coach to 100 in SC history
Took over Hammond at age 24
194–20
Record at Hammond School, 2004–2020
17 seasons · 90.7% wins
12
SCISA state titles at Hammond
Most by any coach in South Carolina history
6
Consecutive state titles, 2006–2011
Only coach in SC history to do it
51–6
Record at Baylor School, 2022–2026
Live · 2026: 6–0, unbeaten
2
Tennessee D-II AAA titles at Baylor
2022 (first in 49 yrs) · 2025 (12–0)
State championship banners
- Hammond2006
- Hammond2007
- Hammond2008
- Hammond2009
- Hammond2010
- Hammond2011
- Hammond2014
- Hammond2015
- Hammond2017
- Hammond2018
- Hammond2019
- Hammond2020
- Baylor2022
- Baylor2025
Hammond School (SCISA) Baylor School (TSSAA D-II AAA)
The path
1997
Dutch Fork QB
Plays for his father, Bill Kimrey, a South Carolina high school head coach for 34 years. All-State, breaks five state passing records, named South Carolina Offensive Player of the Year.
1998–02
Gamecock quarterback
Walks on at South Carolina under Brad Scott, stays under Lou Holtz, earns a degree in mathematics.
2000
“The Fade”
Off the bench on 4th-and-10, trailing ranked Mississippi State 19–13, his first throw is a 25-yard touchdown to Jermale Kelly. Carolina wins 23–19.
2003
Graduate assistant, USC
Coaches tight ends on Lou Holtz’s staff.
2004–20
Builds the Hammond dynasty
194–20 in 17 seasons, 12 state titles, six straight from 2006–2011 and four straight from 2017–2020.
2021
Tight ends coach, South Carolina
Returns to Columbia as an SEC position coach, recruiting and coaching tight ends at his alma mater. Inducted into Dutch Fork High’s inaugural Hall of Fame the same year.
2022–
Head coach, Baylor School
Wins a state title in Year 1, Baylor’s first in 49 years. Plays in four straight title games. In 2025 he goes 12–0, Baylor’s first unbeaten season since 1973.
2026
Still unbeaten
6–0 this season, scoring 41.3 points a game. An 18-game win streak. Named to MaxPreps’ 2025–26 national High School Coaching 100.
03Football IQ
The head coach
calls the plays.
A coach’s son and a former SEC quarterback. His father, Bill Kimrey, was a South Carolina high school head coach for 34 years and worked beside him on the Hammond sideline. Kimrey calls his own plays, and his staff at Baylor lists no offensive coordinator. He sees the field the way a quarterback does, because he was one.
4 verts · RB check · drawn live
41.3
Points per game in 2026, live
6–0 · allowing 18.3
64
Passing TDs by Briggs Cherry in Kimrey’s Baylor offense
6,000+ yards · 23–1 as a starter
1,751
Rushing yards by RB David Gabriel Georges in 2025
27 rushing TDs
38–34
Won the 2022 state title in his first Baylor season
Over MBA; first title in 49 years
Play-calling head coaches build historic offenses.
South Carolina has done it before. The program’s only top-10 finishes came under the Head Ball Coach.
Oregon, 2009–12
Chip Kelly
46–7, BCS title game in 2010
Called plays for one of the fastest offenses the sport has seen.
Tennessee, 2022
Josh Heupel
Led the nation in scoring, 46.1 PPG
His offense broke 15 program records and beat Alabama.
Florida, 1996
Steve Spurrier
National champions, 52–20 over FSU
The Fun ’n’ Gun. Coached Heisman winner Danny Wuerffel.
South Carolina, 2010–13
Steve Spurrier
SEC East title + three straight 11–2 seasons
Final AP No. 9, No. 8, No. 4: the only top-10 finishes in program history.
Florida State, 2013
Jimbo Fisher
National champions, 34–31 over Auburn
Primary play-caller as head coach.
Auburn, 2013
Gus Malzahn
SEC champions, BCS title game
Called plays as head coach in his first season.
Oklahoma, 2017–19
Lincoln Riley
3 Big 12 titles, 3 CFP berths
Still calls his own plays at USC.
Texas, 2023–24
Steve Sarkisian
Back-to-back CFP semifinals
2023 Big 12 champions; 13 wins in 2024 tied a school record.
Play-calling roles per ESPN and team reporting. Spurrier handed off play-calling in some seasons at South Carolina. A head coach calling plays is no guarantee of a title, but the most explosive offenses of the last 30 years have repeatedly been run by the head coach.
04The pipeline
He develops
SEC players.
Five-stars, walk-ons, quarterbacks, captains, and NFL draft picks. Most of them have played in garnet and black.
EDGE
NFLEDGE · 2020
Jordan Burch
Hammond → South Carolina → Oregon
Arizona Cardinals · 2025 NFL Draft, Rd. 3 (#78)
Five-star, No. 5 overall nationally, No. 1 in SC. USA Today All-American. Three-year Hammond star.
DT
NFLDT · 2020
Alex “Boogie” Huntley
Hammond → South Carolina (2020–24)
Signed with the Miami Dolphins, 2025
Four-star, Army All-American Bowl. Three straight SCISA titles. Student body president.
QB
SECQB · 2020
Jackson Muschamp
Hammond → Georgia
Three-year starting QB for Kimrey
Son of former South Carolina and Florida head coach Will Muschamp.
RB/FB
SECRB/FB · 2020
Bradley Dunn
Hammond → South Carolina
Walk-on turned scholarship player, 2025 captain
Played six seasons in garnet and black.
DB
SECDB · 2020
Fabian Goodman
Hammond → South Carolina
3 INTs in the 2019 SCISA 3A title game
Son of former Gamecock and NFL DB Andre Goodman.
LS
SECLS · 2008
Walker Inabinet
Hammond → South Carolina (2008–12)
Walk-on, put on scholarship in 2012
Dressed for 66 games during the Spurrier era.
QB
SECQB · 2027
Keegan Croucher
Baylor School → Ole Miss commit
Four-star 2027 QB
Kimrey’s starting quarterback in 2026 on a nationally ranked team.
QB
QBQB · Baylor
Briggs Cherry
Baylor School
23–1 as a starter
6,000+ passing yards and 64 TDs in Kimrey’s offense.
Programs that came recruiting
Schools that offered or signed Kimrey’s players, based on published offer lists and signings.
- South Carolina
- Georgia
- Alabama
- LSU
- Michigan
- Oregon
- Oklahoma
- Ole Miss
- Arkansas
- Virginia Tech
- North Carolina
Football families trust him
The Muschamp family
Jackson Muschamp, son of then-South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp, played quarterback for Kimrey for three seasons. Will attended Hammond’s 2020 signing day.
The Manning family
Marshall Manning, a 2030 QB and son of Peyton Manning, enrolled at Baylor School and is developing in Kimrey’s quarterback room behind an Ole Miss commit.
The Goodman family
Former Gamecock and NFL defensive back Andre Goodman’s son Fabian played for Kimrey at Hammond, then walked on at South Carolina.
05Objections, overruled
They’ll say.
We’ll answer.
Every bold hire comes with doubters. Here’s every argument against Erik Kimrey, and the facts that answer it.
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.
- 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 Lincoln Riley or Ryan Day.
- Lincoln Riley was 33 and had never been a head coach when Oklahoma promoted him in 2017. Calling his own plays, he won three straight Big 12 titles and made three Playoffs.
- Ryan Day had never held a full-time head coaching job when Ohio State hired him. Calling his own plays, he reached the national title game in his second season.
- 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 Gus Malzahn.
- Malzahn took the offense he built at Springdale High into the SEC. It won a national title in 2010 and an SEC title in 2013.
- Kimrey is a former SEC quarterback and a coach’s son, 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 an 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.
06What they say
Don’t takeour word for it.
I looked at Erik Kimrey, and he said ‘Coach, I can throw the fade.’ If a guy says he can do something, I’m all for that.
“Not only has he won multiple championships, but he has gained notoriety as a highly effective leader of young men.”
“They’re a great offense, and (Baylor coach Erik Kimrey) does a great job.”
“It’s been a blessing to play for him. He knows what it takes to get to the next level.”
“Erik Kimrey, the head coach there, does a fantastic job.”
“Erik has a gift that includes developing young men of character as well as winning both on and off the field.”
“Erik, he was a great quarterback. Unfortunately he didn’t get a lot of time. But he knew the game.”
Honored by the State House
“…utilized his athletic ability and training to mold a championship team…”
Resolution H.4653, South Carolina House of Representatives (2016)In his words
“Compare yourself to who you were yesterday and no one else.”
Erik Kimrey, on his coaching philosophy
Played for Coach Kimrey? Coached against him?
Tell your story with #KimreyForCarolina. The best ones will be featured here.
Sept. 23, 2000 · Williams-Brice Stadium
The Fade
Carolina trails No. 25 Mississippi State 19–13 with under five minutes left. The starter is hurt. In comes a walk-on who has thrown eight passes all season. On 4th-and-10, his first throw floats 25 yards down the sideline to Jermale Kelly. Touchdown. Carolina wins, 23–19.
01
Ready when called
Eight passes all season. He went into the biggest moment of the year cold anyway.
02
Fearless on fourth down
Game on the line, 4th-and-10. He made the throw nobody expected.
03
Still delivering
14 state titles and 245 wins since. The moment never got too big for him.
07Share the movement
Post it.Text it.
Make noise.
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Columbia, South Carolina
Bring him home.
He’s answered Carolina’s call before. On fourth-and-ten.