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A Beloved Defensive Fixture
Brad Lawing, a former football assistant at South Carolina, died peacefully in his sleep on Wednesday night. He was 65 years old. He was known for his significant contributions as a defensive fixture during his 17 seasons with the Gamecocks.
Wayne Parris, Lawing’s brother-in-law, shared the news on his Facebook and Twitter pages Thursday morning and confirmed Lawing’s death to The State. Lawing died in his sleep, according to Parris.
“Our hearts are broken hearing this terrible news,” South Carolina’s football team said in a statement via Twitter. “Thoughts and prayers go out to the friends and family of a tremendous man and coach.”
A Career Spanning Four Decades
Lawing began his coaching career in 1979 as a graduate assistant at Appalachian State, where he played defensive end from 1976 to 1978. He worked under legendary coach Mack Brown and helped the Mountaineers win two Southern Conference titles.
He then moved to Lenoir-Rhyne as a defensive coordinator from 1980 to 1982, before joining South Carolina for the first time in 1989 as a defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator. He coached future NFL players Corey Miller, Gerald Dixon and Henry Taylor and helped bring eventual five-time Pro Bowl defensive end John Abraham to campus.
He left the Gamecocks in 1998 to join Nick Saban’s staff at Michigan State as a defensive ends coach. He spent two seasons with the Spartans before returning to the Carolinas as a defensive line coach at North Carolina from 2000 to 2002.
He then had a brief stint at Houston in 2003, followed by two seasons at Florida as a defensive line coach and assistant head coach under Ron Zook and Urban Meyer.
In 2006, he rejoined South Carolina under Steve Spurrier as a defensive line coach primarily working with edge rushers and outside linebackers. He helped the Gamecocks achieve unprecedented success, including back-to-back 11-win seasons in 2011 and 2012.
He coached some of the best defensive players in school history, such as Eric Norwood, Melvin Ingram, Devin Taylor, Travian Robertson, Kelcy Quarles and Jadeveon Clowney. Clowney became the second No. 1 overall pick in program history in the 2014 NFL Draft.
Lawing left South Carolina in 2013 to join Jimbo Fisher’s staff at Florida State as a defensive ends and outside linebackers coach. He won a national championship with the Seminoles in his first season.
He spent three seasons at Florida State before moving to Georgia State in 2016 as a defensive line coach under former South Carolina assistant Shawn Elliott. He helped the Panthers win their first bowl game in school history in 2017.
A Legacy of Excellence and Impact
Lawing was widely respected and admired by his colleagues, players and fans for his passion, knowledge and skill as a coach. He was also known for his humor, stories and personality off the field.
He played an integral role in changing how South Carolina’s football program was viewed on the national stage, and that’s not even counting all of the lives he touched off the field. He will undoubtedly be dearly missed by Gamecock nation and all of those who knew him well.
“He was just a guy’s guy,” Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer told The State. “Great stories about all the people he had worked with. I used to love hearing his stories about working for Nick Saban and all the different people he had been around in his career — Sparky Woods, Nick Saban. Just a regular guy. Loved his family. Loved coaching football. Didn’t have many other hobbies. He loved those two things and loved to recruit.”
