Bobby Bentley

Bobby Bentley is in his fifth season at Carolina, having joined Will Muschamp’s coaching staff on Dec. 8, 2015. He will coach the tight ends for a second-straight season in 2020 after working as the running backs coach in his first three seasons (2016-18) with the Gamecocks.

In 2016, his first season in Columbia, Bentley developed a pair of freshmen running backs in Rico Dowdle and A.J. Turner into the squad’s top two rushers. In fact, 78 percent of the rushing yards were by freshmen, with Dowdle and Turner combining for over 1,200 yards.

Bentley’s second and third seasons proved to be a case of running back by committee. The quartet of Rico Dowdle, A.J. Turner, Ty’Son Williams and Mon Denson, all had strong moments during both their sophomore (2017) and junior (2018) campaigns.

Bentley also mentored his son, Jake, in the 2018 Outback Bowl win over Michigan following the dismissal of quarterbacks coach Kurt Roper.

In 2018, the Gamecocks produced six individual 100-yard rushing games, including Deshaun Fenwick’s 112-yard performance against Chattanooga, the first freshman to rush for 100 yards in his debut since 1999.

In addition, Bentley was named one of Rivals Top 25 recruiters for the 2019 class.

In 2019, his first season as the tight ends coach, Bentley mentored Kyle Markway, who was the squad’s third-leading receiver with 31 receptions for 349 yards, along with transfer Nick Muse, who added 17 catches for 158 yards.

A South Carolina native, Bentley returned to the Palmetto State after two seasons as an offensive analyst at Auburn under Gus Malzahn. In 2014, the Tigers posted an 8-5 record, including a loss to Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl. During his time at Auburn, Bentley worked with a trio of running backs, Cameron Artis-Payne, Corey Grant and Peyton Barber, all of whom went on to play in the NFL.

Prior to his stint at Auburn, Bentley was the head coach at James F. Byrnes High School in Duncan, S.C. where he was one of the most successful high school coaches in the country. He served as an assistant for the Rebels from 1990-94 before being named head coach in 1995. He compiled a 119-54 record at Byrnes in two stints (1995-2006 and 2013) and won four-consecutive state championships from 2002-05. The Rebels posted a 57-2 record during the title streak run. Following the team’s fourth state title, Bentley was honored as the 2005 Nike National Coach of the Year. He also was named as the South Carolina Football Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 2006.

He was the Rebels’ head coach for one additional season (2013) when he logged a 12-2 record and garnered a Region II-4A title. During his time at Byrnes, Bentley had the opportunity to coach Gamecock Great Marcus Lattimore.

Bentley was named head coach at his alma mater, Presbyterian College in 2007, becoming the first NCAA Football Championship Subdivision head football coach in PC’s history.
In his first year at PC, the Blue Hose ranked third nationally in both passing yards and total offense and finished in the top 15 in both scoring and passing efficiency while logging a 6-5 record. In two seasons at Presbyterian he posted a 10-13 mark. During his time at PC, the Blue Hose set school records in points scored in a season (404), yards in a season (5,290), passing yards in a game (648) and passing efficiency. Bentley also signed and coached NFL Pro Bowl cornerback Justin Bethel.

On January 5, 2009, Bentley resigned as head football coach of the Blue Hose. He accepted a new position with Spartanburg School District 5 as the district wide athletic director and public information officer.

He and his wife, the former Paulette West, are the parents of five children: Chas, Shuler, Jake, Brooks and Emily. Chas is an assistant strength and conditioning coach at the University of Miami; Shuler is a graduate assistant at Troy working with the quarterbacks; and Jake is a senior quarterback at Utah.