Muschamp To Coach "Old" Champs

by Brandon "BKP" Plowden

The University of Florida is once again faced with embracing the idea of welcoming yet another new head football coach to their program, after Urban Meyer walked away from coaching the team that he once led to 2 national titles in six years. Newly hired coach Will Muschamp, former Texas Defensive Coordinator, will become the 23rd coach in the history of the Florida football program and the 3rd in 10 years post Spurrier. Muschamp who is known for his tenacious defensive units as we all as his relentless recruiting edge, is facing a huge challenge to succeed at arguably one of the nations premier programs with no prior head coaching experience. Many will ask:

• Did athletic director Jeremy Foley make the right choice?
• Did he pull the trigger too quickly?
• Does this hire give Florida the competitive edge it once had 2 years ago?
• And finally, will this hire help keep Florida’s recruiting class in tact?

Here’s the untold perspective in my opinion:

First when news broke that Urban Meyer was stepping down for the second time in 12 months to retire from coaching, athletic director (AD) stated that he wanted to hit the ground immediately and bring a new coach before Christmas. He also stated that the pre-requisite of prior head coaching experience was not a qualification, and that he wanted someone that could:

“fit within the Gainesville and Florida comunity”
“knows the SEC (southeastern conference)”
“a good recruiter as well as a disciplinarian”

"someone who is an up and coming leader, aka a hot commodity, in the coaching ranks"

Foley found all of what he was searching for and more with Muschamp. After thorough research it appears that the new Gator coach comes with a fairly impressive resume of leading a defensive units that have been in the top 10 in each of the years he served as the defensive coordinator at Texas.

Muschamp, a Univ. of Georgia graduate, began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Auburn in 1995 and later stops at Univ. of West Georgia, Eastern Kentucky and Valdosta State, where he later returned to the SEC in 2001 when former LSU coach Nick Saban hired him as linebackers coach. He was promoted to DC in 2002 and helped Saban lead the LSU Tigers to the national championship in 2003. Ironically current Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher was on the same staff as an offensive coordinator which causes ground for “familiarity” on behalf of the Gators. Muschamp will not only have Fishers offensive tendencies in his back pocket but he also renews the Florida/FSU rivalry with the same fire it once had during the 90’s. Saban brought Muschamp with him to the NFL to coach the Dolphins in 2005 and later left to become the DC Auburn in 2006, and Texas 2007-2010.

Many Gator fans remember the lone loss suffered in 2006 against Auburn thaat stopped Chris Leak and Tim Tebow from creating any offense- guess who was behind that masterpiece defensive unit of Auburn: you guessed it, Will Muschamp.

The Southeastern conference is as complex, difficult, and competitive as they come and Muschamp has his work cut out for him. However, the greatest part about this challenge is that he now gets a chance to coach against his former colleages in Saban (Alabama), Fisher (FSU), and Derek Dooley (Univ. of Tennessee). Many Gator fans are a little indifferent on their feelings about a former Georgia Bulldog leading the ranks of Florida but Im sure Jeremy Foley took his coaching credentials into play over the institution listed on Muschamp's degree.

Now did Foley pull the trigger too quickly and not give enough consideration to the likes of Boise State’s Chris Petersen, TCU Gary Patterson, Houston’s Kevin Sumlin, Stanford’s Jim Harbaugh, Utah’s Kyle Whittingham, and Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops all of whom were rumored to be in the running to consideration? I will personally say no. Foley stated that he wanted to get a coach in the doors quickly and he has already faced this position once before when Meyer attempted to walk away during the last bowl season. I personally believe that Foley did his due diligence the first time around and came up with a plan in the event Meyer resigned again. If you are a decision maker in any line of work and you face a threat of a resignation from one of your top employees then you would be unprepared and shell shocked if you failed to do your homework on potential replacements (key words) “in the event” you become short handed. I believe Foley created a a list of prospects last January when the Urban Meyer news first broke. I believe he had certain targets and also wanted to go after the individual who could keep the competitive edge flowing. Also for critics that are throwing the move out the window must not know the history of Florida football. What do I mean you ask? I’ll share it briefly:

• Charlie Strong, former Florida defensive coordinator, was hired as the head coach of Louisville in 2009. He had no prior head coaching experience after coaching for 20 years and was finally granted his first shot where he led his squad to a 6-6 record in the Big East, while also being named coach of the year in his conference. Sounds impressive yet? If not I have another former coach that’ll knock your socks off
• Bob Stoops, a Steve Spurrier assistant for 3 years from 1995-1998, was the defensive coordinator for Florida with no prior head coaching experience. He was hired to Spurriers staff out of Kansas State in 1995 after the Gators gave up 62 points to Nebraska in the 1995 national championship game. A year later he gained immediate spotlight for his obliteration of the Florida State Seminoles in the 1996 Sugar Bowl national championship game holding them to only 20 points. He was later hired as the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners in 1999 where he has a .805 winning percentage. Now tell me after “learning” and getting your history lesson from me if you still think its not a reputable hire?! Now its Muschamp's turn!

With the hiring of Muschamp it gives Florida the competitive edge it needed for its recruits. Without a quick hire it would have given fellow SEC opponents and rivals a chance to steal the attention of recruits which could've destroyed the momentum that Florida once had before the Meyer news broke.

Now the pressure lies on the staff that he will bring in most namely the offensive coordinator. The OC will be key for the determination of how quarterback commit Jeff Driskel will be used as well as the effect it will have on the current offensive roster. As we all witnessed, the Gators offense struggled badly this year and many blamed Steve Adazzio for the downfall. I personally believe it was Adazzio along with Meyer's weak offensive scheme of which showed signs of struggling even when Tebow was taking the snaps. If I were Muschamp I’d keep Adazzio and make him in charge of a different position because along with a few other assistants he was personally responsible for signing top recruiting classes year after year. I would take the risk to keep him on the staff and use his fiery motivating tactics. Why not have the best recruiters on your staff? He’d be worth keeping, but Im anxious to see who will be on staff soon.

The great Muhammed Ali once said, “Its not bragging if you back it up”, and right now Muschamp has been charged with leading the nations premier team in the toughest conference in the land. If he succeeds then Gator nation can continue to brag, but if he fails, which I doubt, he will be ousted quicker than Ron Zook in a pit full of blood thirsty Gators. The verdict is still out but I personally like the pick for now. Remember if you're not a Gator, then you're GATOR BAIT!