It’s an understatement to say that Will Muschamp’s reign as head football coach of the Florida Gators was underwhelming. Although his 2012 season saw the Gators finish 11-2, he never won more than seven games in his other three seasons, finishing 6-5 this year and 4-8 in 2013.
Now, as a job-seeking applicant, Muschamp could pursue other head coaching opportunities, but a man with Muschamp’s resume might look to land in the position where he had most success: defensive coordinator. The SEC has recently had two D.C.s at prominent programs fired for poor defensive results. According to ESPN’s Chris Low, Muschamp might be the perfect candidate.
That’s why Auburn is in hot pursuit after firing Ellis Johnson, and the Tigers are one of many. Texas A&M is also looking for somebody to come in and pick up the pieces of a defense that has been shredded the last two seasons.
There’s also another SEC team that could be looking for Muschamp to fill its defensive deficiencies.
There’s not an opening at South Carolina — yet. But Steve Spurrier will almost certainly make some changes after seeing the Gamecocks fall off the table defensively this season on the heels of three straight top-5 finishes in the SEC in total defense from 2011-13.
Despite Muschamp’s failure as a head coach, he remained one of the top defensive minds when he coached Florida. His offenses were completely inept, but he usually kept the Gators at the top of the SEC in terms of key defensive statistics, like defending the pass, as Bleacher Report notes:
His Gator defenses finished in the top four in the conference in pass defense every year and finished in the top three in the SEC in yards allowed per attempt in each of the last three seasons and generally make life miserable for opposing quarterbacks.
Couple Muschamp’s defensive pedigree with the fact that SEC schools are among the few willing to pay key assistants the big bucks–two coordinators make over $1 million per year–and Will seems to have a bright future, even if it isn’t as the head honcho at a major program.
