Most of You May Know Him as Coach Will Muschamp, However, Gator Nation Calls Him “Coach Champ”

There is something in the air in Gainesville, Florida and it smells like Gator Bait! Yep, the 2012 season in underway and the University of Florida Gators may have just gotten their swagger back. Before I go on allow me to tell you a little about Coach Mus-“Champ”. William Larry Muschamp (born August 3, 1971) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach at the University of Florida. A native of Georgia, Muschamp attended the University of Georgia and played football for the Bulldogs. Muschamp previously served as the defensive coordinator for the LSU Tigers, Auburn Tigers, and the Texas Longhorns. He also served as the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). So as you can already see, Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley may have rolled the dice, however as the Mighty Gators 2012 NCAA SEC Football team is preparing for their 4^th game and only their second home game I would say that Foley has rolled a pair of lucky sevens. Coach Muschamp has gained a reputation both for his excellent defenses and his intense, enthusiastic demeanor during games and practice in his second season at Auburn, Muschamp was a finalist for the 2007 Broyles Award for the most outstanding assistant coach in college football. Prior to accepting the job at Florida, the University of Texas had announced that Muschamp would eventually succeed Mack Brown as head coach of the Longhorns and designated him the "head coach in waiting.

Will Muschamp was born in Rome, Georgia but grew up in Gainesville, Florida. He attended Martha Manson Academy elementary school and Oak Hall High School in Gainesville. His family moved back to Rome, where his father became the head master of the Darlington School, and where he graduated from high school. Muschamp played football, basketball, baseball, and ran track for the Darlington Tigers.  Muschamp attended the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. He walked on to the Georgia Bulldogs football team and played safety from 1991 to 1994. As an undergraduate, he was initiated into the Kappa Alpha Order (Gamma Chapter) and also earned a spot on the SEC Academic Honor Roll in 1993. He was a defensive team captain his senior season, and played in two bowl games with the Bulldogs. Current Georgia offensive coordinator and former Bulldogs quarterback Mike Bobo, who was Muschamp's college teammate, described him as "a hard worker, Very physical, and Very intense, "Muschamp graduated from the University of Georgia with a bachelor's degree in 1994. Will Muschamp was born to Coach in College Football, and he is very good at it. After graduating from Georgia, Muschamp became a graduate assistant coach at Auburn University, where he worked under defensive coordinators Wayne Hall and Bill Oliver in 1995 and 1996  He earned a master's degree in education from Auburn in 1996, then spent a season each at the University of West Georgia and Eastern Kentucky University as the defensive backs coach, before becoming the defensive coordinator at Valdosta State University in 2000.

 

 

LSU Tigers - Muschamp joined Nick Saban's staff at LSU as the linebackers coach in 2001, before rising to become the LSU defensive coordinator in 2002. In 2003, LSU won the BCS Championship. That season, Muschamp's defense led the nation in both scoring defense (11.0 points per game) and total defense (252.0 yards per game). The Tigers topped the SEC in every major defensive category and also ranked second nationally in defensive pass efficiency (89.8 rating) and third in rushing defense (67.0 yards per game). While at LSU, Muschamp coached four All-Americans including Bradie James, Chad Lavalais, Corey Webster and Marcus Spears. Muschamp left LSU with Saban after the 2004 season to join the Miami Dolphins staff as the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator.

 

 

Miami Dolphins - As assistant head coach and defensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins, Muschamp's defense ranked fifteenth in total defense in the NFL. The Dolphins allowed 19.8 points per game and 317.4 total yards per game during the 2005 NFL season. Muschamp's unit also ranked second in the NFL with 49 quarterback sacks.

 

 

Auburn Tigers - When the Auburn defensive coordinator position became available in January 2006, Muschamp took the opportunity to return to the college game. In 2006, Muschamp's first season at Auburn, the defense finished seventh among NCAA Division I-FBS teams in scoring defense, allowing only 21 touchdowns.  In 2007, Auburn led the SEC in scoring defense and finished in the top 10 in four defensive categories (ranking 7th nationally in pass efficiency and 6th nationally in total defense passing defense and scoring defenses among NCAA Division I-FBS teams).

 

 

Texas Longhorns - On January 3, 2008, Muschamp interviewed for the vacant co-defensive coordinator job for the University of Texas. The next day, he resigned from Auburn to accept the position with Texas. Muschamp was slated to receive a raise to $425,000 per year with a two year, no buyout, contract at Auburn for 2008, which would have made him the highest paid assistant coach in the SEC. Muschamp received a contract with a $425,000 annual salary at Texas, making him the highest paid assistant coach in the Big 12. On November 18, 2008 The University of Texas announced that Will Muschamp would eventually succeed Mack Brown as head football coach. They agreed in principle to increase Muschamp’s salary to $900,000. There was no timetable set for Brown’s departure, and both Brown and UT said they expected Brown to stay a long time 59-year old Brown is under contract as head coach through 2016 Once Brown does retire, Muschamp was slated to get a five-year contract as head coach. In announcing the move, the University of Texas noted, "Muschamp's Longhorn defense is leading the Big 12 in rushing defense (82.5 ypg/25th NCAA) and scoring defense (19.5 ppg/25th NCAA). UT ranks second nationally with four sacks per game. The Horns have held all of their Big 12 opponents below their season scoring average and limited six foes to 14 points or less. UT Athletics Director DeLoss Dodds said, "With the landscape in college football and all of the changes around the country, I've been looking at this for the last couple of years. When it's not working, you have to go outside and make changes. Things are going well here, it's working, so it's best to be prepared to build from inside and that's what we're doing. Mack has provided outstanding leadership and continues to elevate our football program to a level as high as anyone in the country. We hope he stays a long time and he will be our coach as long as he wants, but this assures us that when the time comes, we have the right guy to step up into that position and continue to build on the great things we're accomplishing." Prior to this announcement, Muschamp had been mentioned in association with head coaching job openings at Clemson, Tennessee, Washington, and Auburn.  He had been planning an off-week interview with Clemson but as a result of this deal decided instead to wait his turn at Texas, saying, "This is a special place. I think it is 'the' elite job in the country.” Austin columnist Kirk Bohls predicted this would be good for the program: "Muschamp's ascension conveys to fans and recruits that Texas values what it has now as one of the elite programs in the country and wants to maintain. This smart, bold move should bring coaching stability, sustained recruiting and possibly expanded recruiting into the Southeast and a continued framework for success."

 

 

Florida Gators - On December 11, 2010, University of Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley named Will Muschamp to succeed Urban Meyer as the head coach of the Florida Gators football program.  In his first year as head coach, he led the Gators to a 7–6 record and a 24–17 Gator Bowl victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes. Coach Muschamp also proved himself an adept recruiter, bringing in the No. 3 recruiting class in the nation according to Rivals.com. So here we go and Gator Nation is starting to love their coach. Coach Champ has most certainly squashed any rumors that he may be sitting on the hot seat after having a dismal 2011 season, so far he has lead the Gators to a 3-0 start 2-0 in the SEC and has his Gators getting better every week.

 

 

So hey Gator Nation! How do you like the new look of Florida Gator football? I am sure if you're old school, Will Muschamp should get two thumbs up from you. Most teams don't come with the amount of talented players that Coach Muschamp inherited. Of course, just being talented isn't the end-all in creating a good football team. You must have the correct type of talent for your schemes. Still, having great athletes all around you makes for good situations during the transition. An example of that was Chris Rainey. The lightening fast scat back isn't the type of running back Coach Muschamp would recruit for the Gators' new schemes. But, it was sure nice having his 233 total yards and touchdown versus Tennessee during last year's transition. That's an example of what great existing talent can do for you during the lean times of a transition. The Gators have a lot of talent. And Coach Muschamp and his staff are excellent recruiters. As a result, Florida has nearly completed what many would consider a three-year transition even though this week is only the third game of Muschamp's second season at Florida. However, it is clear that the team has changed from being centered on Urban Meyer's spread offensive system to Will Muschamp's more conventional pro set. The LA Times Sports section Read The Florida Gators put together another road rally Jeff Driskel threw two touchdown passes and Trey Burton ran for a pair of scores as No. 18 Florida scored the game's final 24 points to beat No. 23 Tennessee now think about it, The Swamp is in Gainsville Florida, and they are getting national attention. Florida is quickly developing a reputation as the Southeastern Conference's comeback kings. Flodida QB Jeff Driskel is really starting to come into his own, he just gets better and better as the season moves forward, Driskel threw two touchdown passes and  the very explosive and dangerous Trey Burton who ignited the Gators and ran for a pair of scores as No. 18 Florida scored the game's final 24 points to beat No. 23 Tennessee, 37-20, on Saturday. This only proves that the Team is buying into and believing in the Coach.  The Gators have won eight straight against their SEC East rivals, and for the second straight week came from behind on the road to win a conference game. The Gators (3-0, 2-0) rallied from a 17-10 halftime deficit to win 20-17 at Texas A&M last week. Florida lost all five games it trailed at halftime last season. Gators Coach Will Muschamp said there's a "night-and-day" difference in the toughness of this year's Florida team. "I'm really proud of our effort, coming on the road two weeks in a row," Muschamp said. "We were really poised at halftime again, no bickering [or] finger-pointing, just doing what we needed to do to get this thing going. "Mike Gillislee ran for 115 yards to lead a 336-yard rushing effort for the Gators, who have outrushed Tennessee (2-1, 0-1) in each of their eight consecutive victories over the Volunteers. Burton added 91 rushing yards in only three carries. Driskel ran for 81 yards on eight attempts, and he also went 14-of-20 for 219 yards passing. "We've put a tremendous emphasis on winning the fourth quarter, winning the second half and wearing down our opponent," Muschamp said. "That's something we've been able to do in the first three ballgames. That's something our kids have bought into doing." As for me, I believe the Gators can most definitely win the East. The Gators look really good so far, and what is most impressive is their ability to adjust and over come adversity at the half, you have to love their never say die new attitudes. I know I sure do.  So it’s a new day in Gainesville these days, and there is a new Sheriff in town and his name is Coach “Champ”, and he has most certainly put the swagger back in the Mighty Gators Step ~ Donnie Bolena