Will Muschamp

William Larry Muschamp (born August 3, 1971) is an American college football coach and former player who is currently the head coach of the Florida Gators football team of the University of Florida. A native of Georgia, Muschamp attended the University of Georgia and played for the Georgia 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).

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."

Early years
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.

College career
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.  Very intense." Muschamp graduated from the University of Georgia with a bachelor's degree in 1994.

Coaching career
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 defense 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. Upon Brown's retirement, 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 American-Statesman 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 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. Muschamp also proved himself an adept recruiter, bringing in the No. 3 recruiting class in the nation according to Rivals.com.

In his second season at Florida, Muschamp led the Gators to an 11–1 regular season with four wins over teams that were ranked among the top twelve of the BCS standings at the end of the regular season, including Texas A&M, LSU, South Carolina, and Florida State. However, the season ended with a disappointing 33-23 loss to the Louisville Cardinals in the Sugar Bowl.

Personal
Muschamp's wife Carol (née Davis) is from Thomaston, Georgia. They have two sons, Jackson and Whit. His brother Mike Muschamp is the head football coach at The Lovett School in Atlanta, Georgia.