Will Muschamp
One of the most popular potential replacements for Tommy Bowden has to be Will Muschamp. This guy doesn't only coach Football, he is Football. Once, he got so irate at his defense for simply letting the other team into the redzone, he smacked himself upside the head and started bleeding all over the place.
Yep, he's a fooball coach. However, he's not just fire and emotion. The guy's got a pretty impressive resume:
He's got quite the lineup there. Lots of powerhouses on that list. Valdosta State basically wins their division's championship every year. He was at LSU with Nick Saban, who we have first hand knowledge of. He did a great job at Auburn and their fans were really sad to see him go. The people at Texas absolutely love him and he's gotten a sort of cult following there. He's a rising star in the football world and he's bound to get a head coaching job somewhere with all the vacancies that are sure to come this year. So what do we know about his philosophy?
Yep, he's a fooball coach. However, he's not just fire and emotion. The guy's got a pretty impressive resume:
| Career highlights | ||
| Playing career | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1991–1994 | Georgia | |
| Position | Safety | |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | ||
| 1995–1996 1998 1999 2000 2001–2004 2005 2006–2007 2008–present | Auburn (GA) West Georgia (DB) Eastern Kentucky (DB) Valdosta State (DC) LSU (LB/DC) Miami Dolphins (Asst. HC -Def.) Auburn (DC) Texas (DC) | |
He's got quite the lineup there. Lots of powerhouses on that list. Valdosta State basically wins their division's championship every year. He was at LSU with Nick Saban, who we have first hand knowledge of. He did a great job at Auburn and their fans were really sad to see him go. The people at Texas absolutely love him and he's gotten a sort of cult following there. He's a rising star in the football world and he's bound to get a head coaching job somewhere with all the vacancies that are sure to come this year. So what do we know about his philosophy?
Defense
Muschamp runs a typical fundamental powerhouse defense. He runs a 4-3 with mostly cover-2 and isn't afraid to blitz. Muschamp's defenses have never allowed more than 18.3 points per game in a season. His title winning defense at LSU led the nation in defensive scoring. His defense is exactly what we need at Clemson.
This year he inherits a Texas defense that was ranked 109th in the country against the pass in 2007. He's competing in the Big 12 against the likes of Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas. From Rivals.com:
Muschamp is always in the conversation about best defensive coordinator in the country. If he can turn Texas around this season, he will slam the door on the argument.
Offense
This is somewhat of a question mark. Muschamp hasn't been a college head coach and he's never coached the offensive side of the ball in college. However, one can take a look at some of the teams he's worked with to see what kind of offense he may run. For example, there's LSU, who ran the typical SEC type offense with lots of I formation, some shotgun and some single back, with another twist in there from time to time. Such an offense paired extremely well with his defense as LSU was pretty dominating in that time period. Auburn and Texas both run a similar style offense to that of LSU, with some differences here and there. It doesn't appear that Muschamp has coached for a spread team or an option team so I don't know if he'd want to run either of those. This one question is my only real hesitation on the guy, simply because I'm so gimmick-averse.
Another Opinion
MIRACLE WORKER
Few could blame Muschamp for feeling like he can do just about anything. On an Auburn team that seemed to set offense back a few thousand years each of the last two seasons, Muschamp helped the Tigers win 20 games and beat Florida twice. There was a 7-3 victory over LSU in 2006 and a 9-7 victory at Arkansas last season. That will forever be known as the game Muschamp solidified his nickname "Coach Boom!" with some sideline color caught on ESPN that is now achieving cult status on YouTube.
Auburn went 11-2 in 2006 despite being ranked 76th in total offense. The Tigers went 9-4 last season despite finishing 97th in total offense.
"Greg (Davis) has promised me he's going to score some points," Muschamp joked at the Texas Gridiron Kickoff luncheon last Friday.
Muschamp has been calling key leaders of the defense into his office for one-on-ones. He demands the most from those he expects the most. Miller has been in Muschamp's office a bunch.
"I tell the guys, 'If we're not coaching you hard, we're not coaching you,'" Muschamp said. "So we're going to coach the guys Texas football is important to and putting those Horns on every Saturday is important to. Those are the guys who are committed to doing it, and we're going to coach those guys hard."
Muschamp can't stand idle chatter. His father, Larry, a high school football coach in Georgia used to tell him, "Your actions speak so loud, I can't hear what you're saying."
"I understand it now and I tell it to our players here at Texas," Muschamp said. "You talk about being a great player. You talk about being committed. You talk about being a great teammate, a great student or a great son. Your actions speak so loudly I can't hear what you're telling me because your actions aren't exactly what you're telling me you want to be. Your actions are what make your character. That's something that I live by daily. Am I exhibiting the right actions for the kids, doing the right things for the kids or making the right decisions? Are we coaching something and not acting something out? I think that's a saying I always remember my dad saying."
What to look for
Texas has a HUGE task coming up. They face Oklahoma on Oct 11 and Missouri on Oct 18. They aren't favored to win either of those games. Let's see how Muschamp's defense performs and what kind of grit they have. They might not necessarily win, but it's how they play that you should be concerned with. Are there halftime adjustments made? Does the defense look like they're prepared?
In conclusion, I think Muschamp would be a very good selection for Clemson's head coach. I'm not totally sold on him just yet, but I wouldn't be dissatisfied with the hire. It's a lot better than hiring some big name coach and expecting his popularity alone to propel us into greatness... you see how that turned out.
UPDATE - 5:20PM EST, 10/2/2008
Apparently, there's already a pro-Muschamp to Clemson website, and it's pretty cool: www.SolidBOOM.com
+newsvine
+digg
+del.icio.us
+reddit
I like where your head's at. I'm a pretty big Muschamp to Clemson supporter as are a few of my buddies. We've decided to start an underground movement to hire him called Solid BOOM!. Check it out over at www.solidboom.com.
Posted by
Rock Crane |
10/2/08 4:43 PM
What LSU ran when Muschamp was here (I'm in Louisiana) was more single back, two TE, 2 WR sets. Saban and Fisher were not big on the "I" when he was here. Fisher used it more when Miles came in; however, the FB never gets carries. The shotgun came in mostly for JaMarcus Russell, as he wasnt mobile at all in the beginning; although Matt Mauck ran it in 2003.
Al Borgess' offense at Auburn was nearly the same, but more I-formation.
Still, theyre both SEC style offenses for sure, which is what I'd want to have. LSU throws nearly as much as any team but when the run works you keep pounding it.
I'd expect him to try to run the exact same offense.
Posted by
Charles |
10/3/08 7:10 PM