Will Muschamp Named South Carolina Head Coach

The University of South Carolina made the announcement official on Sunday as former Florida head coach Will Muschamp was named the Gamecocks’ next head football coach.  Muschamp is the 34th head football coach of South Carolina in South Carolina history.

https://twitter.com/GamecockFB/status/673614468279107584

Muschamp will return to a head coaching position after one season of being the defensive coordinator at Auburn. While Muschamp was the DC for the Tigers this season, the Tigers showed statically improvement in their yards allowed per play from 5.5 YPP this year from 5.7 YPP last season. Another area that Auburn’s defense improved on under Muschamp was holding opponents to 21 points or fewer five times. Despite those improvements but the team finished with a disappointing 6-6 season.

When Muschamp was named the Tigers’ defensive coordinator in 2014, the deal he signed for the position was for 3 years and around the range of $1.6 million and $1.8 million annually. That deal made Will Muschamp, the highest-paid defensive coordinator in all of college football.

Auburn releases DC Will Muschamp deal. He'll get $1.6M for this season, highest for FB AC at public school. Gets 1.7 next yr, 1.8 yr after

— Steve Berkowitz (@ByBerkowitz) July 15, 2015

Prior to coaching at Auburn, Muschamp was the Florida Gators’ head coach for four seasons from 2011-2014. He compiled a record of 28-21 as head coach of the Gators, including a 17-15 record in SEC play. His best season at the helm of the Gators was in 2012, when he led the Gators to an 11-2 record and a Sugar Bowl Berth. After that season however, he managed only 10 wins over the next two seasons and was then fired at the end of the 2014 season.

Will Muschamp’s previous coaching experience includes serving as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at LSU on Nick Saban’s staff from 2001-2004. He then followed Saban to the NFL in 2005 and was named the assistant head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Muschamp returned to college football when he was named the Auburn defensive coordinator for a first time in 2006. He then headed to Texas to fill the vacant defensive coordinator position and was also the named the head coach in waiting from 2008-2010.

He is set to replace the legendary South Carolina and former Florida head coach Steve Spurrier, who resigned from his position in October of this season after a 2-4 start to the campaign. The Gamecocks finished the season with a record of 3-9 overall under the interim coach Shawn Elliott.

Muschamp signed the deal to become the head coach of South Carolina for a five-year contract that is worth $16 million.  The deal that he signed will pay him $3 million in the first year, increases each year after by $100,000 and contains a variety of incentives.

Will Muschamp's new deal with #SouthCarolina: 5 years for $16 Million. First year: $3 Mil. https://t.co/5Gi9mC7jHD

— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) December 7, 2015