Former Florida coach Will Muschamp will be Auburn's defensive coordinator
Former Florida coach Will Muschamp will be Auburn’s new defensive coordinator according to a source.
The press conference will be on Saturday, the source said. Muschamp pulled out of consideration for the job at Houston on Friday night after interviewing for it earlier this week.
The move marks Muschamp’s return to Auburn, which was officially announced late Friday night. He was the Tigers’ defensive coordinator from 2006-07 and got his start in coaching at the school as a graduate assistant just over a decade before.
The fiery Muschamp is viewed as a defensive genius, an equivalent on the other side of the ball to Tigers coach Gus Malzahn and his offensive wizardry. He is Auburn’s fourth defensive coordinator in five years and replaces Ellis Johnson, who was fired the day after the Tigers’ 55-44 loss to Alabama last month in both teams’ regular-season finale. Auburn ranked in the bottom half of the SEC this season in several defensive categories.
Muschamp, 43, was fired as Florida’s coach in mid-November, although he remained with the Gators (6-5) for the final two games of the regular season. He had a 28-21 record in his four seasons in Gainesville, with his teams making three bowl appearances.
Muschamp’s problem at Florida was his offense, not his defense. The Gators were among the FBS’ top 10 in total defense all four years under Muschamp.
Muschamp’s best season at Florida was an 11-2 campaign in 2012. Before his tenure with the Gators, he was defensive coordinator at Texas from 2008-10 and was named head-coach-in-waiting to then-Longhorns coach Mack Brown late in his first season.
Muschamp was defensive coordinator at Auburn from 2006-07 and prior to that was an assistant with the Miami Dolphins for a season under then-coach Nick Saban. He arrived with Saban from LSU, where Muschamp started as linebackers coach in 2001 before being promoted to defensive coordinator for three seasons, which included the Tigers’ national championship in 2003.
His early full-time coaching jobs were at West Georgia, Eastern Kentucky and Valdosta State. The Rome, Ga. native played safety for Georgia from 1991-94.
