Former Gators HC Will Muschamp Finds New Home in SEC

Former Florida Gators head coach Will Muschamp has already faced his former team several times over the past decade while coaching elsewhere in the SEC.

This time, he’ll do so with a new team and a new role, after being named the defensive coordinator at Texas on Thursday. The Longhorns are set to host Florida on Oct. 17.

Welcome back to the Forty, Will Muschamp 🤘 pic.twitter.com/vD9KGfstHE
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) December 18, 2025

The 54-year-old head coach won two National Championships over the past five seasons while coaching at his alma mater, the University of Georgia. He served as the Bulldogs’ co-defensive coordinator during the 2022 and 2023 seasons before transitioning into an off-field analyst role to spend more time with his family.

On Dec. 18, the Longhorns replaced former defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski with Muschamp, marking his second stint in Austin after three seasons as the team’s defensive coordinator and head coach in waiting before moving on to become Florida’s head coach in 2010.

Although he was born in Rome, Georgia, Muschamp moved to Gainesville at a young age, later attending Oak Hall High School.

During his time as Florida’s head coach, he amassed a 28-21 overall record while finishing 17-15 in SEC play.

His time at Florida was filled with extremes, the 11-2 season in 2012 remains tied for the program’s best since 2009, while the Gators’ 4-8 campaign the following year still stands tied as the worst in program history since 1979.

He still managed to be an effective recruiter, reeling in top-ten classes from 2011-2013.

During the 2012 season, Florida was ranked as high as No. 2 in the country, but ultimately missed out on the opportunity to compete for an SEC Championship after losing to Georgia during the regular season.

The Gators were still able to make a BCS bowl, but fell to a Teddy Bridgewater-led Louisville squad 33-23.

As a defensive-minded coach, Muschamp’s teams were often offensively stagnant. In 2013, Florida ranked 114th in the nation in total offense. The Gators lost seven games in a row to close out that season, the program’s longest single-season losing streak since 1946.

That season, Florida started the season 4-1, but the late-season skid forced them to miss their first bowl game in 22 years.

He stepped down after finishing 6-5 during the 2014 campaign, accepting a defensive coordinator position at Auburn just a month later.

Muschamp returned to head coaching in 2016, when he served as the head coach at the University of South Carolina for five seasons, compiling a 28-30 record while finishing 17-22 in SEC play.

More From Florida Gators on SI