Will Muschamp Sends Clear Warning to Texas Longhorns Defense

Steve Sarkisian made major headlines before the Texas Longhorns bowl game against the Michigan Wolverines deciding to make a huge change to his coaching staff.

Sarkisian decided to part ways with former defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski who’d served in the role since Sarkisian took the Texas job back in 2021 and hired Will Muschamp as his new defensive coordinator instead.

Now with Muschamp making his official return to Austin to man the Longhorns defense like he did back from 2008-2010, the new Texas defensive coordinator has laid out a new mindset for the Longhorns defense headed into 2026.

Will Muschamp Rings in a New Mantra

Texas Longhorns defensive coordinator Will Muschamp prior to a game against the Wyoming Cowboys at Texas Memorial Stadium. | Brendan Maloney-Imagn Images

At a media availability on Thursday, Muschamp spoke for the first time since becoming the new Longhorns defensive coordinator where he sent the plans and the vision for his defense headed into the 2026 season.

However one of the biggest things that stood out about Muschamp’s time at the mic was not anything he said but what he was wearing as he had on a shirt that read “NT=NP” and Muschamp broke down what the letters on his shirt meant.

"This is a very important shirt, this is no thud equals no play," Muschamp said. "So if you don't thud at practice, and you don't throw your face into the fan at practice, that means you're probably not going to be a good tackler. So if you don't thud at practice, that means you're not going to be a good tackler, and the best defenses I've been a part of they tackled extremely well."

Will Muschamp is wearing a shirt that says “NT = NP”

He says it stands for “No thud = no play” and it’s a focus on hitting in practice and being physical. pic.twitter.com/Xf7PMWRdiS
— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_OTF) April 9, 2026

The shift in defensive coordinator for Sarkisian was undoubtedly about trying to change the character and demeanor of his defense and that’s what Muschamp has already started and has started it on the practice field before it hits the field on Saturdays.

The new saying for the Longhorns obviously won’t just be a sentence that gets thrown around just for the sake of it. Muschamp is notorious for being hard on his players in practice which has ultimately translated onto the football field.

Muschamp also detailed what the vision is for his defense as he emphasized, getting his best players in the best position to be successful is key rather than having the perfect scheme. While scheme is obviously important, allowing elite players like Colin Simmons or Jelani McDonald to make plays is the best situation for the Longhorns defense and it’s something Muschamp understands.

“I‘m all about what our players do best,” Muschamp said. ”Let's get our best players in the best situation and let them cut loose and play. And it's not about throwing a scheme on players and saying, this is what we do. I don't think that's right. There's some things that I really like schematically that really don't fit what we do. So we've kind of made some adjustments on some things that I'm familiar with, but I want to put our best players in the best situation to cut it loose and play.”

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