Will Muschamp comes back to Georgia — as a Gator
Will Muschamp may have barked as a Bulldog but he's all Gator now as the Florida coach.
A young, pretty girl sitting near the front of the room had a question for the Florida coach.
“Coach, I’m getting married soon and he’s a Georgia fan and …”
“That’s not my fault,” Will Muschamp said, playing to the crowd.
“My wedding is on the same day as the Florida-Georgia game,” she continued. “I was wondering: Can you guarantee Florida will win?”
Muschamp, the native of Rome, a long-time Georgia resident and former Bulldogs safety, smiled.
“I certainly can,” he said (and then he turned in my direction and alerted the crowd that this pronouncement almost certainly would be used in the local newspaper).
This should end any lingering debate about whether Will Muschamp has divided loyalties.
The annual meeting of the Atlanta Gator Club was held Thursday night. Atlantic Station was crawling with reptiles. More than 360 Florida fans crammed into a hotel ballroom, the largest turnout in years, to greet their new leader.
Muschamp was in Georgia, but the Atlanta Gator Club would protect him.
This was the safe room for Muschamp. But outside the walls, he’s same guy who was branded “traitor” or “Benedict Arnold” by some hard-line Bulldogs fans who believe once you’ve worn the “G” on your helmet, any career movement – especially to the mother of SEC rivals – is borderline sacrilegious. (Or over the border.)
“I’m loyal to who signs my checks,” Muschamp said earlier. “All of that other stuff, I don’t get into. In our
You might've thought you were lost walking in Atlantic Station.
profession you’re loyal to the people you work for. I’ll do the best job I can for the Gator nation.”
Go easy, folks. The man’s gotta earn a living, you know.
It may have been a shock in Athens when Muschamp, the official coach-in-waiting at Texas for Mack Brown and a possible unofficial coach-in-waiting for Georgia, was tabbed as Urban Meyer’s replacement at Florida.
But it shouldn’t have been. Yes, he lived in Rome up until age 5, and then he returned before his ninth-grade year. But during that period in between, orange blood ran through blue veins. He walked to Gators games as a kid. He watched Wilber Marshall. Even when he went to high school in Rome, he was a Florida fan.
Fact is, Muschamp might never have stepped foot on the Georgia campus if he hadn’t broken his leg while playing in high school.
“All of the big schools backed off,” he said.
His choices: Enroll at West Point or try to walk-on at Florida or Georgia.
“My dad was a school teacher,” he said. “The [cost of] in-state education was a factor.”
So if he didn’t break his leg or his father was a surgeon, he would’ve attended Florida?
“Hah — I’d rather not play what-if,” he said.
Muschamp waited 15 years for a head coaching job. So far, he wears it well.
The fact he was one of the nation’s best defensive coaches at Texas, LSU and Auburn doesn’t guarantee success. Even he acknowledges that he’s in a honeymoon period with Gators fans. (“Everybody has been great. But we haven’t played a game yet.”).
But if he doesn’t succeed, it won’t be for a lack of confidence. He brought in Charlie Weis to run his offense. Most new head coaches would balk at such a move, believing the former Notre Dame coach and New England and Kansas City offensive coordinator might be scheming behind his back for the top job.
“I have confidence in myself. I want the people I hire to have tremendous confidence in themselves,” he said.
Last month, Muschamp kicked his best player, cornerback Janoris Jenkins, off the team after his third arrest (and second in three months for marijuana). It was a stunning move at a program that had its share of legal issues between SEC and BCS championships under Meyer.
“I didn’t look at it as sending a message early,” Muschamp said. “I look at everything as an isolated situation. Each player will have to [act] right.”
He has learning the hard way of the demands of being a head coach and fielding endless advice from fans (“My email works, I can tell you that.”). But this feels like Utopia.
After the questions, he planned on flying back to Austin, Texas. His family hasn’t moved yet and his 5-year-old is graduating from kindergarten Friday. Then it will be back to Gainesville.
“As coaches, we move around so much,” he said. “Home is where the house is.”
That’s not in Georgia anymore.
By Jeff Schultz
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477 comments Add your comment
Ty
May 20th, 2011
4:14 pm
Hey guys, let’s stop talking about the Florida and Georgia woman. You might arouse the tech trolls!
Serioulsy, why even go there. I’ve seen the woman at both schools. You could not go wrong with the women at either university. Heck, I even married a gator.
Beast from the East
May 20th, 2011
4:17 pm
Ty,
I agree. Beautiful young ladies on both campuses. My girlfriend is from Athens and she is a true “Georgia peach”!
npgator
May 20th, 2011
4:17 pm
That is an easy prediction but I want to know if we can beat a real team like Bama or LSU?
Beast from the East
May 20th, 2011
4:17 pm
Hey Schultz,
Where’s the Count?
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
May 20th, 2011
4:18 pm
It doesnt matter how bad Brantly is or the rest of FL for that matter we will still go down there and lose
You know why
Because our coach’s cannot come up with any idea’s on how to beat them.
The Grambling uniforms didnt work
The choke sign didnt work either
The only thing that worked was jumping in the endzone but thats been used
Maybe we should give this coaching staff a larger raise,
GU
May 20th, 2011
4:19 pm
“That is an easy prediction but I want to know if we can beat a real team like Bama or LSU?”
No you can’t! Next question.
Muschamp guarantees win over UGA
May 20th, 2011
4:23 pm
[...] guarantees win over UGA Will Muschamp comes back to Georgia — as a Gator | Jeff Schultz A young, pretty girl sitting near the front of the room had a question for the Florida coach. [...]
DIT
May 20th, 2011
4:23 pm
@Beast from the East & Ty
I would have to agree with you. Both have great looking women. After going to UGA of course I would be biased to one side. However, the women at Kentucky will make you come down with whip-lash! Ran a restaurant in KY for a couple months and I felt like a kid in the candy store… SOOOO much eye candy!
UGA Rocks!
May 20th, 2011
4:25 pm
UF is in real trouble. You will loose 4 games next season! Mark it Down!
Beast from the East
May 20th, 2011
4:29 pm
“UF is in real trouble. You will loose 4 games next season! Mark it Down!”
UGA Rocks!,
I agree we will more than likely lose 4 games. Unfortunately for you, one of those will not be at the hands of your beloved Dawgs.
My question for you is how many will the Dawgs lose? 4, 5, 6 or 7 again? We’ll just have to wait and see.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
May 20th, 2011
4:31 pm
UGA Rocks they may be like last year but we wont beat them
Stinger2
May 20th, 2011
4:31 pm
Muschamp just guaranteed that the Bulldogs will win with his brash reply to the question. Regardless of the contex, he did not use good judgment in making such a promise statement to his fans and the media.
King Gator
May 20th, 2011
4:31 pm
pwned..20 yrs and counting! Go Gators!
Ray Goof
May 20th, 2011
4:35 pm
18 of 21 leghumpers, keep dreaming. Richt is a nice guy, and a uninspiring head coach. UCF 10- UGA 6…that should never had happened, and you leghumper’s know it. 18 of 21.
Dawg48
May 20th, 2011
4:39 pm
Buckeye when was the last time the Ohio state university beat Georgia? waiting on your answer.
NCBulldawg86
May 20th, 2011
4:48 pm
Love it! All this lip service from a coach who does not have a QB, a RB, and a secondary looking for some answers. Oh yeah, don’t forget a new 3-4 system being installed, a new OC, a new DC, or was that last year? Oh, and get this, the games in the month of October????
Alabama
@LSU (night game)
Auburn
Georgia
Okay, Gatahs, you are going to survive that month and then just whip those Dawgs come the last Saturday of October? Funny stuff, that is for sure.
I don’t know who wins, but after Alabama destroys you, and LSU kicks you to the curb, and Auburn beats you while you are already knocked out, what are you going to have left for UGA? Nothing. 0-4 in October. Go Dawgs!!!!
Hey, even Dawgs can dream!!!! Smile folks, it’s Friday!!! Cheers!!!
Ricky 4
May 20th, 2011
4:58 pm
Who Cares. Lets Play Ball.
Ken
May 20th, 2011
5:01 pm
I will remember this line Muschamp said to that woman…and we all know the college f’ball season is still on…so…I think the Dawg nation will tear into Muschamp for this quote…bring on GA/FL…and the Dawgs win pretty easy (Predict: GA 24, FL 17).
ga gator
May 20th, 2011
5:11 pm
Don’t know what the records will be next year because both teams have unknowns, but one thing that you can take to the bank, Muschamp would never choose to kick a field go with a 4th and inches on the first drive of the game against a Central Florida.
Rip Van Winkle
May 20th, 2011
5:14 pm
NCBulldawg86
That sounds like the dream that I have been dreaming since 1980.
ga gator
May 20th, 2011
5:15 pm
Flat Tire I believe that Richt can certainly coach but for some reason he has decided to follow in his mentors footsteps and become a CEO. That kick in the Liberty Bowl was vintage Bowden in his later years. When he first started out at FSU he was known as the Riverboat Gambler. I guess success spoils us all.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
May 20th, 2011
5:15 pm
ga gator
I totally agree
I wished our fans were like gaterd fans
We have 90,000 10 win loving kool-aid drinkers
palerider
May 20th, 2011
5:26 pm
Guaranteeing a victory is not a good idea. Gives the opponent bulletin board material. Also, shows his immaturity and inexperience. A seasoned head coach knows better that to mouth off.
Poopdawg
May 20th, 2011
5:39 pm
Nothing wrong with Muschamp’s guarrentee in the context it was made. Is that crispy kreme still located near UF campus?
oakwood dawg
May 20th, 2011
5:42 pm
we dawg fans don’t go to jax expecting a win, gators we know we are going to lose but by the time the game rolls around we are drunk and numb and could careless who is playing most of the time. sorry fellow dawg fans just being honest to the problem, we just go to party, drink and look other drunk people. it is just the facts.
Trupert
May 20th, 2011
5:59 pm
Mark Richt may have put a cute UGA fan up to asking that question because it will be add fuel to the fire. I look for a Ga victory and it’s time for the series to swing in the dawgs favor. Go dawgs!!!
It Ain't Rocket Science
May 20th, 2011
6:20 pm
I still say that the Mush man looks like blogo, the former gov. of ill. He needs to take some of that 2.75 mil. he is getting paid and get some cosmetic surgery, LOL.
Tom S.
May 20th, 2011
6:30 pm
CW could not win big in ND so why will he win big in FL?
***
Howd he do in New England and Kansas City…ohhh…you forgot that part…rrriiiight. An explanation even YOU can comprehend…. The store/branch manager (coach) is responsible for the WHOLE team. The fry-guy (assist. coach) only needs to worry about his station. Charlie concentrates on running the offense, NOT the whole team….get it now? Just hope ‘ol chuck doesn’t eat all the fries….
poopdawg
May 20th, 2011
6:37 pm
Oakwood dawg , are you drunk right now? Don’t believe thats all of Dawg fans thinking. Drunk and numb yes i but care whose playing.
It Ain't Rocket Science
May 20th, 2011
6:46 pm
Tom S.
he did win one thing at Notre Dame. His buyout was 6.6 million bucks, LOL. Almost as bad as the Hewitt deal at tech.
GO DAWGS
Gerald Gregory
May 20th, 2011
7:14 pm
Muschamp is a real man. I love Bama. Nevertheless this man can coach. Give him 4 years. He will make U proud for a very long time.
BYRDDAWG
May 20th, 2011
7:24 pm
I feel there’s a shift about to happen! We dominated UF until ‘90 when SS got there!! I remember ‘85 when they were ranked #1 & we beat them 24-3!!!! Enjoy you last 20 yrs because you’ll be talking about the past when we whip the gaytors on Oct 29!!! Take it to the bank….
Uughh...
May 20th, 2011
7:28 pm
Muschy and Pudgy will be interesting to watch this year–that is for sure.
Know this dawg fans…it will take much more than a single win to break the mental problem we have with Florida. Spurrier hated us and made sure his teams crushed us every year. It feels like our spirit is broken against the Gators. Richt might coach himsef off of the hot seat this year but I do not believe that he has the killer instinct neccesary to break Florida’s spirit like Spurrier did ours. For a fleeting moment a few years ago I thought he did…but Meyer gave it back to us and then some.
Instead of hanging a quote of Muschamp garaunteeing a victory on the bulliten board, he needs to hang one that says simply 0-0. Because 0-0 is the record that this team has against UF: 0 wins and 0 losses. It doesn’t matter what every team before this one did against Florida…what matters is what THIS team does against Florida.
Do you think your odds of flipping coin on heads change at all because the previous 20 tosses landed on tails? No it doesn’t. Each game is entirely independant of all those previous. THat is the lesson…not let’s get him for talking trash. That does not work…because everybody that can talk talks better trash than Richt.
I for one hope he gets the job done this year…uhh in red helmets and silver britches that is.
King Gator
May 20th, 2011
7:37 pm
I’d still take the Gators …. even if we were just flipping coins. Go Gators!
Dan
May 20th, 2011
7:56 pm
I guarantee you Murray will never beat a winning team.
So, Muschamp is right, Richt couldn’t beat Florida in a down year in 2010. richt’s 2-9 vs. ranked teams since 2009, pretty safe to say, Richt’s good for 1 win a year against a good team, and 80% chance, it won’t be Florida, Richt’s only 2-8 vs. Florida.
Uughh...
May 20th, 2011
8:03 pm
I would also hope that Richt teaches the guys that you change 0-0 to 1-0 a single assignment at a time for 60 minutes. You get your job done on every play…and we will win. If you miss an assignment, the next play is a new one and a new opportunity to do it right. You eat an elephant one bite at a time. That is the way they need to approach this to break the hex.
Now if you do that…the coaches have to believe it too. And that means coaches (yes I am talking to you Bobo) can’t give up on an entire drive after a sack (you only get so many drives after all). The coaches also have to believe that we CAN get it back…and that you CAN get a few inches on 4th down in an admittedly crappy bowl game. Believing in each other has as much to do with the players believing in each other as it does the coaches believing in the players. If the coaches give up on a series…the players will give up on the game. We have seen this already.
Each game is a new chance for victory–each play is a new opportunity to succeed–just as long as the coaches believe it too!
Warhorse
May 20th, 2011
8:19 pm
The Weis offense will spring Demps and Rainey for huge gains on the ground. All the big fat leghumper defenders will be sucking it up chasing the speedy smurfs.
19-3 will soon = 22-3. Poodles only are winners from April to September.
Wayne
May 20th, 2011
9:06 pm
Guaranteeing wins in the SEC against a rival team when you yourself have a horrible team is a bad idea. Neither one of them have an honest shot at an SEC championship, this we know but when you start guaranteeing wins over a team that is just as good as your team(or should we say just as bad) is a product of a first time head coach trying a little too hard to gain respect. Respect has to be earned on the field not in meetings with the media and when you do that against a team that hates you and can beat you, is setting yourself up for a lot of criticism.
Big Dawg
May 20th, 2011
9:47 pm
Please do not give UF and Will Muschamp your lead story! He sucks and we are going to finally mop the field with his feeble attempt at being a headcoach!
truedawg
May 20th, 2011
9:48 pm
Keep talking “wet behind the ears Willie” 18 out of 21 true. still down in the lost collum in the totals. TRUE . Willie hasn’t won anything yet, except for biggest mouth. to go along with charlie, biggest gut. gayturds go .500 at best. Notre Dame head coach”fail” auburn as a defense vs DAWGS fail. What makes you think with all the changes that UF can own the DAWGS? barely won last year. DAWGS have a tens times better D this year! If you can’t score you can’t win. You think we have a midget QB? UF has Dwarf RB’s can’t wait to see what happens when speddy Demps hits big Jenkins and Gathers…hope Willie has some smelling salts ready…GO DAWGS!!
truedawg
May 20th, 2011
9:49 pm
Willie isn’t a gayturd fan he’s like Charlie, a money fan!
Sell out!!
Otis My Man
May 20th, 2011
10:36 pm
This year will be the “turning of the tides” DAWGS WIN the next 5 in a row!!! You heard it here first!!
Big L
May 20th, 2011
10:50 pm
I think Charlie Wiess will just be BIG in Florida.
UGA Rocks!
May 20th, 2011
10:53 pm
Funny if you really think about it. UF fans are in love with a former letterman from UGA!
UGA has the mental edge back in this series.
It Ain't Rocket Science
May 21st, 2011
7:23 am
Let’s see. Now we are supposed to have a midget QB, and slow out of shape D linemen. Funny how fans from other schools can talk BS all they want and think it makes it true. We will see who is talking slow and out of shape, when the RB’s, try to run through him. Or perhaps he will be introduced to the LB’s and they can convince the RB, that he might want to stay away from them as well. Come on around end and meet them, RB’s.
And talking about QB. You have a better one do you? He isn’t in Florida and he sure isn’t in SC. If the O line jells and does their job, he will introduce himself to your team, and light you up. Seems there are, with few exceptions, a lot of new QB’s in the SEC this year. Let’s see how they look at the end of the year.
Before you fans of other teams start making comments about other teams players, let’s let it be decided on the only place that it matters, and that is on the field.
GO DAWGS
FanSince59
May 21st, 2011
7:38 am
The best thing Muschamp has going for him is that Richt is the coach for UGA.
Eloquence | Get The Picture
May 21st, 2011
7:58 am
[...] wasn’t going to comment on Will Muschamp’s guarantee of a win against Georgia this year – really, what else would you have expected him to say in [...]
It Ain't Rocket Science
May 21st, 2011
9:06 am
Does anybody know of any good places to go, where you can actually discuss college football in a reasonable way? It seems like all of the AJC blogs, for the most part are just big PI&&ing contests among fans of different schools, and you can’t even stay on topic. It would be nice to be able to discuss football, without all this crap on these blogs. It seems like the AJC guys only feature stories that are designed to bring out all of these negative comments from both sides, because it gives them hits and justifies the website.
Jim
May 21st, 2011
9:31 am
If you don’t like the AJ Blogs, leave. But as we know, you are the most active on here, so stop the faking like you don’t like the AJC blogs ok DLex/It ain’t rocket science and all your other fake names?
Jim
May 21st, 2011
9:32 am
I guarantee mushcamp will go 8-5, and of course beat Georgia, after all, every winning team Richt played last year beat Georgia, 0 & 6 against winning teams. Richt can’t acore against winning teams, only gets 16 a game average.