AUBURN, Ala. — Will Muschamp strode to the podium Saturday, sporting a dark jacket over a light blue dress shirt and an orange tie. His attire wouldn’t have looked out of place at Florida, which, ironically enough, was his previous job.
But Saturday, he was back in Auburn yet again, being introduced as the Tigers’ defensive coordinator for the second time in the past decade.
And he couldn’t have been happier.
“I want to thank (coach) Gus (Malzahn) for this opportunity to come to Auburn. It’s a great place,” Muschamp said. “It’s a special place, obviously, in the way you treat people and the way you handle your business. Really excited to be back. It’s going to be a lot of fun. I want to thank (Auburn president) Dr. Gogue and Jay Jacobs for making this happen.”
The driving force behind the hire, however, was Malzahn.
Less than 24 hours after Auburn lost to arch-nemesis Alabama 55-44 — its sixth straight conference game where it allowed more than 30 points — Malzahn relieved defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson of his duties. With that out of the way, Malzahn turned his attention to finding Johnson’s replacement.
As one would expect, Malzahn wanted to “get the best defensive coordinator in the country.” Other qualifications Malzahn sought had nothing to do with X’s and O’s, though. The next defensive coordinator needed to be “a class guy” and “a true professional” in Malzahn’s estimation.
Muschamp fit the bill in every area, which led Malzahn to make him the first candidate he contacted in his search for a new coordinator.
“He’s the guy that I wanted,” Malzahn said, “and we’re blessed to have him here at Auburn.”
And the Tigers would spare no cost to make sure it happened. Jacobs said as much. Auburn’s athletic director didn’t dispute Malzahn essentially had a “blank check” to find the next leader of the defense.
If it sounds more like a business decision than simply a search for a football coach, then it should.
That’s the manner in which college athletics now operate.
“The way this business works is that it’s high demand, high expectation and if you don’t (meet those), you don’t get to play very long at this level,”Jacobs said. “If you look around the country at what different schools are doing, Florida and others, it’s a high price tag. Our fans expect the best and we’re going to continue to do whatever is necessary to provide the best in every area, whether it’s head coaches or assistant coaches.”
Neither Jacobs nor Malzahn would reveal how much Muschamp will be paid, however. Friday night, ESPN’s Joe Schad reported Muschamp will make between $1.6 million and $1.8 million annually; either figure would mean he would become the highest-paid assistant in college football. While not disclosing the exact numbers, Jacobs did say Muschamp agreed to a three-year contract.
Not only would Auburn pay whatever was necessary to land Muschamp, Malzahn even forced himself to go against his nature.
“I’m not a real patient guy, but I really felt like I really needed to be in this setting and give him a chance to take his family and go off and all that,” the coach said. “ … I was going to be patient, so I didn’t really have any set time. I just knew that’s who I wanted and who we needed. I was going to do whatever it took time-wise to give him the proper time to make a decision.”
Muschamp said he was “honored” Auburn held him in such high regard. And despite rumors to the contrary, Muschamp said Auburn is the only school he ever seriously considered.
“This is the only job I was offered,” said Muschamp, who was reportedly targeted by both South Carolina and Texas A&M as each school’s next defensive coordinator. “I’ve got a lot of friends in the coaching profession and when you get a phone call and talk to somebody, you guys like to run with it and all of a sudden we took a job or turned down a job of whatever.”
The situation Muschamp was alluding to had to do with the University of Houston. According to the Houston Chronicle, Muschamp took himself out of the running to become the Cougars’ next coach after interviewing with the school in recent days.
The fact he interviewed with Houston and eventually landed at Auburn backed up one point Muschamp made Saturday: despite Florida owing him more than $6 million through the end of 2017, he was never going to rest on his laurels.
If the right opportunity arose, Muschamp would be back on the sideline.
“I’m just a ball coach, and at the end of the day that’s what I enjoy doing,” he said. “I’m very thankful to have a great family that understands that. We’re looking forward to the next step.”
For as long as he directs Auburn’s defense, though, the specter of Muschamp’s “next step” will follow him like a shadow. Few coaches in Muschamp’s position — which is, in a sense, a demotion, going from being at the helm of his own program to being a coordinator at another — remain in this role for perpetuity. If anything, this is expected to be a placeholder, a stopgap.
In 10 of his 12 seasons as a head coach or defensive coordinator at the FBS level — at LSU, Auburn, Texas and Florida, respectively — Muschamp’s unit has finished in the top 10 nationally in total defense. Put together a few more seasons like that in the coming years, and another head coaching job shouldn’t be far behind.
But that’s not the way Muschamp thinks.
Sure, he’d like to have an opportunity to mold his own program again. Personal glory of that sort is meaningless if you’re not winning. In that regard, then, rings are the only thing Muschamp cares about.
If that means serving in a subservient role as an assistant, so be it.
“It’s about being somewhere where you know you’re going to get support, the resources and financing you need to be successful and win championships,” Muschamp said. “For me, it’s not just about being a head coach. I’d rather be a defensive coordinator at a place like Auburn, where you know you can go and compete for a championship every year. And that’s what we plan on doing.”
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