I certainly don’t know the inner-workings of South Carolina’s coaching search to replace Steve Spurrier, but it’s obvious USC swung and missed a couple of times before settling on Will Muschamp.
Muschamp had to be the university’s third or fourth choice, so for the second straight hire, the Gamecocks are going with a former Florida coach. Only this time it’s one that was run out of Gainesville after going 28-21 (17-15 SEC), including a 10-13 combined record in his last two seasons.
Spurrier — granted it was a decade prior to his hiring at USC — won a national title at Florida and changed the way offense was played in the league with his pass-happy style.
Muschamp? Well, he had an 11-win season in 2012 but the train quickly ran off the tracks for the Gators, who hit a stretch where they were absolutely clueless offensively.
He did build a strong defense. Muschamp definitely knows defense, which has been a sore spot at USC for the past two seasons. He knows how to recruit, which has been a sorer spot at USC for the past five seasons.
But success in college football is driven more by offense than defense these days.
Muschamp apologists claim his Florida tenure was tainted by not having a good enough offensive coordinator. So who was the first person he hired for his South Carolina staff? Kurt Roper.
Yep, that Kurt Roper. The coordinator who was expected to be the “savior” of Florida’s offense and instead was so underwhelming that the offensive woes led to Muschamp’s firing after Roper’s only season with the Gators.
Under Roper, the Gators were eighth in the SEC in scoring (30.3 points per game) and 12th in the SEC in total offense (367.6 yards per game) that season.
South Carolina was the worst team in the SEC in 2015 and there’s no debate. The Gamecocks finished with a 3-9 (1-7 SEC) record, seventh in the SEC East and ended their season on a five-game losing streak, including a 23-22 upset by The Citadel.
Muschamp is taking over a dumpster fire in Columbia, but maybe he learned enough from his first head coaching stint to survive. But I wouldn’t bet on it.
He will be given time to turn things around, and he has proven to be a great recruiter, just not a great head coach.
But hiring a guy that has a bad history as a head coach shortens that grace period considerably. The first time the Gamecocks lose to a team deemed unworthy by the fan base — say, Vanderbilt, which is the season opener — the heat will be on USC athletic director Ray Tanner.
I guess after you miss out on Tom Herman and Kirby Smart, you have to roll the dice. The snake eyes or lucky seven won’t be discovered for years.
For those who think Tanner has crapped out, this hire is almost a gift-wrapped present to every other SEC East fan base.
And just in time for the holidays.
