When Will Muschamp was first hired as the South Carolina head football coach in December 2015, one of the things he was criticized for was his short stint as the head football coach at the University of Florida.
During his time in Gainesville, Muschamp complied a 28-21 overall record with a 17-15 record in the SEC. On top of the team’s struggles, Muschamp was easily angered and was often shown being frustrated at players and other coaches on the sideline. This persona has given him the name “Coach Boom.”
But in a recent interview with ESPN’s Marty Smith and Ryan McGee, Muschamp says how and why he has changed as a coach since his early days at Florida.
“I equate coaching a lot like playing. And when you’re a freshman, that stuff’s moving fast, man,” said Muschamp. “It’s a fast game. In your first year as a head coach, it’s moving fast.”
Muschamp also explains how working under Nick Saban on a national championship-winning staff at LSU helped him mold himself into the coach that he is today at South Carolina.
“One of the great things that Nick [Saban] does is anticipation of issues, anticipating an issue on the team ... on the staff, he really does a good job with that,” said Muschamp.
Muschamp emphasized that adapting and learning as a head football coach in the SEC is not something that is not teachable. It has also allowed him to have a better grasp of everything going on as he enters his third year at South Carolina.
“That comes with experience,” says Muschamp, “and I feel much more comfortable as far as those things are concerned of anticipating situations when they come and then feeling more in control of our program than maybe before.”
So far during his tenure in Columbia, Muschamp has shown that he has improved on himself and has become more comfortable in his position.
When he was hired by South Carolina, Muschamp inherited a program that had just finished one of its worst seasons in school history. In 2015, the Gamecocks finished with a 3-9 record, including a loss to the Citadel at home. Legendary coach Steve Spurrier also resigned midway through the season.
Since Muschamp arrived, he has exceeded expectations. In 2016, the Gamecocks went 6-7, doubling their win total from 2015. The next year the Gamecocks improved their win total by three once again to finish the season at 9-4 with an Outback Bowl victory over Michigan. South Carolina is the only school in the Power Five to increase its win total by three for two straight seasons.
The expectations were already high for the 2018 football season. After Muschamp’s comments on the SEC Network, the bar has been raised even higher in a pivotal year for both Coach Boom and the South Carolina football program.