Muschamp agrees to become South Carolina coach

Muschamp’s time at Florida was both a success and a failure.

Now it appears he is getting an opportunity to lead another Southeastern Conference Eastern Division football program as a deal to make him USC’s coach is “all but done” according to a Sports Illustrated early Sunday morning report. He’s had two stints as the defensive coordinator at Auburn. The contract provided Muschamp the freedom to explore other jobs without financial penalty following the regular season.

It remains to be seen just how close Rodriguez was to becoming SC coach, but that move would have been a lot easier to praise, given his track record as a forward-thinking coach with a history of innovation on offense.

However, the Gators suffered an upset loss to the Cardinals and Muschamp’s tenure at Florida never recovered.

Muschamp was formerly the head coach of the Florida Gators from 2011 to 2014, where he finished with a record of 28-21.

Muschamp, 44, did not return a phone call from The State seeking comment. Muschamp’s name also came up as a possible defensive coordinator under Spurrier, but Muschamp instead went to Auburn, where he was one of the highest-paid defensive coordinators in college football this season at $1.6 million.

On the heels of the announcement, Auburn coach Gus Malzahn issued a short statement wishing Muschamp well. This search was probably a jarring experience to many Gamecocks fans who thought those 11-win seasons had put it at a different level – one that a coach at, say, Houston, wouldn’t be able to turn down. Spurrier and Muschamp had struck up a relationship due to their ties to Florida, and the timing seemed ideal – Muschamp stows away for a year or two, learns how to better govern a program under a laissez-faire leader and then transition over.

In addition, Muschamp played at Georgia from 1991-94, graduating from there with a bachelor’s degree.

I’m a bit confused as to why the Gamecocks believe Muschamp is a positive hire.