Muschamp - a star? We'll soon find out?

Muschamp a star? We'll soon find out

Jack Youngblood, a Pro Football Hall of Famer and part of Florida’s Ring of Honor, didn’t hear his alma mater’s big news until late Saturday night.

He admitted he knew little about Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, the 39-year-old, never-before head coach the Gators hired to replace Urban Meyer. Still, he offered an initial reaction that sums up the national sentiment about UF’s move.

Will Muschamp has the tough task of replacing Urban Meyer at Florida, where expectations remain high despite the Gators coming off a 7-5 season. (AP Photo)

“He’s got his hands full, that’s for sure,” Youngblood said in a telephone interview. “He knows what he’s walking into. The expectations are already set. That bar is there. He’s going to have to rise to that bar or else it will be a short tenure.”

Muschamp comes with a profile full of superlatives — great recruiter, great motivator, great defensive strategist. But he also comes with uncertainty — how will one of the nation’s hottest assistant coaches manage one of the of highest-profile head coaching jobs in college sports?

The world will start to find out Tuesday, when Florida introduces Muschamp in a press conference at 6 p.m. The school’s athletic department released news of the hire Saturday night, confirming early reports by The Florida Times-Union, the Associated Press and the blog Saturday Down South. Terms of Muschamp’s contract will be released during the press conference.

What the world knows so far qualifies him as a coaching future star. The easy comparison is to Bob Stoops, who was 38 when he transitioned from Florida defensive coordinator to Oklahoma head coach. The Sooners have won seven Big 12 titles and a national championship since.

A walk-on player at Georgia, Muschamp’s coaching career began to blossom when he worked as a Nick Saban assistant at LSU and with the Miami Dolphins. He then worked as a defensive coordinator at Auburn and Texas, helping lead the Longhorns to last season’s BCS National Championship Game.

UT administrators thought enough of Muschamp to name him coach-in-waiting, which guaranteed him the head job if he remained on staff when Mack Brown retired. It took a program like the Gators to lure him away from such a sweet deal.

“He’s been ready,” former Texas offensive coordinator Greg Davis said in a telephone interview Saturday night. “Not necessarily to leave, but to be a head coach. He wasn’t going to leave for any spot. This is an opportunity he felt was too good to pass up.”

Davis, who said he had spoken with Muschamp earlier Saturday, said his former fellow Longhorn owns every qualification needed for success as a head coach. He’s an expert on at least one side of the ball — Davis raved about Muschamp’s ability to lead multiple schemes and match his plans to this talent.

He’s an ace organizer, Davis said, and a master energizer. Youtube.com proves it — the top six videos on a search of a site include clips of Muschamp lifting one of his Auburn players off the ground in celebration and another of him chest-bumping former UT defensive end Brian Orakpo.

Oh, and he can find players, too. Known as one of the top closers with high school stars, Muschamp arrives with expectations to continue to dominate local recruiting the way his predecessor, Urban Meyer, did in his six-year tenure.

“It’s his energy and his passion,” Davis said. “He does a great job off the field visiting in a one-on-one setting. He knows what his vision is for every player.”

Questions remain, though, and answers are coming on some critical ones. A coaching staff must be assembled, and Muschamp must decide whether he will call his own defenses or hire a coordinator. The other side of the ball, where he has never played or worked in college, is a mystery, too.

The Gainesville (Fla.) Sun is reporting Texas assistant Major Applewhite will become Florida's offensive coordinator, according to a source within the Gator program.

“I’m anxious to see who is offensive coordinator is going to be,” said ex-Gator receiver Chris Doering, who now works as a radio host and television analyst. “It’s the big thing people are going to want to know.”

Muschamp will become the face of Florida’s program as well, handling heavy media responsibilities and booster functions. He’ll discipline players for off-field infractions. And he’ll have to do it all with Meyer still in town and a potential presence in and around the program.

“He’s been in big-time football jobs,” Doering said in a telephone interview. “I don’t think in any way will he be overwhelmed. His guys seem to play hard for him, and that’s going to continue.”

The Gators’ knack for championships must continue under Muschamp, too. Maybe he can thrive. For now, it’s a guessing game, especially with his lack of experience.

But, as Youngblood soon will learn, few coaches appeared as qualified to succeed Meyer as the guy who got the job

Source: http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/feed/2010-12/urban-meyer/story/muschamp-a-star-well-soon-find-out