Will Muschamp makes first public remarks since being fired as South Carolina’s coach

Former South Carolina coach Will Muschamp said he thinks he has “the best job in America” with the Georgia football team in his first public comments since being fired by USC in November 2020.

“I really appreciate the opportunity coach (Kirby) Smart gave me to come back to my alma mater and live in Athens,” Muschamp said Tuesday during Georgia’s 2022 preseason camp. “It’s been an awesome experience, obviously.”

Muschamp, who wasn’t asked directly about his South Carolina tenure on Tuesday, joined Georgia’s staff in January 2021. He’s entering his second season on reigning national champion Georgia’s staff and his first as a co-defensive coordinator alongside Glenn Schumann.

The Bulldogs initially hired Muschamp as a senior defensive analyst in January 2021, two months after he was fired by South Carolina seven games through his fifth season. He was fired Nov. 15, 2020 after the Gamecocks surrendered 159 points across consecutive losses to LSU, Texas A&M and Ole Miss.

Muschamp never issued any public remarks or statement after his dismissal at USC. He still owns a multimillion-dollar home on Lake Murray that he bought in 2016.

At Georgia, Muschamp assumed an on-field assistant role early in the Bulldogs’ 2021 national title run and was promoted to co-defensive coordinator in December after former UGA defensive coordinator Dan Lanning accepted Oregon’s head coaching job.

Muschamp will make $800,000 annually in his role as co-defensive coordinator, according to a February report in the Athens Banner-Herald. Schumann will also make $800,000.

“Again, what is your role in the organization? Do the best job you can in the role you have, and if you don’t like it, go somewhere else,” Muschamp said, referencing his longtime coaching philosophy. “It’s real simple. I love my role. I told my wife the other day: I think I’ve got the best job in America.”

He added of his partnership with Schumann: “We have a great working relationship. Glenn’s promotion, in my opinion, is very well deserved. He’s an outstanding football coach.”

Muschamp, 51, was 28-30 and 17-22 in the SEC across nearly five seasons at South Carolina. He led the Gamecocks to three straight bowl games to start his tenure, as well as a 9-4 record and Outback Bowl win in 2018, but went 6-18 to end his time in Columbia.

South Carolina paid Muschamp a lump sum buyout of $12.9 million at the end of 2020, according to settlement documents obtained by The State in January 2021. Prior to the settlement, South Carolina owed Muschamp $15.3 million spread out through 2024.

Shane Beamer, Muschamp’s replacement, led the Gamecocks to a 7-6 record and Duke’s Mayo Bowl win over UNC in his 2021 debut season and is drawing national buzz for 2022.

Before his stints at Georgia and South Carolina, Muschamp spent four years as Florida’s head coach, going 28-21 from 2011 to 2014, and also worked as a defensive coordinator at LSU, Auburn and Texas.

Muschamp, a 1994 Georgia alumnus, had 156 tackles and three interceptions as a four-year safety for the Bulldogs. He was a team captain and starter as a senior.

“To be at the University of Georgia, to see our future as we continue to unfold and move forward, I’m really excited about it,” Muschamp said.