USC Gamecocks Football

Clemson’s Swinney on Muschamp ‘That’s a great hire’

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

South Carolina is set to hire Will Muschamp as its next coach, a move Clemson’s Dabo Swinney believes is a good one.

Muschamp coached for four seasons at Florida, going 28-21, including an 11-2 record his second year in Gainesville. He spent this past season as Auburn’s defensive coordinator.

“Obviously things didn’t go the way he wanted them to at Florida, and a lot of different reasons for that, but he’s a guy that I know is going to be thankful to have another opportunity,” Swinney said Sunday. “And I guarantee you that he’ll do a great job for South Carolina.”

Swinney and Muschamp have known each other for years. Swinney began his coaching career as a grad assistant at Alabama in 1993 and stayed on staff until 2000. Muschamp served as a grad assistant at Auburn in 1995 and 1996.

“I think Will is a great coach. He’s a great coach. I’ve known Will a long time, going back to when he was a GA at Auburn and I was coaching at Alabama,” Swinney said. “I think he’ll do an excellent job. I think he’ll put a great staff together, and I think that’s a great hire for South Carolina.”

So far, Muschamp’s staff appears to include highly touted recruiter Travaris Robinson, former Byrnes coach Bobby Bentley and potentially former Duke and Florida offensive coordinator Kurt Roper.

This story was originally published December 6, 2015 at 4:35 PM with the headline "Clemson’s Swinney on Muschamp ‘That’s a great hire’."

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