Careers of Muschamp, Smart intertwined

The careers of Kirby Smart and Will Muschamp likely will always be tied, at least to some extent.

They both played in the secondary at Georgia, with Smart (1995-98) following Muschamp (1991-94), and they coached together at LSU in 2004.

In between, they coached together for one season at Valdosta State in 2000, Muschamp as the defensive coordinator and Smart as the defensive backs coach. Their head coach was Macon, Ga., native and current Samford coach Chris Hatcher, who was just entering his coaching career at his alma mater when he hired Muschamp and then Smart.

This week, Smart and Muschamp were introduced as coaches in the SEC – Smart at Georgia and Muschamp at South Carolina. Smart returned to his alma mater for his first head coaching job, while Muschamp served as the head coach at Florida from 2011 to 2014.

“I’m very happy for both of them,” Hatcher said. “They were integral to the success we had at Valdosta State. I’d say they were the main cogs to building that program into what it has become. It’s always great to see people reach their goals, and I know coaching at Georgia was one of Kirby’s goals, and I thought Will would get another chance to be a head coach.”

With the help of Muschamp and Smart, Hatcher quickly turned around the Valdosta State program he had led to greatness as a player in the early 1990s. The Blazers reached the 2002 NCAA Division II title game and then won the 2004 national title.

Hatcher finished with a 76-12 record in seven seasons before stops at Georgia Southern and Murray State, and the 2015 season was his first at Samford.

Muschamp stayed with the Blazers for one season and helped them to a 10-2 finish, including an appearance in the playoffs, before leaving for LSU. Smart was promoted to defensive coordinator at Valdosta State when Muschamp departed, and the Blazers finished 12-1 and reached the quarterfinals in 2001. Smart headed to Florida State and served as a graduate assistant for two seasons and then rejoined Muschamp at LSU.

“They might have been the only ones who wanted the jobs,” Hatcher said with a laugh. “I was an unproven head coach, and the program hadn’t been doing good. The pay wasn’t good. They just wanted somewhere to get their start, and they were really good coaches, and they were passionate about doing their jobs.

“It’s not luck that they have had the success that they have had.”

This story was originally published December 12, 2015 at 10:49 AM with the headline "Careers of Muschamp, Smart intertwined."