Will Muschamp talks assistant coaching rumors: ‘It’s flattering’

At various points in the past week, South Carolina running backs coach Bobby Bentley and quarterback coach Dan Werner were considered favorites to take jobs at Auburn and Ole Miss respectively, at least in some corners of the internet.

Was Will Muschamp ever worried?

“Absolutely not,” Muschamp said Thursday at a press conference for the Belk Bowl. “We’ve got a great place.”

Asked if he expected to keep the staff intact, he answered, ‘Right now, yeah.’

Those two were rumored for offensive coordinator jobs, while there was some chatter around current Gamecocks OC Bryan McClendon in connection to the Tennessee opening at the same spot or the East Carolina head coaching job that ended up going to Mike Houston.

USC has enjoyed relative stability in this arena. Of the nine assistants who started with Muschamp in Columbia, seven are still with the staff. The only changes were Eric Wolford replacing Shawn Elliott, who became head coach at Georgia State, and Kurt Roper being let go after the 2017 season (McClendon took his job and Werner was added).

The team is in the midst of its final drive toward the first signing day, and Muschamp noted the rumblings about Bentley and Werner didn’t cause too much consternation on the recruiting front.

“It’s flattering and says a lot about our staff,” Muschamp said. “We’ve had a bunch of coaches get other opportunities, and they’re staying in South Carolina.”

South Carolina will face Virginia in the Belk Bowl on Dec. 29.

This story was originally published December 13, 2018 at 12:45 PM.