Will Muschamp goes way back with Mack Brown. What it means to face his former boss
Will Muschamp is no stranger to playing against former friends and mentors — South Carolina’s football coach faced former boss Nick Saban twice at Florida and has taken on former colleagues Kirby Smart and Jimbo Fisher while at USC.
But when the Gamecocks open their 2019 season this Saturday against North Carolina, he’ll get a blast from a past that has nothing to do with Saban’s coaching tree. UNC coach Mack Brown had Muschamp as his defensive coordinator at Texas from 2008 to 2010, and at one point Muschamp was even Brown’s successor-in-waiting.
That three-year sojourn outside of SEC country had a significant impact on Muschamp’s life, he said.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for coach Brown, obviously working for him for three years. Carol (Muschamp) and I were talking last night, it was probably three of the better years I had in coaching there at Texas,” Muschamp said. “Glad he’s back in college football.”
Muschamp’s respect for Brown is reciprocated.
“He’s smart, he’s tough, he’s aggressive,” Brown told reporters about Muschamp this week. “He did a tremendous job for us. And then when he left us, he became the head coach at Florida, and he’s doing a great job at South Carolina.”
Brown’s return to North Carolina, where he previously coached from 1988 to 1997, has reinvigorated that fan base and led to a recruiting bump. And given USC and UNC’s proximity, Saturday’s game could feature a rivalry-like atmosphere. But playing his former boss and friend is not something Muschamp relishes.
“I don’t like facing people I work with or are friends with. I don’t like doing it,” Muschamp said. “But that’s part of what we got to do.”
Beyond just the personal implications of playing a familiar face, Muschamp and Brown’s relationship carries some on-field ramifications, too.
“Obviously when you’ve worked with somebody, you get a good feel for things. Obviously, they’ll be some things up on special teams that he’ll have up every week. No different than us. That’s true with most any coaches that I’ve worked with,” Muschamp said. “They’re going to have some things they’ll try to take advantage of to gain an extra possession as far as those things are concerned. He’ll have his team well-prepared and his staff will do a great job.”
Brown’s staff is also littered with names Muschamp knows — offensive coordinator Phil Longo served in that role last season for Ole Miss, helping the Rebels push the Gamecocks to the limit in a 48-44 Carolina win. Offensive line coach Stacy Searels coached alongside Muschamp at LSU. And defensive coordinator Jay Bateman developed a reputation helping guide Army to a resurgence.
With all those names coming from wildly different backgrounds, Muschamp said preparing for Saturday’s game has included game tape from each of those coordinator’s previous schools to understand their schemes while still including UNC film to learn about the team’s personnel.
“Well, Jay was at West Point for a while. He had some years there, so that’s a lot of film obviously from West Point,” Muschamp said. “Then, preparing for Ole Miss last year we spent a lot of time studying (Longo’s time at) Sam Houston, so we keep our notes and kind of compare and go back. Obviously, when you have a lot of time before a game, you do spend a lot of time going back and making sure you’re crossing your T’s and dotting your I’s on all of your information.”
USC vs. UNC
When: 3:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte
TV: ESPN
Line: South Carolina by 10
