South Carolina AD Ray Tanner still confident in Will Muschamp

More than a few South Carolina football fans have hopped off the bandwagon when if comes to USC’s coach, Will Muschamp.

His athletic director, Ray Tanner, still has his back.

Tanner went on SportsTalk radio on Thursday night and said he’s still confident in his head coach, as confident as the day he was hired. The AD pointed to the do-over aspect of the program he inherited, and praised the organizational structure Muschamp has brought in.

The pair met at one point this week, just to talk.

“I went over and met with him early in the week,” Tanner said. “He probably didn’t need to see me necessarily, but I felt that I needed to to go visit with him for a little bit and I did and we had a nice chat.

“Everybody is disappointed, but we have to move on.”

Tanner said the chat involved football, but also went beyond that.

Tanner said the surprising season-opening loss came down to simply not making enough plays. He also gave credit to North Carolina for the talent the Tar Heels had on their roster.

He pointed out if a few plays go differently, this week doesn’t involve fans posting Muschamp’s buyout numbers online (more than $18.7 million if he’s fired before Dec. 31).

Tanner also said he appreciates the team’s expectations, especially in how they’ve built through the Muschamp era.

The AD, who won two national titles said he doesn’t expect the disappointment of the opening loss to put a dent in attendance numbers. He pointed out the program has been through worse, and Gamecocks fans continue coming out. He also said the vocal, angry part of the fanbase is likely a minority.

He instead said the team simply has to get that win back somewhere.

“We’ve got a long way to go here,” Tanner said.

This story was originally published September 5, 2019 at 6:44 PM.