Mike Bobo will join South Carolina’s coaching staff, school confirms
The South Carolina football team is set with its next offensive coordinator, and it’s one Gamecocks fans have some familiarity with.
USC and Will Muschamp will hire Mike Bobo, formerly Colorado State’s head coach and Georgia’s offensive coordinator, on Tuesday when the board of trustees meets to approve his contract. The board agenda lists “Michael Bobo Employment Agreement” as the top item.
The agenda also lists amendments to Muschamp’s contract and the contract of running backs coach Thomas Brown.
Bobo will be Muschamp’s third offensive coordinator as he heads into his fifth season in Columbia. Bobo is set to replace Bryan McClendon, whose tenure started well and ended with a disastrous 2019.
All three men graduated from Georgia. Bobo and Muschamp played together, while McClendon played for and later joined staffs Bobo was on at UGA.
This comes not long after McClendon was demoted to wide receiver coach and quarterback coach Dan Werner was pushed off the staff — two moves the school has yet to publicly acknowledge. Bobo’s background is in quarterbacks, the position he played in Athens.
After USC’s season-ending loss to Clemson, Muschamp promised changes and said the offense was in need of repair.
“There’s a lot of different areas that are at fault,” Muschamp said. “It needs to get fixed and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Bobo went 28-35 at Colorado State, including a 7-17 run the past two seasons. His offense was less an issue than the defense, and his 2016 and 2017 offenses were particularly potent. Bobo also dealt with a health scare in 2018.
Before that, Bobo coached at Georgia from 2001-2014. He was quarterbacks coach the first half of that, then became offensive coordinator in 2007.
His offenses tended to showcase talented running backs and at times left UGA fans feeling the team didn’t get the most from the talent available. His scheme has evolved the past few years.
He coached the likes of Georgia greats Matthew Stafford, Aaron Murray, David Greene, Nick Chubb, Todd Gurley, Isaiah Crowell, A.J. Green and Knowshon Moreno.
He also had one year as OC at Jacksonville State and has a reputation as a strong recruiter.
As a player, he threw for 6,334 yards, including 2,400 and 2,700 yards his final two years.
South Carolina’s offense returns a second-year starting quarterback in Ryan Hilinski, likely three of its top four pass catchers in Shi Smith, Josh Vann and probably Kyle Markway, and four of its top five offensive linemen. USC is losing its top three rushers (Tavien Feaster, Rico Dowdle, Mon Denson) and its No. 1 receiver in Bryan Edwards.
Muschamp’s deal runs through 2024 and pays him at least $4.6 million each of the next five years. Brown spent 2019 on a one-year, $300,000 deal. Brown was key in securing the team’s top 2020 recruit, running back MarShawn Lloyd, and his position group delivered a mostly solid season despite several injuries.
This story was originally published December 9, 2019 at 1:26 PM.
