Will Muschamp re-promotes former Gamecock assistant to on-field role
Turns out Kyle Krantz won’t be leaving South Carolina’s sideline after all.
Krantz, who was pushed into an off-field role for the Gamecocks earlier this offseason due to a staff shake-up, will once again become an assistant coach after the departure of Coleman Hutzler, head coach Will Muschamp announced Friday.
Krantz has been at South Carolina for four seasons now — he first served as analyst for the defense, not coaching for two seasons. When the NCAA approved a 10th on-field assistant in 2018, he was promoted and assisted Hutzler on special teams while also coaching nickelbacks and SAM linebackers.
In his new role, Muschamp announced in a statement Friday, Krantz will serve as special teams coordinator and assistant defensive backs coach, helping defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson. As a result, Muschamp will coach inside linebackers, a shift away from his usual role with the defensive backs. Assistants Mike Peterson and John Scott Jr. will continue to coach outside linebackers and defensive linemen, respectively.
“After interviewing multiple people for the position, I determined Kyle is the best fit for our staff,” Muschamp in a statement. “Kyle has assisted with our special teams for the past four years, including on the field in each of the past two seasons. He has done much of the legwork and game planning for those units, and can also bring some new ideas to that facet of the game. Having Kyle take over the coordinator duties will also make for a seamless transition for our players.”
These moves continue an offseason of significant changes to USC’s staff, as offensive coordinator Mike Bobo replaced the demoted Bryan McClendon at play-caller (he was moved back to wide receivers) and quarterbacks coach Dan Werner, who was let go. Bobo lieutenant Joe Cox was added to the staff as tight ends coach, which moved Bobby Bentley to quarterbacks and initially left Krantz with no on-field role.
This story was originally published January 17, 2020 at 11:08 AM.
