Winner winner, chicken dinner...
Auburn's Muschamp to call defensive shots for Texas Longhorns
08:00 PM CST on Friday, January 4, 2008
By CHIP BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
[email protected]
AUSTIN – For the second time in four years, Longhorns coach Mack Brown has raided Tommy Tuberville's staff at Auburn to find a defensive play-caller.
Brown announced Friday that Will Muschamp has accepted the job as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Texas.
Muschamp, 36, replaces Larry Mac Duff, who served as co-coordinator and linebackers coach this season and resigned Wednesday. Duane Akina called the plays on defense for Texas in 2007. Akina will be the assistant head coach in charge of the secondary.
Texas will pay Muschamp upward of $400,000, according to a source. As co-coordinators this season, Akina and Mac Duff both earned $300,000.
"We're thrilled to have Will joining our staff," Brown said. "He's a bright, young, high-energy coach who has gained a great deal of experience and had a lot of success in working for tremendous coaches in Nick Saban, Tommy Tuberville and Roy Kidd.
"He built a defense at LSU that helped them become one of the nation's most dominant units for several years, including a national championship in 2003, and he's done the same thing at Auburn."
Brown also hired Gene Chizik from Auburn in 2004. Chizik spent two years at Texas, including UT's national title season in 2005, before taking the head coaching position at Iowa State.
Muschamp was a walk-on safety at Georgia from 1991 to 1994, when Texas offensive coordinator Greg Davis and offensive line coach Mac McWhorter were on the Bulldogs staff.
"Greg Davis and Mac McWhorter both know Will very well, having worked with him as a player at Georgia, and they both highly recommended him," Brown said. "Our entire staff had a chance to spend some time with him on Thursday and all really enjoyed him."
In his six years as a coordinator at Auburn and LSU, Muschamp's defenses ranked among the nation's top 10 in total defense four times and scoring defense three times.
"I'm really excited about the opportunity to work for Mack Brown and the University of Texas," Muschamp said. "Having followed the Longhorns as a player, coach and fan of college football, I always had a lot of respect for the program, but after visiting the campus, I'm even more impressed."
Under Akina, UT's defense was eighth nationally against the run (93.4 yards per game) but gave up 25.3 points per game and a school record for total yards (4,825) and passing yards per game (277.8).
Under Muschamp, Auburn was fifth nationally in scoring defense (16.7 ppg), eighth in total defense (298.3 ypg), seventh against the pass (179 ypg) and 26th against the run (119.3 ypg).
Muschamp was on Saban's staff at LSU when the Tigers won the BCS national title in 2003. That defense, which included the Cowboys' Marcus Spears and Bradie James, led the nation in points allowed, giving up 11.0 points per game.
Muschamp was the defensive coordinator under Saban with the Miami Dolphins in 2005 before moving to Auburn in 2006.