Auburn Spring Football: Will Muschamp
Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp talks with the media after spring football practice Thursday, March 12, 2015, at the Auburn Athletic Complex in Auburn, Ala. (Julie Bennett/ jbennett@al.com)
Will Muschamp
loves the intricacies of coaching.
He loves to be on the practice field and he certainly enjoys game days, but he's also a fan of film study and talking to players behind closed doors.
Some of the finer points, however, are not necessarily a head coach's job as they oversee an entire program. That's why Muschamp is enjoying his time as Auburn's defensive coordinator after a four-year tenure as Florida's head coach, which he also enjoyed but knows was different.
"I was very involved defensively at Florida and regardless of popular opinion I wasn't as much on offense," Muschamp said with a chuckle. "Should have been, but I wasn't."
Muschamp was fired following a 28-21 record in four seasons. His defenses finished in the top 10 nationally every season at Florida, but the offenses struggled -- the Gators finished no higher than 96th nationally.
Muschamp is two days into his second stint as Auburn's defensive coordinator. It's the sixth time he has installed a defense on the college level. Things are running smoothly for the veteran coordinator through the first two days of spring drills.
"I'm very comfortable here and
Gus
(
Malzahn
) has been great and the staff has been outstanding and the players have been very welcoming," Muschamp said. "Everyone has been wonderful."
Muschamp takes over an Auburn defense that allowed 31 points or more in its final seven SEC games of the 2014 season, the worst stretch in school history.
Auburn has not finished in the top 30 nationally in total defense since 2008, when the Tigers allowed 317.8 yards per game. Florida ranked no lower than ninth nationally in total defense during Muschamp's four-year tenure. His defenses ranked in the top 10 during his five-year run as defensive coordinator at LSU and Auburn, too.