South Carolina Football: Will Muschamp should be next Gamecocks head coach

Former Florida head coach Will Muschamp is interviewing for the South Carolina head coaching position.

Will Muschamp will interview for the South Carolina Gamecocks head coaching job by Friday, according to Josh Kendall of The State. This confirms an earlier report from ESPN’s Chris Low who reported South Carolina interviewed interim coach Shawn Elliott Wednesday and that Muschamp and Oklahoma offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley were on the interview list.

Muschamp was a candidate for the Gamecocks defensive coordinator position last offseason and could have been the head coach at South Carolina had Steve Spurrier decided to call it a career one year earlier. South Carolina athletic director Ray Tanner is obviously enamored, or at least intrigued by the fiery coach who spent the 2015 season as the defensive coordinator at Auburn.

The move to Auburn was supposed to be a soft landing for Muschamp after getting fired by Florida after going 28-21 as the head coach at Florida, but things didn’t go as planned as the Tigers finished near the bottom of nearly every defensive stat in the SEC and ranked No. 90 in the nation in total defense.

Muschamp’s defense improved later in the year when Carl Lawson returned from injury, but it was a far cry from his defenses he fielded while at Florida and at previous stops as a defensive coordinator.

More from SEC

• Most heartwarming social media reactions to Nick Chubb’s injury
• College Football Playoff: Projected top 4 after Week 3
• Biggest winners and losers from College Football Week 3
• Florida Football: 3 takeaways from important win over Tennessee
• #10 Alabama football: 3 takeaways from close road win against USF

His overall career record doesn’t look pretty, but he started out well at Florida with an 18-8 record in his first two years, including an 11-2 record in 2012 and a Sugar Bowl berth. He hitched his wagon to quarterback Jeff Driskel and the former five-star recruit battled injuries, inconsistencies and lost his starter’s job which led to Muschamp losing his.

If Muschamp hires a great offensive coordinator to run the offense at South Carolina and Muschamp gets back to fielding elite defenses, this could be a nice marriage for Muschamp to get another head coaching chance in the SEC East.

Last time South Carolina hired a head coach they took a chance on a former Florida head coach who in his job immediately after leaving Gainesville and things went pretty smoothly under Spurrier.

Next: 30 Best College Football Coaches of All-Time

Now, I won’t say he’s going to be better than Spurrier, but I think Muschamp can lead the Gamecocks to some SEC East titles as early as 2017 should he get the job. With Mark Richt, Kirby Smart, Tom Herman and Justin Fuente all off the market, South Carolina may not have any better options than Muschamp.