Georgia football’s first open date this weekend provides an opportunity for coaches and staff to spend rare family time throughout the season.
Will Muschamp’s unique transition from co-defensive coordinator to defensive analyst under coach Kirby Smart has already enabled him to do so.
Muschamp was in Nashville to watch Vanderbilt upset Virginia Tech before the Bulldogs’ season opener against Clemson on August 31 in Atlanta.
He came there to support Whit Muschamp, the Commodores’ rookie quarterback and the son of Will and Carol.
“What Kirby has done to allow him to be a part of Whit’s experience, I really respect that,” Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said. “And Will’s choosing to interact in that way; he’s a guy.
That family is important to me, but Kirby’s acceptance means a lot to me as a father. “I believe that’s a unique relationship.” Georgia football coach Kirby Smart discusses Will Muschamp’s new role.
Muschamp, 53, was promoted to analyst in January after Georgia recruited Travaris Robinson, who had previously worked under Muschamp at Florida and South Carolina, to replace Muschamp’s co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach position.
A new NCAA rule permits off-field staff, including commentators, to teach during practice.
“He coaches. He’s here,” Smart said. “He does a good job game planning. He does ideas. He works with the players. He coaches the coaches. He helps me. He does what he did last year. I wouldn’t say he changed in that dynamic other than he gets to be with his family.”
Whit Muschamp, a three-star recruit from the Baylor School in Chattanooga, has not played for Vanderbilt, which is 2-1 after a 36-32 loss at Georgia State. The Commodores play at Missouri on Saturday. Lea said Muschamp sits in the same area as his parents at Vanderbilt home games. Lea’s mother had a stroke in 2009 and has limited use of her left side so Muschamp assisted after the Virginia Tech game.
“They weren’t able to get on the elevators for whatever reason after the game but Will I guess was there to help my Mom down the stairs,” Lea said. “So I appreciate the fact that he’s at the game and Kirby’s allowed for it. Shoot, he’s helping my family around the stadium it doesn’t get better than that. I got a ton of respect for Kirby and a ton of respect for Will and so happy to have his son with us and to have that Muschamp family a part of our family.” During the week, Muschamp is at Georgia to help in varied ways in his new role with the Bulldogs.
“He was definitely a big part of me coming here,” Georgia starting nickel back Joenel Aguero said. “He and coach Smart obviously and when Fran (Brown) was here. He was definitely a big part and he still is.” Will Muschamp’s other son, Jackson Muschamp, finished his career as a walk-on quarterback last season.
He went out with a memorable moment late in the Orange Bowl — a 63-3 blowout of Florida State.
On a third-and-5, Muschamp took off and rushed for 14 yards and the first down. Georgia players and coaches had seen him make similar runs in practice.
“I told coach Muschamp all the time he’s a lot better athlete than coach Muschamp ever was,” Smart told reporters. “He really looked good in that jersey number he had on, too, that 16.”
That is the same number Smart wore as a Georgia safety while teammates with Muschamp. Their relationship developed during their coaching careers.
Smart lured Muschamp back to Georgia as an analyst when he was fired at South Carolina in 2020, but he took over as coach when Scott Cochran was absent. Muschamp served as the Bulldogs’ assistant coach for three seasons.
“It’s awesome to be able to have Will here,” Defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann stated before the season. “When he decided to become an analyst, the fact that we were able to keep him in the building and part of the program even before the coaching limits were granted was a blessing for all of us. The finest thing, and I’m grateful to Will for this, is that despite everything he’s accomplished in his career, he has no ego. We work together on that united endeavor. Vanderbilt’s Lea began his coaching career when Muschamp was the defensive coordinator at Auburn and subsequently Texas, earning the nickname “Coach Boom” for his on-field outbursts.
“I have always admired Will as a coach,” she remarked. “He was a defensive coach who was widely regarded as one of the finest in the country, as well as a youthful, bright, and enthusiastic defensive coordinator who served as a benchmark for me when I began my career. Being able to connect with him at the conclusion of his coaching career and get Whit into our program was a lot of fun for me.”
Muschamp might provide comments and perspective based on his decades of coaching experience.
Lea stated: “To sit with him and pick his brain, and for him to share his views about connecting with our program on a recruiting level, What he saw and thought about it all was just remarkable.”
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