Glenn Schumann, Will Muschamp find rhythm in shared coordinator title

ATLANTA — Glenn Schumann and Will Muschamp have shared the defensive coordinator title for almost a full season now, and things have gone smoothly. Back in the summer ahead of the season, there were expectations of what the pairing might look like. Now with Georgia in the College Football Playoffs for a second straight season, there are results that can be pointed to with the Bulldogs ranking in the top 10 for both scoring and total defense.

“It’s been outstanding. Glenn has done a phenomenal job this year, does a great job relating with our players, sending the message through our head football coach to our players,” Muschamp said on Tuesday during his portion of the Georgia defense’s Peach Bowl press conference. “The expectation doesn’t change, and I’m really proud of these guys sitting with me today and how they’ve approached this season of what we perceived to have lost last year, the guys we lost on our defense and how these guys have handled this year.”

Muschamp is obviously the older and more experienced of the two co-coordinators having been a head coach in the conference a pair of times before and a coordinator at several other stops, but that hasn’t stopped him from letting Schumann take the lead sometimes. It’s a trend that carries from head coach down to the coordinators and even other assistants and analysts too.

“All of our voices are heard. I think that’s important. Coach Smart will listen to anybody in the building, whether it’s a GA or analyst, somebody in the nutrition or training room, it doesn’t matter your role,” Schumann said. “Obviously there’s a hierarchy for decision making but I think he does a great job. You see his personality in that regard but he does a great job of listening to everybody on the staff.”

In the process, Muschamp admits that he’s learned a thing or two from Schumann, who’s only 32 and having been a full-time coach for just seven seasons comparing to Muschamp’s 24 years in coaching.

“Glenn, number one, is extremely bright. Number two, he has a tremendous work ethic. He’s always trying to find a better way,” Muschamp said. “Philosophically, we’re never going to change on defense as far as defending the middle of the field, as far as defending the run. How we defend it may change depending on who we have. We’re a different defense schematically than we were a year ago. Are there some carryovers as far as what we do? Sure. There’s going to be carryover year to year, but I think starting with Coach Smart and Glenn and our defensive staff after spring, we really identified what our guys do best … We have adapted and adjusted some things that we do in order to fit our players and what we do. Philosophically not getting away from anything that we normally do and what the expectation is at Georgia, but schematically there’s been some tweaks and some changes. I attribute a lot of that to Glenn.”

Saturday the challenge for Muschamp, Schumann and their defense is the nation’s No. 2 scoring offense, the Ohio State Buckeyes. Led by Heisman Trophy finalist quarterback CJ Stroud and his plethora of pass catchers, Ryan Day’s squad is averaging 44.5 points per game. Good things for Georgia though, they’ve got a group of defensive minds that have slowed down offenses like Ohio State’s before, both in this current role and previous ones too.

“There’s nothing like experience, right, in whatever role, but I wanted to always prepare when I was a GA that when I got the opportunity to be on the field, that I had confidence that I had done everything I possibly could to prepare myself for the next step,” Schumann said. “Then I felt like I tried from the day I got here I’ve tried to prepare myself for whatever opportunities come after that and to not wait. You don’t wait. You always preach to the players that you prepare like the starter even when you are the backup … So I think anything you preach to the players you try to integrate yourself and practice what you preach. So that’s kind of how I’ve applied it. Everyday since I’ve been here I’ve tried to make sure that if there was ever an additional role in my life, in my coaching career, that I was prepared for it the best that I could and didn’t wait. If you wait to prepare until the storm comes, you’ve probably got an issue.”

Kickoff time between the Bulldogs and Buckeyes is set for 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN. Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe will be on the call live from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta with a spot in the National Championship Game on the line.