Will Muschamp move to off-field role made with family in mind

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia co-defensive coordinator Will Muschamp stepped away from his on-field role earlier this offseason, and it certainly was for good reason. Having spent 25 seasons in the SEC in some capacity since 1991, the former Florida and South Carolina head coach decided to prioritize his life off the field this upcoming season.

“Will came and talked to me. It was really important that he continued to be a major factor in his son’s life,” UGA head coach Kirby Smart, a longtime friend of Muschamp’s, said this past week. “He spent a lot of time around young men in this profession, and he’s developed a lot of really good football players. He’s shaped a lot of boys into men. He’s got a lot of great relationships from the places he’s coached. He’s got players from Florida, Auburn, South Carolina that reach out to him all the time that he’s good friends with. He spent a lot of time developing those kids, and he wants to be able to see his son.”

Muschamp got an opportunity to spend time with his older son, Jackson, these past few seasons in Athens with him being a walk-on quarterback for the Bulldogs. With Jackson having graduated and moved on from the program, Will wanted a similar opportunity with his younger son, Whit, who will be a freshman at Vanderbilt this coming season.

“He wants to be able to watch his son develop and play,” Smart said. “He wants to be a factor in his life and be with him.”

Muschamp is still on staff at Georgia. It’s not like he’s leaving Athens entirely to go be with Whit at Vanderbilt. However, wanting to be able to witness Whit’s college career play out first-hand like he did Jackson’s meant that Will would have to give up his spot on the UGA sidelines on Saturdays during the fall.

Now listed as a defensive analyst, the same role he was hired in prior to the 2021 season, Muschamp can be involved both as a coach and a father.

“He got to see that firsthand with Jackson here who did a tremendous job for us. Every day, Coach Muschamp got to go on the practice field and be with his son. I can only imagine what that felt like for him and the satisfaction of seeing his son each day. Now he’s got Whit who’s got an opportunity to go to Vanderbilt and play,” Smart said.

“That was a really easy transition. I thought he handled it very well,” he added on the swift decision by the Dawgs to replace Muschamp with Alabama defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson. “He communicated very well with me. Our ability to hire T-Rob was tremendous. He’s got tons of value in our SEC footprint. Recruiting value, football knowledge, leader of men. Anywhere he’s coached, his players really, really trust him and enjoy him.”

Only making the transition easier has been the fact that Robinson’s carer path has closely followed that of Muschamp. The two were together twice at Auburn (2006-07, 2015) along with Florida (2011-14) and South Carolina (2016-20). In their final stop alongside each other, Robinson acted as Muschamp’s defensive coordinator, helping take the Gamecocks to a trio of bowl games in five seasons.

Most recently, Robinson was at Alabama under the direction of Nick Saban, spending two seasons with the Crimson Tide in 2022 and 2023. Making the transition to Georgia and the similar system shouldn’t be too much of a challenge, but filling the shoes of the fan-favorite Muschamp might be.

“He’s been nothing but an asset for us in terms of knowledge, but also in terms of relationships,” Smart said of Robinson’s time in Athens so far. “We’ll get a great benefit from T-Rob coming, and we’ll get a huge benefit from Coach Muschamp remaining part of our program to help us.”

Georgia continues spring practice this week, passing the halfway point on Thursday. The Bulldogs have completed six of their allotted 15 sessions with the first of three scrimmages expected to take place this coming Saturday.