Will Muschamp remaining involved at Georgia in smaller role

ATHENS, Ga. — Will Muschamp has been in coaching longer than all of his players have been alive. Getting started in 1995 as a graduate assistant at Auburn, Muschamp took his first full time position at West Georgia in 1998. Since then stops at Eastern Kentucky, Valdosta State, LSU, the Miami Dolphins, Auburn, Texas, Florida, South Carolina and Georgia have made it 26 straight seasons on the field.

That streak will sort of come to an end in 2024. Stepping down from his position as co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach for the Bulldogs, Muschamp is now a Georgia defensive analyst. He made the decision in January with his family in mind. His youngest son, Whit, will be a freshman on the football team at Vanderbilt this fall, and like he did with the older of his two boys, Jackson, Muschamp wants to be around to watch him play. Taking on a lesser role should allow him both to still be involved in the game while also being able to spend time with his family.

Travaris Robinson replaces Muschamp on the staff at Georgia. Better known in football circles by his nickname “T-Rob,” he and Muschamp have coached together a total of 12 seasons. They’ll be together for a 13th in their respective new roles, and Robinson shared what that’s looked like.

“His role looks the same as it did when he was a head coach and coming down my neck every single day. He’s in every single meeting with me, bothering me all the time,” Robinson said. “It’s crazy. My entire career, whether it was Coach Muschamp, Coach Saban, now I’m at a place at the University of Georgia where Coach Smart’s in the defensive back room, he’s a DB guy and Coach Muschamp is in the DB room, Coach Donte (Williams) is in the DB room, it’s like an AFCA clinic every day.”

“At the end of the day, it’s been great. I really enjoy Coach Muschamp being here and helping me get through the process of learning how we do things because some of the things we do here are a little different than what we did at Alabama,” he continued. “Kirby and Coach Schumann have done a really good job of changing some of the things that we did and making it not as complex, and I think our guys are able to play faster because of that.”

Robinson has respect for Muschamp that few can match. The time together has certainly shaped him. He started his career as a graduate assistant under Muschamp and earned his coordinator title with him at South Carolina. However, he does feel there’s a difference in their way of delivering a message to players.

“Nah, I’m not coming up with anything new. I am who I am. I learned from who I learned from. He’s a guy who I respect in this profession, I respect as a man, I respect as a father, I respect him. He’s a great guy and I think one of the things that I do is stay true to who I am and what I believe,” Robinson said. “I’ve got a different delivery. Coach Muschamp and I, we say some of the same stuff but I say it a little different than him. I’ve got a little nicer side to me than he has sometimes.”

Robinson takes over Muschamp’s title as co-defensive coordinator to Glenn Schumann, who was elevated to the coordinator spot himself from the “co” position back in 2022. Holding a title like that for the first time, Schumann leaned on the help of his head coach (Smart) and co-coordinator (Muschamp), both of whom had experience in a coordinator’s position before. Now, having Muschamp still around but in a different role, Schumann still finds himself leaning on him for help and ideas.

“It’s awesome to be able to have Will here. When he made the decision to move into an analyst role, the ability for us to keep him in the building and keep him part of the program even before they approved the coaching restrictions was a blessing to all of us,” Schumann said. “The best thing that, and I’m thankful for Will in this regard, as much as he’s done in his career, Will does not have an ego in any way, shape, or form. So that collaborative effort, we work together. He helps me grow in a lot of ways. When things were difficult, he was a great supporting cast member and we worked together as the whole defensive staff does every year.”

Muschamp was seen at practice on Tuesday assisting an individual player working off to the side of his position group while rehabbing an injury. NCAA rule changes no longer restrict staff members, analysts included, in their ability to help on the field. It remains to be seen what Muschamp’s role come Saturday’s this fall will be, but it’s safe to say, having him remain around already appears to be paying off for both parties.