AUSTIN, Texas — Understanding the shocking decision that Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian made on Thursday in firing fifth-year defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski and hiring Georgia Bulldogs
defensive analyst Will Muschamp begins with the perspective provided by Sarkisian’s initial hiring process after arriving on the Forty Acres in January 2021.
When Kwiatkowski was hired late that month after receiving a phone call from new Texas tight ends coach Jeff Banks, Sarkisian had already assembled his defensive staff in Austin as interest in multiple other candidates for the position ended in rejection.
So despite the success of the Sarkisian-Kwiatkowski pairing — a Big 12 championship, an SEC title game appearance, and back-to-back trips to the College Football Playoff semifinals — Thursday’s decision by Sarkisian put into stark relief the reality that Kwiatkowski wasn’t the first choice defensive coordinator for the Longhorns nearly five years ago. He wasn’t even really the second choice, either.
Muschamp was the the first choice in the wake of his termination by South Carolina after five years as the head coach in Columbia, declining the job because of a desire to focus on his family that ultimately led him back to Georgia, where he served as the special teams coordinator for one season, the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach for two seasons, and as a defensive analyst for two seasons.
“He had an opportunity to watch his son play high school football, which I think was important to him and his wife, so it just wasn’t the right time to kind of go further down that road,” Sarkisian said of his interest in Muschamp on Friday.
Kwiatkowski wasn’t the second, third, or likely even the fourth choice — Sarkisian’s pursuit of Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom resulted in a raise and extension that made Odom the highest-paid assistant in Razorbacks history, Sarkisian’s former boss in Atlanta, Dan Quinn, joined the Dallas Cowboys as their defensive coordinator instead of returning to college football for the first time in over a decade, and Zach Arnett opted to remain at Mississippi State despite interest from Texas.
Understanding the shocking decision that Sarkisian made on Thursday also requires perspective on how different this part of the football calendar looks for Texas this season.
“When you get a chance to really evaluate your program and where you’re at and also where you’re headed and what you’re trying to accomplish, sometimes change is needed, and sitting in my chair sometimes you’ve got to make the tough call. Any time you have an opportunity to bring in quality coaches of Coach [Jabbar] Juluke and Coach Muschamp, you want to take advantage of those opportunities when they’re there,” Sarkisian said.
So the combination of a chance to fully evaluate the program with bowl preparation representing a significant break compared to playing in conference championship games and the playoff and the opportunity to land Muschamp ultimately led to Sarkisian’s decision on Thursday.
With Muschamp’s sons now playing college football — Whitt is a sophomore quarterback at Vanderbilt and Jackson is a walk-on quarterback at Georgia — the timing was right for Muschamp to return to his first defensive coordinator role since he returned to Auburn for a year in 2015.
Beyond whatever relationship developed during Sarkisian’s 2021 defensive coordinator search, the Longhorns head coach has admired Muschamp from afar, but got an up-close look at their shared mentor Nick Saban’s respect for his one-time defensive coordinator when the Crimson Tide traveled to Columbia to face the Gamecocks.
“Going into that game, I always know when Coach Saban really respects somebody — I can hear it in his voice, I can hear it in his preparation. I don’t respect anybody more than Nick Saban in our profession and as a mentor, so that played a key role,” Sarkisian said.
Muschamp’s positive experiences at Texas from 2008 to 2011 weighed into the decision, too, as did his respect for the program that Sarkisian has built on the Forty Acres.
“This is an exciting day for the Muschamp family. We loved our time in Austin and truly enjoyed everything about working with Texas Football. We’re thrilled to be coming back to a program with one of the richest and proudest histories and traditions in college football,” Muschamp said in a statement released by the school on Thursday.
“With what Coach Sark has done in rebuilding this program – knowing there are even better days ahead – I was fired up for the opportunity. I have tremendous respect and admiration for Sark, how he leads his program, develops his team and players, builds culture and goes about his business. I’m excited to be a part of it and can’t wait to get started, Hook ‘em!”
It’s telling that Muschamp started his statement by mentioning his family, reinforcing that his decision to turn down the chance to return to Austin five years ago was not his choice individually.
During Thursday’s press conference, Sarkisian also set out contrasts between Kwiatkowski and Muschamp.
A successful stint at Montana State in the early 2000s caught the attention of Chris Petersen when he ascended from offensive coordinator to head coach at Boise State when Dan Hawkins left for Colorado, a relationship that continued for 14 years and ended with Petersen’s retirement at Washington.
So even though the Broncos made two BCS appearances thanks to undefeated seasons and the Huskies made a College Football Playoff, the competition level that Kwiatkowski’s defenses faced in the WAC, MWC, and the dying Pac-12 pales in comparison to Muschamp’s resume.
After an impressive playing career safety that began with Muschamp walking on at Georgia before becoming a team captain as a senior, Nick Saban hired the rising defensive coordinator from Valdosta State in 2001 as his linebackers coach at LSU. The next season, Muschamp took over Saban’s defense and the Tigers won a national championship.
“Knowing what it takes in this conference is something that is invaluable to us, even in his time over the past few years at Georgia and working with Coach [Kirby] Smart there, and the great successes they’ve had, not only as a team, but on the defensive side of the ball,” Sarkisian said.
“I just think his style, his style of coaching, his style of play, and the way we’re going to play defense, is something that makes sense to me of what is needed in this conference.”
Muschamp’s intensity is reflected in his coaching style, which mirrors the aggressiveness of Sarkisian’s “All Gas No Brakes” approach on offense that the Texas head coach believes is a better fit in comparison to the mild-mannered Kwiatkowski, whose rare interactions with the media over his time with the Longhorns revealed his lack of charisma and flat personality — in that regard Muschamp and Kwiatkowski exist on opposite polarities.
“I love Will’s level of intensity. I love his passion. I love his demanding nature with which he coaches. But on the same token, I love the connection that he gets from his players,” Sarkisian said. “If you talk to anybody who’s ever played for Will Muschamp, they talk about that passion, they talk about that intention, the intensity, they talk about the demanding nature with which he coaches, but on the same token, they talk about who he is as a person and the connection that he has.”
The aggressive, attacking defense fielded by Muschamp over the years also stands in contrast to the more conservative, bend-but-don’t-break approach favored by Kwiatkowski, who seemed to have philosophical differences with Sarkisian on the back end, with Sarkisian wanting to play more press coverage and Kwiatkowski preferring softer zone coverage.
“If you really want to have elite success, you’ve got to play a little bit more in your face. The line of scrimmage is so physical, and the idea that you’re going to have to add hats to that box, the quarterback play is at a high level, and you’ve got elite players on the perimeter, that if you’re giving up free access-type throws, it can get hard, and now you start getting taxed in different ways,” Sarkisian said.
Another factor? Muschamp has the head coaching experience that Kwiatkowski lacks that Sarkisian believes will allow Muschamp to operate the defense with minimal oversight.
“One thing that really helps me with Will is his head coaching experience, having been in this conference at Florida and at South Carolina, his experience of being under Coach Saban, speaking the same language to where I feel very comfortable with Will being the head coach of that defense, and and frees me up a little bit more time from an offensive perspective,” Sarkisian said.
Some notable admissions by the Texas head coach there — a need to micromanage Kwiatkowski to ensure consistent messaging, and a subtle accusation that the time Sarkisian spent focusing on the defense has impacted his ability as an offensive play caller. Muschamp will have the latitude to call timeouts on defense if necessary, allowing Sarkisian to take off the headset and talk to his quarterback or quarterbacks coach or offensive line coach when the defense is on the field.
“I’m able to let him go do his thing on defense and really be a great leader over there and head coach over there, which allows me to get back to doing the things that that I believe in and I’m really good at,” Sarkisian said of hiring Muschamp.
Even with the lack of an ideal fit between Sarkisian and Kwiatkowski, the Texas head coach didn’t fire Kwiatkowski just to hire another defensive coordinator, he fired Kwiatkowski to hire Will freaking Muschamp.
“The idea that I could get a guy the caliber of Will Muschamp to come in here, not only his defensive pedigree, but the leadership, the head coaching experience, it just was too good of a fit to pass up,” Sarkisian said.
