AUSTIN, Texas — With three coaching changes for the No. 13 Texas Longhorns between the end of the regular season and the Citrus Bowl matchup against the No. 18 Michigan Wolverines later this month in Orlando, things don’t quite like the same around the Moncrief-Neuhaus Athletic Complex as they did a few weeks ago.
Out are running backs coach Chad Scott, defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, and defensive passing game coordinator Duane Akina. In are Jabbar Juluke as Scott’s replacement and Will Muschamp
as Kwiatkowski’s successsor.
So how are the Longhorns going to handle coaching duties against the Wolverines at Camping World Stadium?
Juluke will coach the running backs in Sarkisian’s scheme against Michigan, a group that will be without redshirt sophomore CJ Baxter and freshman Rickey Stewart, who both intend the enter the NCAA transfer portal when the window opens in January.
On defense, it appears that the Longhorns will be down one coach in the secondary as Keynodo Hudson and Mark Orphey handle those duties as Muschamp observes the defense, which will be called by co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Johnny Nansen.
“I don’t think that would be fair to Coach Muschamp to come in and call somebody else’s defense and we just don’t have quite enough time to get that thing installed, so Coach Nansen will call it,” Sarkisian said on Friday. “He’s got a great staff around him, with Coach [LaAllan] Clark, Coach [Kenny] Baker, with also Coach Orfeh and Coach Hudson. So we’re plenty equipped to get that done.”
Asked what position Muschamp will help coach after previously working with linebackers and safeties prior to the NCAA lifting the cap on on-field assistants, Sarkisian said that his new defensive coordinator will help coach defensive backs.
“He’ll work with the secondary to start. I think getting that continuity in the back end is important in any defense, but obviously Will’s history has been working with the safeties and working with the back end — that’s what he was working with at Georgia tying that together,” Sarkisian said. “I think what people don’t know is Coach Orphey was a GA for Will at South Carolina, so there’s already some commonality there with those two guys in the back end.”
