South Carolina has split with football coach Will Muschamp, sporting director Ray Tanner announced on Sunday.
Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, a former Colorado State coach, will serve as interim Gamecocks coach until the end of the season.
“After a thorough evaluation of our football program, we decided to make a change with the main football coach,” said Tanner in a statement. “I appreciate all that Will Muschamp has done for our program and I wish him and his family the best in the future. I believe that our program will be well served by Coach Bobo as an interim head coach as we seek a new leader for Gamecock Football.”
The move to fire Muschamp comes on the heels of his third straight loss in South Carolina, a 59-42 setback for Ole Miss on Saturday. The Gamecocks (2-5) allowed a total of 159 points during their three game losing streak and gave up 708 yards of total attack in the loss to Ole Miss.
Muschamp, in his fifth season as a South Carolina coach, had 28-30 overall. He has recorded more wins in his first three seasons (22) than any coach in school history and has been second only to Steve Spurrier (28) after four seasons as a South Carolina coach.
But the Gamecocks finished 4-8 a year ago and have lost 14 of their last 20 games, since the 28-0 defeat at the Belk Bowl to Virginia at the end of the 2018 season.
According to the terms of Muschamp’s contract, his purchase was in the $ 15 million range if he was fired at the end of this season.
South Carolina President Bob Caslen and Tanner informed players and staff about the change of coach during a meeting on Sunday.
“I appreciate everything that Coach Muschamp has done for our university. He is a true professional and strong supporter of our student-athletes,” said Caslen. “Under his leadership, our football players stood out in the classroom and served as mentors in the community. They also brought the necessary stability to the program. However, I believe it is time to move in a different direction.”
The school said in its statement that “the search for a new football coach will begin immediately”.
Liberty’s Hugh Freeze, Louisiana’s Billy Napier and Coastal Carolina’s Jamey Chadwell are expected to be among the top targets to replace Muschamp, along with Oklahoma Chief Assistant Coach Shane Beamer and Clemson’s offensive coordinator, Tony Elliott.
This is the second time that Muschamp has been dismissed from a SEC technical post. He was released by Florida at the end of the 2014 season and trained both final games before retiring. He spent the 2015 season at Auburn as Tigers’ defensive coordinator.
Muschamp’s combined head coach record in South Carolina and Florida is 56-51. In his second season in Florida in 2012, he was named SEC Co-Coach of the Year along with Kevin Sumlin of Texas A&M. Muschamp replaced Urban Meyer in Florida and Spurrier in South Carolina.