Some of South Carolina’s best football players are giving up this unfortunate football season during a pandemic, and it’s hard to blame them for that.
Their university dropped out first.
South Carolina and the SEC begged these kids to play football this season and, through all the tests, isolation and stress, played well enough to compete in almost every game (but with a 2-5 record). What did they get for their problems? South Carolina athletics director Ray Tanner fired his coach on Sunday after a 59-42 loss to Ole Miss.
Will Muschamp’s defense gave up 708 yards of total attack, but as Alabama can attest, this is not entirely unprecedented. Crimson Tide’s defense gave 647 yards to Ole Miss of Lane Kiffin in a 63-48 victory for Alabama that did more than a few fans temporarily lose faith in Nick Saban.
We are not going to dance around the fact that Muschamp was to come. We all know that, but couldn’t Tanner wait a few weeks? What’s the hurry? Did you have to jump on the next guy to be baptized by Dabo Swinney next year?
The complete lack of respect for South Carolina student-athletes this week for their own university is a disgusting admission by the administration, university president, board of trustees and supporters of how little the players who do all the work really mean to their university. . But am I shocked? Yes, that is a big no.
The SEC is crazy, which is why we love it, but it’s also why a toxic football culture at all costs manages all campuses. There is all kinds of “playing football during a pandemic”, but I’m not talking about that. They are playing these games this season for the money, and in South Carolina we now know where everything is going.
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During our national COVID-19 epidemic, with the University of South Carolina facing a financial crisis, the school now owes Muschamp a $ 13 million acquisition. Rich and supportive students in the South Carolina athletics department will pay Muschamp’s bill, of course, but buying one coach (and his assistants) for millions and then paying another lucky coach even more millions doesn’t send the best message. for the university in one year the employees were forced to take compulsory leave.
Football is more important than the faculty and staff, this is the message, if you need it to be well explained.
Gamecocks are scheduled to play in Missouri on Saturday night in Columbia, SC, but I will be surprised if that really happens. Between Monday and Tuesday, South Carolina lost three holders out of their secondary to go along with two defensive holders with injuries. If Gamecocks manage to put a team on the field, it can be even more embarrassing. This is not what these players deserve.
Yes, it was a disappointing season for South Carolina, but they bothered Auburn, and the Gamecocks defense tied Florida’s high-powered attack in its low-scoring season (38). The games continue against Georgia and Kentucky, in addition to this weekend’s home game. If South Carolina wins two of the three, it should just appoint interim coach Mike Bobo as permanent captain and let him rebuild the program from scratch.
At least Bobo vs. Dabo would be fun for writers.
South Carolina represents, without a doubt, the most difficult job for a head coach at the SEC, so I consider Muschamp’s overall record of 28-28 to be a success. There was nowhere to hide a mediocre team this season in the SEC, but Muschamp bothered Georgia last year and the victory against Auburn was South Carolina’s first against the Tigers since 1933. Before Steve Spurrier started talking about Muschamp again, let’s remember that Old Spurdog was 0-6 against Auburn while in South Carolina, and has the unholy honor of surviving in Columbia long enough to lose to Tommy Tuberville, Gene Chizik and Gus Malzahn.
It is not theoretically impossible to win in South Carolina, however, and that is what makes it the most difficult job for the SEC. After all, although Spurrier never beat Auburn, he is the last SEC East coach to get the best out of Nick Saban. Winning the SEC East is South Carolina’s goal, but the default in Palmetto is Clemson. This means that each season during his term, Muschamp faced one of the most difficult calendars in the country.
What does it take to win in South Carolina? If Tanner did not at least call the young offensive coaching phenomenon Joe Brady (now the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers), then he has no idea.
What’s next for Muschamp? Well, if he isn’t named the new coach of the New York Jets next week, maybe he can run for the United States Senate in a few years.
Who are we kidding? The Jets? The senate? We are talking about Muschamp. He always falls. Maybe he will get the job in Texas that he was promised so many years ago (2008).
If he still has something to prove, then there is always a back-of-the-house position in Alabama to appeal to. Muschamp can join Charlie Strong as one of Saban’s defensive analysts and they can meditate on being defensive dinosaurs in the era of unstoppable offenses.
Presumably, Strong is already preparing for the Gators in the SEC championship, so Muschamp can just take Clemson.
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Of course, if I were Muschamp, I would simply retire early, go fishing with Mike Leach in Monroe County, Florida, and kiss the crazy business goodbye.
Combine your South Carolina golden parachute with more than $ 6 million that the University of Florida paid him to leave, and Muschamp probably won’t have to work again based solely on the money he received to stop working.
What a career. What a care – the former and future SEC Golden Boy went off during a pandemic.
Saban will be remembered for his dominance during this SEC era, but it is Muschamp’s nine years at the Eastern SEC and his angry side grimace that should represent the hysterical heart and soul of the conference.
Joseph Goodman is a columnist for Alabama Media Group. He is on twitter @JoeGoodmanJr.
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