ATHENS – Georgia football may be on the verge of officially hiring Will Muschamp as an analyst or consultant, now that the former South Carolina coach has received money for the acquisition.
Muschamp has been seen on the Bulldog program since the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl training session, and recently last week at Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall.
The UGA, however, issued a statement that Muschamp was not technically “employed” by the school last week:
“Will Muschamp is not currently employed at the University of Georgia.”
Often, when coaches are due to takeovers, such as the $ 12.9 million sum Muschamp received last Friday from The Athletic, there are stipulations involving future jobs.
ICYMI in South Carolina paid Will Muschamp $ 12.9 million in a single installment to pay off all contractual debts with his former coach. The school released the documents outlining the deal on Friday afternoon.
– Josh Kendall (@JoshTheAthletic) January 25, 2021
Now that Muschamp is free and exempt from his contract with South Carolina, it would be a matter of shuffling the paperwork to make his status with Georgia official.
Of course, Muchamp’s finances are such that he doesn’t need to be in a hurry to sign any technical papers, let alone find a temporary place to sleep.
Muschamp, 49, probably has at least one more head coach race after his tenure leading programs in Florida (28-21 record, 2011-14) and South Carolina (28-30 record, 2016-20 ).
Muschamp was represented by SEC superagent Jimmy Sexton, who in 2017 represented 11 of the SEC’s top 14 coaches, including Nick Saban, Jimbo Fisher, Dan Mullen, Matt Luke, Butch Jones and Smart.
Sexton has been more effective in locating clients, and Muschamp’s charisma and immense popularity with the media bodes well for him in a fast-moving business.
Muschamp’s decision to camp in Georgia makes a lot of sense when considering that his son, Jackson, is the Bulldogs’ favorite escort.
The ace in the sleeve, however, is that Smart has been a close friend of Muschamp for years.
WATCH: Will Muschamp endorses Georgia amid the Covid-19 crisis
The two coaches share a genuine mutual respect that goes back to the time when Muschamp helped Smart get his first job as a defense technician in Valdosta State in 2000.
Muschamp (1991-94) and Smart (1994-98) coincided briefly in Georgia, but did not become close until later, according to the UGA technician.
“It was not like a close relationship when we were here, because he was a fifth year senior captain and I was a freshman redshirt, we were really in two different places ”, Smart, who was from DB coach to coordinator at Valdosta State in 2001 , when Muschamp was hired to join Nick Saban’s initial LSU team, he said in a previous interview.
“I mean, he was nice to me, but it wasn’t like we had a friendship. We were at two different points in our career. “
Smart and Muschamp met after Valdosta State, when Nick Saban hired Smart as his secondary coach at LSU. Muschamp was already in Baton Rouge, serving his third season as a defensive coordinator.
“Where we became closer was the opportunity he gave me to come to the state of Valdosta, and we worked together there, and then we worked together at LSU,” said Smart. “And in these two years that we spent on the same team, we probably had more relationships than we did while we were here.”
The dynamics of Smart’s relationship with Muschamp in Georgia can be interesting. Smart will undoubtedly use Muschamp as a resource while scouring the country for the right secondary coach.
Smart has been interviewing candidates for the vacant position when Charlton Warren left to become a defensive coordinator in Indiana.
Bulldogs have a stark need in high school, with eight saves having left the program in recent years, including three transfers.
Safety Lewis Cine is the only back holder that was in place at the beginning of last season.
Smart has not been available to the media since the post-game press conference of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
New UGA athletic director Josh Brooks declined to comment at this point.
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