Coach Boom returns to the Forty Acres.
“Boom, mother$%#$^! Knock those mother#@%$ out!”
The mythologization of Will Muschamp’s famous intensity started some time around 2007 with the help of a fortuitously-placed sideline microphone that caught the then-Auburn Tigers defensive coordinator reacting to his defense ending a possession by the Arkansas Razorbacks on a throwaway.
The Tigers eventually won that particular rock fight in Fayetteville 9-7 after holding the Razorbacks to 193 yards of total offense on 4.7 yards per pass attempt and 2.7 yards per rush, something approaching Muschamp’s platonic ideal of a football game.
In the early days of the blogosphere, the moment took on a life of its own, especially after Mack Brown hired Muschamp to coach the Texas defense in 2008 when Brown had to abandon the failed Larry Mac Duff-Duane Akina pairing after one season.
The statistics tell the story of Muschamp’s success defensively with the Longhorns in pushing Texas to the brink of a national championship in 2009, but with Muschamp, the statistics only tell part of the story, especially for a coach who famously noted, “Stats are for losers. I like winning games.”
Ultimately, it’s Muschamp’s intensity that remains indelible nearly two decades later.
There’s the image of him bleeding from his cheek on the sideline after ripping off his headset, oblivious to the blood streaming down his face.
All these years later, it’s not easy to pinpoint the game it happened in, partly because Muschamp again ended up bleeding on the sideline when was the head coach at South Carolina.
There’s the image of him levitating on the sideline in reaction to something on the field.
And there’s the video of a fiery halftime speech to his defense that ended with Muschamp punching the whiteboard and screaming, “Everybody just do your job! Understand that?”
“He’s crazy. He’s a crazy man, but ain’t none like him,” former Texas linebacker Emmanuel Acho said on Thursday.
Look in Muschamp’s eyes. Those are the eyes of a full-fledged lunatic.
Is there any functional difference between that look on Muschamp’s face and Jack Nicholson’s depiction of a man’s descent into madness in “The Shining”? Of course not.
So with Thursday’s shocking news that Muschamp is returning to the Forty Acres for his second stint as the Texas defensive coordinator, replacing Pete Kwiatkowski after five seasons, there’s no doubt that there’s a massive gap in intensity between Muschamp, perhaps less fiery these days in his mid-50s, and the mild-mannered Kwiatkowski.
But Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is betting on Muschamp elevating the Longhorns defense because of more than just his intensity — Muschamp is still regarded as one of the best defensive minds in football.
“Will Muschamp understands defensive football, I would suggest, greater than any mind in the collegiate game,” Acho said. “Remember, Muschamp was the co-defensive coordinator for those back-to-back Georgia defensive teams that won national championships over the last four or five years. Will Muschamp coaches with a tenacity and attention to detail that you do not find — it is an uncommon passion for the game of football.”
Welcome back, Coach Boom.
Category: General Sports
