Sunshine state powers, the University of Florida and University of Miami, have found their leading men of the future. The Gators and Hurricanes welcomed their newly appointed head coaches this weekend, Florida hiring former Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, Saturday, Dec. 11, while the Hurricanes brought in former Temple head coach Al Golden, Sunday, Dec. 12.
Both hiring’s may come as a surprise on the surface to many. A closer look at the two coach’s situations shows they seem like better moves than originally thought.
Muschamp (right) was considered the coach in waiting at Texas under head coach Mack Brown. Apparently, Muschamp was tired of waiting. Muschamp, 39, is a graduate and former player at Georgia, and has ties to the SEC, having coached at both Auburn and LSU before heading to Texas. His defenses have long been some of the best units in the country, but 2010 was undoubtedly a down season for the defensive mastermind.
Golden (below), the former defensive coordinator under Al Groh at Virginia has turned around a Temple program that was the dirt below the doormat of college football. In 2005, the season before Golden arrived at Temple, the Owls went 0-11. In his last two years as head coach, Temple brought in a 9-4 record in 2009, and an 8-4 record this season, including beating BCS bound Connecticut this season. Golden was long considered the heir apparent to take over under his former coach Joe Paterno at his Alma mater Penn State. Like Muschamp, though, Golden couldn’t pass on such a high profile offering.
Fans on both sides were looking for the “home run hire,” or a big name to sign on the line. What they got were a couple of blank thoughts and stares from national analyst. The Gators, who saw former head coach Urban Meyer step down just three days prior to signing Muschamp, interviewed just one professional, and he was inked. The Hurricanes, who had been coach-less for a little over two weeks, were the part of a number of different interviews and speculations, including Jon Gruden and UConn head coach Randy Edsall.
Although the names may not be as sexy as fans were expecting, the hiring’s make sense. For the Gators, there may not have been anything more important than bringing in someone who was familiar with the southeast and the Southeastern Conference. That’s exactly what UF is getting with Muschamp.
For Miami, the Hurricanes have made a living on, and much of their success on brining in the fiery young unknowns. Former head coaches Jimmy Johnson, Dennis Erickson and Butch Davis were no exception. Golden is young, 41, and a fiery defensive minded coach who has on his resume, a program turned around. He also has ties to the ACC, having been on staff at both Boston College and Virginia.
The hires work for one reason, though. Both are known as excellent recruiters. Sitting in the nation’s biggest hotbed of football recruiting, that may be all it takes for both to return back to what the programs once were. The first job for both coaches will be to scrap together the best recruiting classes they can.
Muschamp consistently brought in high profile players, as an assistant under Nick Saban at LSU, as well as defensive coordinator at Texas. The Gators currently have 17 commitments, 12 who call the sunshine state home. Muschamp’s task will be to convince the current commits to stay with the Gators, most importantly quarterback Jeff Driskel. Whether the Gators, or Longhorns, will lose recruits due to the situation remains to be seen. It’s rare that a new coach can keep all of the current commits.
Golden is walking into almost a clean slate at Miami, who have just 15 scholarships to give. The Hurricanes call just four current recruits their own, down from the seven before the Randy Shannon firing. Golden’s first move will be to bring back the commitment of Miami native and five-star quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater, who de-committed within the last week. The rest of Golden’s venture should be all his own work in south Florida.
CBS Sports national recruiting analyst Tom Lemming has the highest of praise for Golden and thinks that the young and energetic coach can work wonders in the nation’s best place to fill a team. Lemming called Golden “a home run,” and put him in the same class as Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, Pete Carroll, Mack Brown and Jim Tressell. “He’s as good as those five, he just never had the platform like he will at Miami,” said Lemming in an interview Sunday.
Whether or not the surprise of both hiring’s turns into an eye-opening amount of wins next season remains to be seen. Work needs to be done with both programs, though, which brought in 7-5 seasons this year.
In Muschamp, it’s clear the Gators were looking to return as the champ of the SEC, while the Hurricanes are just looking to return to the Golden age of ‘Canes football.
Photo Credit: Muschamp – Bob Levey – Getty Images
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