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Jan 1, 2009 1:52 pm US/Central
With Mack & Muschamp, Texas Set For Future
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) ―
The defensive coordinator's job at Texas has been like a revolving door the last few years.
When Will Muschamp walked in, the door stopped spinning.
Just a few days shy of a complete calendar year at Texas, the vibrant young coach has entrenched himself as a long-term Longhorn, with a big raise to a $900,000 annual salary that kicked in Thursday, and a promise that he'll be head coach whenever Mack Brown decides to step down.
All of which leads to the question: Is Brown planning to retire soon?
No, Brown says, he's having too much fun. The third-ranked Longhorns (11-1) have won at least 10 games eight consecutive seasons -- the second best streak in NCAA history -- and if they beat No. 10 Ohio State (10-2) on Monday night in the Fiesta Bowl, could very well start the 2009 season ranked No. 1.
"I'm going to be here a long time," said Brown, who has eight years left on his contract.
If so, Muschamp could be like Prince Charles waiting to assume the throne of England. He sounded Thursday like he can be patient.
"There's no timetable," he said. "It's exciting that it will happen. That's not something that's going to happen tomorrow."
Muschamp, 37, was already one of the hot names in coaching when Brown hired him from Auburn to be the fifth Texas defensive coordinator in six years. And Before his first season in Austin had ended, his name was being mentioned for head coaching jobs at Clemson, Washington, Tennessee and Auburn.
So why commit to a Texas program where he's still planting roots and may leave him waiting for several more years?
"I've had opportunities to be a head coach. This is the best one, the best one in the country," Muschamp said. "If I left Austin, my wife would want to stay here."
Muschamp's deal with Texas won't be finalized for several months, but some details are starting to emerge.
His raise from $425,000 to $900,000 was announced in November. Athletic director DeLoss Dodds told The Associated Press on Thursday that his head coaching salary will start at $2 million with incremental raises. Because his salary will be more than $1 million, it must be approved by the school's board of regents.
And a key element that could have given a big hint about Brown's longevity won't be included.
The contract won't have a penalty or buyout for either Muschamp or the school should he leave for another job or if he's stuck waiting several years for Brown to retire.
At Florida State, assistant Jimbo Fisher has a clause in his contract that pays him $2.5 million if he's not the head coach by the 2011 season. It also requires him to pay FSU the same amount if he leaves before then.
Dodds didn't want a deal like that in Muschamp's contract.
"We've never had any coach pay us to leave. If somebody wants to leave, and they don't leave because they owe us an amount of money, that not a good thing," Dodds told the AP. "If the time is too long and he wants to leave, he can leave. It just seemed to us that was not the way to do it."
Muschamp is the right guy to take over the program someday, Dodds said.
"Will has all the talent and energy to get the job done," Dodds said. "It's going to the right answer."
After Brown hired him away from Auburn in January 2008, Muschamp hit the ground running on the recruiting trails around Texas and immediately shook things up in his first spring practice. His unbridled enthusiasm on the sideline and penchant for chest bumping his players lit a fire in the defense that woefully underperformed in 2007.
In the first game of the season, a 52-10 win over Florida Atlantic, he ripped off his headset with such a violent motion that it cut a huge gash under his left ear. A long line of blood ran from his cheek to his chin while he met with his players on the sideline.
"He's a guy that's so fiery and demands so much. That's why we work so hard for him," said senior All-American defensive end Brian Orakpo. "When we learned he was going to stay, I was happy for the younger guys."
Under Muschamp, Texas ranked first in the Big 12 in total defense, scoring defense and rushing defense. The defense gave up big yards passing, but so did everybody in a league dominated by several of the most dynamic offenses in the country.
Muschamp's philosophy is that big plays and key moments win games. When asked about some unflattering defensive statistics after one early-season victory, he muttered "stats are for losers".
Yet the biggest play of the season came against his defense. The last-second touchdown catch by Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree ultimately kept the Longhorns out of the national championship.
Still, it was just two weeks later that Texas announced it had found its next head coach, even if Brown isn't ready yet to call it quits. Brown said he's the one who initiated the whole deal.
"I am the one who started the conversations, because I didn't want him to go," Brown said. "He's a hot item and a lot of people would like to have him as their head coach. What we wanted was to keep him as our defensive coordinator."
And it was an offer Muschamp couldn't refuse.
"I don't think Coach Brown got it out of his mouth before I said yes," Muschamp said.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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