Texas football head coach Steve Sarkisian is revamping his staff with past Southeastern Conference rivals. Sarkisian already grabbed Florida associate head coach Jabbar Juluke to lead the running backs. But now he's bringing in a former SEC head coach via Georgia — who happens to have Texas ties.
Will Muschamp is leaving the Bulldogs and returning to the Longhorns — the university announced. “Sark” in the process relieves Pete Kwiatkowski of his defensive coordinator duties. He also parts ways with passing game coordinator Duane Akina.
Muschamp is familiar with Austin. He received a “head coach in waiting” label for when Mack Brown retires. However, Muschamp ended up taking the Florida opening in 2011 — leaving Texas fans stunned. Muschamp coached four seasons in Gainesville before his firing in 2014.
He eventually landed at South Carolina and led the Gamecocks for five seasons before leaving in 2020.
Steve Sarkisian reacts to hiring Will Muschamp to Texas
Sarkisian thanked both departing defensive coaches for their services. But he revealed why Muschamp reentered the picture in Austin.
“Having the opportunity to hire Will Muschamp provides us the leadership to take our defense to another level,” Sarkisian said via a university release. “Will is a guy I’ve known for a long time, always admired and is as good of a defensive mind and coach as I’ve ever coached against.”
Sarkisian added what type of unit the Longhorns will be with Muschamp back.
“His defenses are relentless; he absolutely gets the best out of his staff and players and is such an extremely well-respected coach,” Sarkisian said. “I know Longhorn Nation knows him well, he led some incredible defenses here on the Forty, and I’m so fired up to be bringing him back to Texas. He’ll be an awesome addition to our staff.”
Muschamp will even coach against Arch Manning during 2026 spring practices. Manning confirmed his return to Texas during the week of Dec. 15. The 54-year-old Muschamp was a defensive analyst the past two seasons for Georgia. He last coached at Texas from 2008 to 2010.
