Muschamp article

[quietfan 233]

Good read:

http://www.al.com/sports/birminghamnews/ks...0730.xml&coll=2

Put Muschamp on list of SEC's key newcomers

Friday, July 21, 2006

They're not coming to SEC Kickoff 2006 next week, not one of them, but they're a vital part of every college football program. They help make the difference between winning and losing.

Sociology professors? No, coordinators.

Hire the right one, as Tommy Tuberville did two years ago on offense, and perfection is attainable. Hire the wrong one, and you might have to go back to the drawing board

And so Al Borges has a new counterpart in an old foe in ex-Dolphins assistant Will Muschamp.

They schemed against each other not long ago, but Borges insisted he hasn't rubbed it in, and Muschamp backed him up.

They both said Auburn's offensive coordinator hasn't gloated to its new defensive coordinator about the program's most important victory in years, the 2004 comeback against LSU.

Muschamp was the LSU defensive boss at the time. All afternoon, his defense stonewalled Borges' offense. Down to its last chance, Auburn went the distance for the only touchdown it needed.

A drive that makes a season that ends 13-0 would seem to be worth a good-natured woof, but Borges has mentioned it only once, to ask why LSU didn't blitz on the winning TD pass.

"I don't like posturing too much," Borges said. "This is the ultimate ebb and flow job."

Seasons and fortunes change. So do coordinators. One reason Auburn went from 13-0 in 2004 to 9-3 a year ago is because it had to replace defensive coordinator Gene Chizik and did so with David Gibbs.

Auburn appears to have upgraded at that position with Muschamp. No defense has slowed an Auburn offense under Borges like the 2004 LSU defense.

"He'll give you more looks than most defensive coordinators," Borges said. "He's a headache to an offense."

Any list of the most significant SEC newcomers this season would be incomplete without Muschamp's name. When Nick Saban hired Dom Capers as a Miami Dolphins assistant last winter, Muschamp knew he didn't want to stick around as a co-coordinator. When the Auburn job opened, he knew he did want to get back to the SEC.

"And," he said, "I'd rather raise my kids in Auburn than Miami."

It's one more thing he and Tuberville have in common.

Muschamp has a rep as a coach who loves to blitz, but he said that label is too simple.

"The No.1 thing you've got to do as a defense is affect the quarterback," he said. "That doesn't just mean blitzing."

That means showing him different looks to start the play and hitting him to finish it. Hey, there are times when Muschamp will rush four and drop the other seven into coverage.

Good luck figuring out which four are coming.

Borges and Jason Campbell finally did two years ago to write a dramatic end to Muschamp's last game on the Plain.

On that winning touchdown pass, LSU did rush only four men, Muschamp said Thursday, and "that's my fault."

Nice to know he'll take the blame. If he's the coach that Tuberville and a lot of others think he is, he won't have to do it much.

I particluarly like the part about he and CTT prefering to raise kids in Auburn than Miami. Hopefully that bodes well for some long term stability on the staff. If we can keep CTT, CWM, and CAB together for a while, the sky's the limit as to what Auburn football might achieve.

[autigeremt 6,641]

Agree 100%!

War Eagle!