Alright Muschamp, you’ve obviously got no self control, so now we’ve got to go back and do this again.
A few months ago, Will Muschamp insulted Florida and their facilities in response to a question that had nothing to do with Florida, after which I pointed out that this was maybe not the brightest thing to say about a school that was paying him north of $6 million to basically go away. And now, Muschamp has decided to get a little smart-assed with the coach who replaced him.
As we all know by now, Jim McElwain does not believe the roster Will Muschamp left him with is a very good one- or as he put it, “insufficient”. Muschamp didn’t appreciate being directly refuted, and sarcastically shot back, “Hey, this guy thinks he can win with his dog, right? Does he like his dog better than his players?”
I don’t have a problem with Muschamp defending the quality of the players, or the team, that he left McElwain. I do have a problem with Muschamp thinking he can just respond with sarcasm- which in a backhanded sort of way hurts the Gators’ recruiting- and get away with it. Recruits’ minds are fragile, remember. They’re 16-17 year old kids with tremendous egos, and are easy to make an influence on with the right wording. Of course, Muschamp was a horrible coach, but he’s a rather tactful recruiter, and is skirting around the facts to use the mess he started at Florida to his advantage on the recruiting trail.
I’ve asked nine different kids in the Class of 2016 whether or not Muschamp negatively recruits against Florida. Eight of them- including two who are currently committed to Florida- said yes, he directly puts down the Gators in private meetings with them. And now we see him doing it in a much more covert, yet public manner. We as Gator fans know that Muschamp wouldn’t know offensive talent if it jumped up and bit him in the Adam’s apple (which Jordan Scarlett confirmed to me), but recruits don’t all know that, and if they believe Muschamp’s assertion that McElwain has talent and then McElwain doesn’t win right away, McElwain then looks bad because he had all that talent. It doesn’t matter if this logic is faulty or not in reality, all that matters is whether or not recruits believe it. Muschamp’s sarcastic quip, while not that damaging on its own, can potentially carry a lot of weight with some top players who are down to Florida and Auburn.
So let’s do this again: cut it out, Will. You are arguably the worst coach in Gator history, as no coach ever won less with such high expectations of the program over a span of several years; anything bad you say about Florida looks like nothing but the sourest of grapes. And if Florida had such a talented roster, why couldn’t you win with it? Why did you go 10-13 your last two years if the team McElwain is inheriting is so damned good? Why should he be expected to win right away when you couldn’t? Is this your way of admitting you’re an incompetent buffoon? Why should I have to be asking these questions?
I can promise you one thing, Muschamp. This is not a good look for you. Any effort you can make to damage the progress of the program you once worked at, no matter how sneaky and unnoticed it is to the general public, only makes you look like the craziest of exes to anybody who stops and thinks about it. Just stop talking and coach your team. Leave Florida out of it.
