At Auburn, he said “Boom, mother f#@%*!” on national television after his defense forced a punt in the third quarter.
At Texas, he began bleeding from his ear after the Longhorns’ secondary made an early mistake in a 42-point blowout of Florida Atlantic.
At Florida, he’s been crowd surfing after big wins and yelling during halftime interviews.
Will Muschamp isn’t one to mess with.
The Gainesville native arrived at Florida two years ago expecting to turn around a program suffering a Tebow hangover and in need of new energy.
After a season in which Muschamp’s fiery ways couldn’t overcome a lack of physicality and depth, the Gators are one win away from clinching a Southeastern Conference title game appearance.
Teams ranging from cellar dweller Kentucky to perennial power LSU have felt Florida’s wrath.
This team isn’t just good. They’re downright scary to play against, and the unpredictable ways of coach Boom are the reason why.
Before Muschamp, Florida had Urban Meyer. Although he won two national titles at UF, there was something awry about Meyer’s last season.
Meyer always seemed disinterested, often standing on the sidelines with his arms crossed. He left Florida due to personal reasons after an 8-5 season in 2010. The ultimate micromanager worked himself out of Gainesville.
Meyer’s tenure is a touchy subject in the Gators locker room.
Players don’t like talking about him, and there was never a true answer about the reasons behind his departure.
“[Muschamp] treats us as adults,” Buck linebacker Lerentee McCray said on Aug. 6, 2011 regarding the difference between the two coaches.
Whether or not that’s true is an issue for another day, but what can’t be argued is the energy that came from players like Brandon Siler, Tim Tebow and Brandon Spikes.
With the emotional leaders of the two national championship teams gone, the Gators looked flat in Meyer’s final season.
The nation’s No. 2 recruiting class according to Rivals.com — headlined by Dominique Easley, Sharrif Floyd and Ronald Powell — never meshed with the team’s veterans.
After suffering growing pains in Muschamp’s first season, these Gators are a year older, a year healthier and have taken on the personality of their coach.
Florida is playing the smash-mouth, angry brand of football that brought them an unexpected BCS championship in 2006. In 2008, UF won on supreme talent.
“He’s a high-energy guy,” quarterback Jeff Driskel said of Muschamp on Saturday. “He’s going to be there during practice, and he’s going to be there during games. He’s not going to change.”
In the locker room after defeating LSU on Oct. 6, Muschamp interrupted his own postgame speech by jumping on his players, who held him up in celebration.
Muschamp tackled linebacker Jelani Jenkins on the sidelines after his second-quarter interception against South Carolina. The play was eventually called back due to an offside penalty.
During a local radio interview at halftime on Saturday, Muschamp couldn’t control his emotions regarding Florida’s 21-6 lead against South Carolina and some of the questionable calls that were made in the first 30 minutes.
“We just have to continue to capitalize on what we’re doing and OVERCOME THE ADVERSITY ON THE FIELD!”
Yes, the capital letters are necessary. Muschamp almost took off interviewer Brady Ackerman’s head.
Who wouldn’t want to play for a guy who cares that much about his football team?
“He’s a players’ coach,” linebacker Jon Bostic said before last season. “He can relate to the players and get players going.”
The coach who used to attend Gator games as a kid has brought a swagger back into a football program that desperately needed it.
So what if it’s one viral outburst at a time?
Contact Adam Pincus at apincus@alligator.org.
Gators coach Will Muschamp has Florida at 7-0 heading into its matchup against Georgia on Saturday. He has reenergized a team that went 15-11 after winning two national titles the previous four seasons.
