TALLAHASSEE — Outside Doak Campbell Stadium lie the graves of the conquered. Florida State’s Sod Cemetery serves as the football program’s trophy case, boasting the buried battlegrounds from some of the Seminoles’ most memorable victories.
On the 11 plots of dirt that marked the demise of Florida teams in the past, orange and blue flowers welcomed Will Muschamp to a resting place of his own.
But unlike the clumps of opposing school’s turf that remain memorialized with a plaque and guarded with a steel-iron fence, Muschamp’s finale at Florida won’t earn a spot in FSU’s museum of success — only the best of the team’s road victories called for a place among history.
Instead, the final memories of Muschamp’s 24-19 loss on Saturday will lie trapped within the famous brick-ornamented walls of The Doak, where the four-year head coach of the Gators became America’s latest victim of unemployment to the thunderous bursts of cheers and fireworks.
The circumstances surrounding the contest played into the typical Muschamp-ion script of falling short with the promise of moving ahead. When the Gators were set up with a chance to succeed, they stumbled to follow through in critical scenarios.
"We’ve had our opportunities," Muschamp said. "You look at two other games where we had the game in hand and had our opportunities to get it done and we didn’t get it done. It falls on my shoulders, and that’s why they’re going to be looking for a coach."
Although a last hurrah from the down-and-out Gators would have served as an idealistic goodbye to Muschamp as it did for Ron Zook 10 years ago, an erased nine-point lead better symbolized the frustration of years past.
Success was just beyond the precipice but always out of reach.
So marks the tomb of the Muschamp era, a time that sprouted in hope until it was slowly crushed by reality.
"I’ve got to do a TV show tomorrow," Muschamp said as he spoke to the media Saturday.
For every fairy-tale, Rudy-esque ending in sports, there is an equally average and painful story that reveals the true cruelty of the real world not found in Hollywood’s scripted creations.
A day after publicly losing his job in front of a nationally televised audience, Muschamp was still under contract to report to work to film his weekly show with Mick Hubert. Sometimes life doesn’t give you a romantic ride into the sunset. Sometimes it gives you a five-point loss and a chore on your first day of unemployment.
"When you get fired," Muschamp joked, "I’m not a very good negotiator."
But with the long, drawn-out departure of Muschamp now in the past, only the players are left to cling onto the bitter memories left behind from this coaching regime.
And yet, no more than 30 minutes after suffering their latest defeat, the Gators universally stuck by their embattled coach. For Max Garcia, Muschamp didn’t hang his hat on the number of wins he earned but instead on the integrity of the program.
Maybe it cost Muschamp his job, but he never lost the respect from his players.
"He was a man that always addressed our character before and after losses," Garcia said. "He wasn’t saying, ‘Yeah forget the people who don’t believe in us.’ He was never like that … So that’s going about it the right way. Knowing you, knowing your family, that’s doing it the right way."
Even down to his final game, Muschamp focused on keeping his players in line and out of trouble.
When Gerald Willis shoved Jameis Winston on the sideline during Saturday’s matchup, Muschamp wasted no time in sending the fiery defensive lineman to the locker room for the rest of the game.
Afterward, Muschamp said he would have dismissed Willis from the team if he was still in charge — a punishment interim head coach D.J. Durkin may keep within reach when preparing for the team’s bowl game.
And when Tevin Westbrook dropped yet another key pass for the Gators, Muschamp showed his trademark passion despite knowing the battle he was in was over.
Even if he had won the game, the war was still lost. He would still be looking for a job the next day.
However, he never strayed too far from the coach Florida fans have grown to love and hate during these four years. But when Muschamp met his players in the locker room after the game, they did see a side to their coach that they had previously never seen.
"You know, just first time we actually saw him emotional about the situation because he was coaching his last game," redshirt senior Mike Taylor said. "I loved him as a coach and a player. I loved him as a coach and a person even more. Just told us that he loved us and he appreciated everything we did for him as we appreciate him more than he can even realize."
Follow Jonathan Czupryn on Twitter @JCzupryn
UF coach Will Muschamp walks off the field at Doak Campbell Stadium with his wife and kids following Florida's 24-19 loss to No. 3 Florida State on Saturday in Tallahassee.
