The Texas Longhorns football program is shaking up its coaching staff in a big way.
A year after making the College Football Playoff semifinal, head coach Steve Sarkisian is moving on from defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski and defensive backs coach Duane Akina. Texas is bringing back Will Muschamp as the new DC, the school announced.
Texas quickly posted a photo of Muschamp on the social media account in a friendly welcome back to Austin.
Welcome back to the Forty, Will Muschamp 🤘 pic.twitter.com/vD9KGfstHE
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) December 18, 2025
Kwiatkowski was named a Broyles Award finalist last season, which is given to the top assistant coach in the nation.
Muschamp was at Texas from 2008-10 as the DC before taking the Florida Gators head coaching job. Muschamp was also the head coach at South Carolina for five seasons and he has a combined record of 56-51 during those nine years.
After South Carolina parted ways with Muschamp in 2020, he joined Kirby Smart’s coaching staff, where he was most recently a defensive analyst for the Georgia Bulldogs.
Texas finished with a 9-3 record in 2025 and is No. 13 in the final rankings. Sarkisian was adamant that Texas should’ve gotten into the 12-team College Football Playoff field, but they were just on the outside looking in.
Texas QB Arch Manning has reportedly decided to stay with the program, and now the coaching staff is changing a bit with Muschamp returning.
Texas will face the Michigan Wolverines in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Eve at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.
