Will Muschamp is talking up his new offensive coordinator, saying he’d still be at Florida had he hired him in his first year there.
The newly-hired South Carolina coach was effusive in his praise for Kurt Roper, currently an offensive assistant for the Browns and Muschamp’s offensive coordinator in his final season with the Gators. Roper will take the reigns of South Carolina’s offense after the NFL season ends.
“I feel like, if I’d hired Kurt in my first year at Florida, I’d probably still be there,” Muschamp told SiriusXM College Sports Nation, via the Sporting News. “That’s the confidence I have in him and moving forward. I think he’s an outstanding football coach.”
The Florida offense was better during the one year Roper was in charge, but the team still finished 7-5 and that wasn’t enough to save Muschamp’s job. Now, though, the coach is willing to admit some mistakes.
“When you came in and tried to transition to pro-style offense, there were some things that didn’t fit for us,” Muschamp said of his tenure at Florida. “More than anything, let’s do something your kids can do. Let’s not try to fit a square peg into a round hole, and I felt like I did that at Florida our first couple years.”
Muschamp is certainly feeling bullish about what’s to come at South Carolina, though it may be fair to say he’s still not pleased by how things ended at Florida.
