Muschamp has no timetable to replace Weis, wants to see improvement in Gator Bowl
Friday, December 9, 2011 | Football, Scott Carter
In a season of transition, it seems fitting that Florida will cap head coach Will Muschamp's first year with Muschamp searching for a new offensive coordinator.
Charlie Weis' departure on Thursday to become head coach at Kansas was a surprise, but Muschamp doesn't expect there to be any lingering effects on the field by the time Florida faces Ohio State on Jan. 2 in the Gator Bowl.
The Gators (6-6) need a win to finish with a winning record and a 32nd consecutive non-losing season. Ohio State (6-6) is trying to avoid its first losing season since 1988.
“Kids are resilient. The fan base isn't as much,'' Muschamp said at Thursday's Gator Bowl press conference. “They're going to be fine. We're going to be fine. We're going to improve and we're going to get better from it, and that's the way you've got to look at it.''
While Weis was Muschamp's splashiest hire when he assembled his first UF staff, Florida's offense struggled for much of the season due to various reasons, most notably an injury to quarterback John Brantley.
With Weis gone, Muschamp said running backs coach Brian White will assume play-calling duties for the Gator Bowl.
“No timetable on the hire,'' Muschamp said. "You've got to make the right hire. We're going to go out and hire an outstanding coach. Hey, we're at the University of Florida. We're going to be able to go hire an outstanding football coach that's going to fit what I want done within our offense and within our system and that's what we're going to do, and I'm going to take my time on it and make sure we hire the right guy and get the right fit, because that's really what it's about.
“It's kind of like recruiting. You're going out and finding the right fit for what you want as you move forward and, again, philosophically, doing the things that I want to do. We've just got to have more production.”
As for the Gator Bowl, when asked if he would play mostly young players and perhaps start either true freshmen quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett or Jeff Driskel over Brantley, Muschamp said that's not the plan.
"We're going to win the game. We're coaching to win the game. I don't believe in all that. If they offer us the best opportunity to win, yes. But again, Johnny Brantley is our starting quarterback at this time.”
Before Muschamp talked about what was ahead for the program, he was asked to reflect on his one year working with Weis, who he gave full control of the offense. The Gators finished 102nd nationally (334.2 yards per game) in total offense.
“I think Charlie did a good job. I think obviously we had an awful lot of confidence offensively going into the fifth ballgame of the year,'' Muschamp said of UF's 4-0 start. “We lost our starting quarterback and we play with two freshmen quarterbacks who are going to be outstanding, who are very good players and I'm very excited about their future, but at the end of the day we had the injury, we lost some confidence offensively, we got out of kilter, we started searching for answers and things we could go against good people.
“When you lose that confidence it's tough to regain that confidence. But again, considering the situations and the circumstances, again I was very pleased with the job he did.''
