When Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp looks across the field during the 80th Iron Bowl this Saturday, he’ll spot a familiar face.
Muschamp was on Alabama coach Nick Saban’s staff from 2001-05, and he said the two coaches still maintain a close relationship outside of football season.
“I wouldn’t be standing here if it weren’t for the opportunities he gave me a long time ago at LSU,” Muschamp said. “The opportunities he gave me as a young coach — as a position coach and then as a coordinator — it certainly has had a huge impact on my career. There’s no question about that.”
Muschamp was the defensive coordinator at Valdosta State before Saban gave him a chance at the Division-I level as LSU’s linebackers coach in 2001.
Saban promoted Muschamp to defensive coordinator prior to the 2002 season, and the duo developed one of the most formidable defenses in college football. In 2003, LSU led the nation in scoring defense (11 points per game) and total defense (252 yards per game) en route to a BCS national championship.
Muschamp followed Saban to the NFL in 2005 as associate head coach of the defense for the Miami Dolphins, but he left after one season to become the defensive coordinator at Auburn.
After Muschamp was fired by Florida in November 2014, he contacted Saban to seek advice about potential coaching availabilities.
“I didn’t talk with him specifically about coming here, but we do talk a lot,” Muschamp said. “Certainly not during the season, but just as far as different things that are concerning. He’s had a huge impact on my career, and I’ll never forget that.”
Muschamp is 1-3 in his career against his former boss. The last meeting came in 2014, when Saban’s Alabama team beat Florida, 42-21. Muschamp’s lone win came in 2007, when Auburn beat Alabama 17-10 in Muschamp’s final year as defensive coordinator.
The two will meet once again Saturday in Jordan-Hare Stadium, but Muschamp’s focus is on the Auburn defense, which will try to slow down Alabama’s balanced offensive attack.
“It’s a huge game," Muschamp said. "It’s a rivalry game. It means so much to Auburn and our people. Again, we just need to prepare the right way, prepare our players to play well in the game, and that’s what it’s going to take. We just really need to focus on Auburn and what we need to do to be successful.”
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