Gus Malzahn went out and got his man.
As Malzahn introduced Will Muschamp as Auburn's new defensive coordinator Saturday, the head coach spoke repeatedly about how Muschamp is one of the best defensive coaches in the game.
"After I decided to make a change, my goal was to go out there and get the best defensive coordinator in the country," Malzahn said. "Also, I wanted a class guy."
Malzahn decided that Muschamp was both of those things, and immediately began making moves to bring him to the Plains.
"(Muschamp) was the first guy we contacted," Malzahn said. "He's the guy that I wanted, and we're blessed to have him here at Auburn."
Malzahn may be on to something when he says that Muschamp is on of the best in the business.
During his time at Florida , Mushcamp's defenses were consistently in the top 10 in the country, allowing only 19 points per game over the Muschamps tenure, per ESPN.
How Malzahn and Muschamp will work together remains to be seen, but as far as coaching styles go, the two definitely have something in common.
"I like his energy," Malzahn said. "I am an energy guy too."
Muschamp and Malzahn are both known around the college football world for their sideline intensity and Muschamp said he's excited to have the opportunity to work with a coach like Malzahn.
"I got to know (Malzahn) at the meetings we have down in Destin every year," Muschamp said. "I've got a lot of respect for him on the offensive side of the ball.
Prior to Muschamp's hiring, there were rumors about his defense struggling to co-exist with Malzahn's hurry-up offense, but Muschamp put those rumors to bed quickly.
"Last year at Auburn, they averaged 72 plays per game offensively," Muschamp said. "At the University of Florida we averaged 70. So there's a huge difference sometimes in perception and reality.
Muschamp added that it will be his defense's responsibility to set the offense up for success.
"It's our job to get off the field," Muschamp said. "It's our job to get the ball back to the offense. "
Leading up to Auburn's Outback Bowl appearance against Wisconsin, Muschamp will monitor practice and evaluate his new defense, but he won't coach in the game. That duty will be left to secondary coach Charlie Harbison.
"I'm going to come back for practice Monday through Thursday and just watch practice and monitor practice and get to know the players a little bit more," Muschamp said. (I'll) go and enjoy Christmas in Gainesville and Gus and I will make a decision from there according to how he wants to handle that."
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