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South Carolina has parted ways with football coach Will Muschamp, athletic director Ray Tanner announced on Sunday.
Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, former Colorado State head coach, will be the Gamecocks’ interim coach for the remainder of the season.
“After a thorough evaluation of our football program, we decided to make a change with the football head coach,” Tanner said in a statement. “I appreciate everything Will Muschamp has done for our program and wish him and his family the best for the future. I believe our program will be well served by Coach Bobo as a Interim Head Coach as we search for a new leader for Gamecock Football. “
The decision to fire Muschamp follows South Carolina’s third straight loss, a 59-42 loss to Ole Miss on Saturday. The Gamecocks (2-5) allowed a total of 159 points during their three-game losing streak and gave up 708 yards of total offense in the loss to Ole Miss.
Muschamp, in his fifth season as coach of South Carolina, was 28-30 overall. He recorded more wins in his first three seasons (22) than any coach in school history and only edged out Steve Spurrier (28) after four seasons as a coach of South Carolina.
But the Gamecocks finished 4-8 a year ago and have lost 14 of their last 20 games since the 28-0 Belk Bowl loss to Virginia to end the 2018 season.
Under the terms of Muschamp’s contract, his buyout was in the range of $ 15 million if he were to be fired at the end of this season.
South Carolina President Bob Caslen and Tanner briefed players and staff on the coach change at a meeting on Sunday.
“I appreciate everything Coach Muschamp has done for our university. He is a true professional and a strong advocate for our student-athletes,” said Caslen. “Under his leadership, our football players have excelled in the classroom and served as mentors in the community. It will also bring much-needed stability to the program. However, I believe it is time to move in a different direction.”
This is the second time Muschamp has been fired from an SEC head coach position. He was sacked by Florida towards the end of the 2014 season and coached the last two games before retiring. He spent the 2015 season at Auburn as the Tigers’ defensive coordinator.
Muschamp’s combined head coach record in South Carolina and Florida is 56-51. In his second season in Florida in 2012, he was named the SEC Co-Coach of the Year with Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin. Muschamp took over from Urban Meyer in Florida and Spurrier in South Carolina.
The school said in its statement that “the search for a new head football coach will begin immediately.”
Hugh Freeze of Liberty and Billy Napier of Louisiana are expected to be among the primary targets to replace Muschamp, with Shane Beamer, Oklahoma’s assistant head coach on offense.
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