“COACH BOOM” RESPONDS TO THE CRITICS
University of South Carolina head football coach Will Muschamp embarked this week on his #SpursUp tour … (which for those of you struggling to make ends meet in dirt poor South Carolina is not free).
Before he left, though, Muschamp addressed the controversy and “misinformation” surrounding his recent decision not to retain the program’s longtime chaplain, Adrian Despres.
“There’s a lot of misinformation out there,” the 44-year-old Rome, Georgia native said. “We are expanding our spiritual development program.”
Referring to Despres in particular, Muschamp said “just because you’re not retained doesn’t mean you’re not a good coach, it doesn’t mean you’re not a good support staff member – it just means that you’re not going to be with us moving forward.”
“Every decision that I make within the organization is about the student-athlete – it’s about the spiritual development, the social development, the academic development and the athletic development,” he added.
Fine by us …
This website doesn’t really care what “spiritual guidance” athletes receive – although there’s a fair argument to be made that government-subsidized institutions of higher learning should take care so as not to be viewed as endorsing one faith over another.
Just ask Clemson University’s Dabo Swinney about that. Or … don’t.
As we’ve said previously, we believe the entire higher education system should be privatized – which would leave each program free to pursue its own “spiritual” path (to the extent that has anything to do with blocking and tackling).
As for Muschamp, he may not have been South Carolina’s first choice to replace longtime head coach Steve Spurrier – but so far he’s put together a solid coaching staff and managed to stave off what could have easily been a recruiting disaster.
In other words he’s done a good job so far and we’re going to cut him some slack …
Muschamp’s team returns to Columbia on August 1 for fall camp and opens the 2016 season on September 1 in Nashville, Tennessee against Vanderbilt. The Gamecocks are hoping to rebound from a disastrous 2015 campaign that saw them finish 3-9.
South Carolina is Muschamp’s second head coaching gig. He posted a 28-21 mark in four seasons at the University of Florida after successful defensive coordinator stints at Auburn, Texas and LSU.