In early December of 2015, the South Carolina football program was in its lowest point since before 2000. The program had its first season with fewer than five wins since 1999 after finishing with a dismal 3-9 record including a loss to FCS Citadel.

After tasting real success for essentially the first time ever, the football program was in complete shambles as Steve Spurrier resigned. It was a job that multiple high profile coaches took a long look at, shook their heads, and chose to go the other way. Mostly because the rebuilding job at hand was too big.

The man that accepted the job and made no excuses about it was Will Muschamp. The reason being that Will Muschamp saw a bright light at the end of the tunnel at South Carolina.

He took note of the fact that winning big was achievable at South Carolina, and decided to go for it when many thought the challenge was too big.

Now, when he took the job it was certainly not as appealing as the job is today. The facilities were outdated and spaced out, the roster did not have much to work with (especially against SEC competition), and the shoes to fill were huge following legend Steve Spurrier.

However, Will Muschamp was the guy who had a vision for the program and believed in it. 

When Muschamp took the job before the 2016 season, he knew there were pieces of the program that needed a little work, the biggest of those was the facilities. Before the opening of the new facility, players would have to take multiple bus rides each day to outdated facilities just to get to and from practice.

Muschamp knew this was one of the final pieces of the program that needed addressing, and he played a major role in getting the brand new facility in place, as well as the architectural structure of the building itself. That is something that will be in place for decades to come and will pay major dividends to the football program, the university and whichever coaches may come next.

And for that, we have Will Muschamp to thank. 

“Have you seen me and have you seen my wife? I can sell ice to an eskimo!” is a Will Muschamp quote that will not be soon forgotten. Muschamp has always been hailed as a master recruiter.

At Florida, Texas, Auburn, and essentially every other stop along the way Muschamp has proven his ability to land some of the nation’s best talent. The results in Columbia were not much different.

During his tenure at South Carolina, Muschamp was able to reel in seven of the Top 25 recruits in South Carolina’s history. This includes three of the top seven and four of the top 12.

One of the reasons for his success on the recruiting trail is because, believe it or not, Muschamp is the epitome of a Player’s Coach. It is impossible to dispute the fact that the players and their families absolutely love Will Muschamp as a person both on and off the field.

At the end of the day, it comes down to the wins and losses for the head coaching position. But having a man of great character leading the program is certainly something that every university wants to have, and Muschamp did a great job of that if nothing else. His high character is also displayed by his ability to maintain one of the cleanest programs in the SEC, if not the country. 

Now that it’s all over, Gamecock fans should be able to admit that the Muschamp era was not all bad.

The decision to relieve him of his coaching duties was the right one, but there were certainly bright spots along the way and some that Carolina fans wont forget for a long time.

Beating #3 Georgia on the road will stay being one of the biggest upsets in Carolina history for a long time. Coming back to upset Michigan in the Outback Bowl and beating Top 15 Auburn for the first time since 1933 are more games that fans will remember for a long time.

But at the end of the day, Gamecock fans should remember that Muschamp believed in us before we even believed in him. He saw that our program was on the brink of major success and chose to accept the job when many wouldn’t.

Even though his final record at South Carolina isn’t anything to look twice at, he did a lot of things the right way for the program. The state-of-the-art facility that he was instrumental in building was what many considered to be the last piece of the puzzle for the South Carolina football program, and our future coaches will reap the benefits for decades to come.

And for that, we will always have Will Muschamp to thank.