Gators pick up option on Muschamp through 2016

By Adam Silverstein
February 24, 2012

Head coach Will Muschamp has received a one-year extension from the Florida Gators and is now under contract with the school through 2016.

Sporting News’s Matt Hayes, who first reported the move Friday afternoon, said Muschamp’s one-year extension does not come with an increase in salary and that his original five-year, $13.75 million contract is now a six-year deal worth $16.5 million.

“Coach Muschamp’s original contract was for five years with an option year,” Florida spokesperson Steve McClain said in a statement after the report was released. “The [University Athletic Association] exercised that option year in January and he now has five years remaining on his current contract.”

In his first year at the helm of the Gators’ program, Muschamp led Florida to a 7-6 record, capping off a .500 regular season with a 24-17 victory over Ohio State in the 2012 Gator Bowl on Jan. 2.

He recently corralled the No. 3 recruiting class in the country, according to Rivals.com, and already has 10 high school football player committed to the Gators for 2013.

Muschamp’s first year with Florida was not without plenty of ups and downs. The Gators’ transition to a pro-style offense was a rocky one. However, UF’s defense was ranked No. 8 nationally at season’s end and showed plenty of promise heading into 2012.

He made a splash before the season began by hiring Charlie Weis to run Florida’s offense, but the unit did not produce as many expected and Weis ended up leaving to take the head coaching job at Kansas. Muschamp rebounded by hiring Boise State offensive coordinator Brent Pease, a highly-regarded coach who was also coveted by Alabama head coach Nick Saban, in January.

The Gators also lost director of strength and conditioning Mickey Marotti when former Florida head coach Urban Meyer took the Ohio State job, but Muschamp rebounded again and secured the services of Jeff Dillman, the (now former) head of physical conditioning for the IMG Performance Institute.

Muschamp’s first 13 months have also been punctuated with 10 player arrests including eight for either underage drinking or marijuana possession, one for driving with a suspended license and restating arrest, and one for misdemeanor domestic assault. Three of the nine players arrested are no longer with the Gators’ football program.