Will Muschamp stood behind his team as the final notes of the alma mater finished reverberating through the concrete structure that is Williams-Brice Stadium.
He sauntered off the field, mask dipped just below his mouth, two state troopers by his side, his gaze never wavering from the ground as he headed for the locker room.
The fans that were there—limited in part because of Coronavirus and also because the Gamecocks were just blown out 48-3 by Texas A&M—didn’t pay much attention to him or the team jogging off.
There was no concrete way of knowing it at the time, but that long walk to the locker room served as Muschamp’s final moments at Williams-Brice.
The Muschamp era officially came to an end Sunday night after the Gamecocks’ third straight loss, a 59-42 defeat at Ole Miss, ending the frustration and anxiousness around the fan base that had been building since a season-opening loss to North Carolina in 2019.
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Now this isn’t going to be an ode to Muschamp or even a few hundred words bashing him, because it wasn’t all bad nor was it all good.
Give Muschamp credit for the lightning-quick progress he made in his first few seasons.
Muschamp revitalized the Gamecock recruiting department, bringing that and the creative media wing into the 21st century after years of neglect by Steve Spurrier.
He recruited well from the jump, bringing in current NFL players Bryan Edwards and Javon Kinlaw while recruiting Jaycee Horn, a future first round pick, and a handful of others on the team currently who will have chances to play professionally.
He presided over two major football renovations, helping facilitate the designing of the Long Family Operations Center and being there for the redoing of Williams-Brice.
But the problem with all of that is none of those things directly win football games. The issues some had with Muschamp never happened Sunday through Friday, but rather on 12 to 13 Saturdays a year.
The Gamecocks did win early, as Muschamp will be quick to tell you, winning more games in the team’s first three seasons than any other staff in history and making three bowl games to start a tenure, again the first time in school history.
But after that, the wheels slowly fell off.
His tenure ending wasn’t a car explosion—fast and abrupt—but more of a driver ignoring a check engine light while humming at 80 miles per hour down Interstate 26 watching the tire tread wear, transmission slowly die and the car sputter toward a finish line.
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There were signs early—a loss to Kentucky after starting 2-0 and a blown lead to Texas A&M in his second year followed by getting blown out by Georgia in 2018—but the turning point in Muschamp’s tenure came Nov. 10, 2018 against Florida.
After going up 31-14, South Carolina began coaching not to lose instead of coaching to win—a common theme of the Muschamp era—and ultimately lost by four.
Since then, the Gamecocks are 8-17 with two of those wins coming against FCS teams in UT-Chattanooga and Charleston Southern.
Injuries would pile up in 2018 as the Gamecocks limped to a 7-6 year and a blowout in the Belk Bowl, before going 6-13 to end Muschamp’s time in Columbia.
And it would be one thing if new problems kept popping up, but it was a lot of the same issues plaguing the Gamecocks, especially late.
South Carolina would go conservative offensively numerous times, even if they were trailing (a 7-minute drive while down 14 to Florida this year illustrates that perfectly) and his hard-headedness was enough to infuriate some of the most mild-mannered fans.
It seemed like it was always one step forward, two steps back, for a program that never found a way to get over the hump.
It’s hard to find fault in the majority of recruiting—misses and misevaluations happen, but the Gamecocks were able to restock the cupboard with more Division I talent compared to what he inherited— yet at some point talent has to translate to on the field results.
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At some point, a coach who’s known for his defenses can’t be giving up 159 points in three games in year five.
At some point, a head coach with a track record of going conservative in games has to show some growth and coach to win.
And with every loss or missed opportunity or injury, concealment of the toxicity from the fan base grew to the point where it was untenable to keep him around.
What comes next for South Carolina is still unclear. The long-term answer at head coach won’t be settled until December, but a move at the moment, given where things are, seemed logical.
There are times when college football rears back and reminds you that this is a results-oriented business.
That was very clear Sunday night.
