There’s something about football bonds that tends to tie people closer together. Jimbo Fisher and Will Muschamp have memories of winning a national championship together as offensive and defensive coordinators, respectively, at LSU. They still keep a time-share beach house in Panama City.
Fisher and Muschamp have been friends since working at Auburn in the mid-1990s, so it’s hard for them to say how they’ll adjust in the same position for bitter rivals.
But as Muschamp makes his Florida head coaching debut against Florida Atlantic on Saturday, and Fisher deals with national title-contending expectations in his second season at Florida State, it will be interesting to watch how their careers play out.
Will they have pockets of success, as Bill Peterson and Ray Graves in the ’60s? Or hit the lotto, as Bobby Bowden and Steve Spurrier did in a spectacular 12-year run (1990-2001) against each other?
Rivalries are always centered more on schools than coaches. Ohio State’s Woody Hayes vs. Michigan’s Bo Schembechler is considered one of the most fierce coaching rivalries in history, yet they only faced each other 10 times, with Bo prevailing 5-4-1.
One thing is certain: Anything close to Fisher-Muschamp duplicating Bowden-Spurrier, one of the most successful coaching rivalries in any era, would be football Camelot for their respective fan bases.
In the small sample we have to judge Fisher, a 10-win season gives FSU evidence to think he can restore the Seminoles to glory. Muschamp is a total wild card. He has a splendid reputation as a defensive coordinator, but that doesn’t make him the next Bob Stoops.
In all likelihood, Seminoles and Gators fans will look back at Bowden vs. Spurrier as their finest hour. In a 12-year span, they combined to win 15 ACC/SEC titles and three national championships, with a combined record of 250-46-2 (.842). Bowden held an 8-5-1 edge over Spurrier, including a split in bowl rematches.
Try finding coaches at major programs who last long enough to face each other 14 times. Alabama’s Bear Bryant went 13-5 against Auburn’s “Shug” Jordan, but that was more than a generation ago.
Coaches now make a lot more money and are on a shorter leash. Fisher and Muschamp would love to go head-to-head for a decade or longer, but it’s hard to keep any employer satisfied that long anymore.
“I would prefer not to go against people that I have friendships with …” Muschamp said. “I don’t really like going against Derek [Dooley, Tennessee] or Nick [Saban, Alabama] or Jimbo or anybody that you’ve got a great relationship with because somebody’s going to walk out of there disappointed.”
Two good friends each have the coaching opportunity of a lifetime. Time will tell if Fisher and Muschamp can deliver as well as Bowden and Spurrier.
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