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Texas football hires Will Muschamp as defensive coordinator, fires Pete Kwiatkowski
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- Texas football hires Will Muschamp as defensive coordinator, fires Pete Kwiatkowski
Texas football is shaking up its defensive coaching staff following a 9-3 finish to the regular season.
The Longhorns announced Wednesday, Dec. 18, they're moving on from defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski while announcing the addition of longtime SEC defensive coordinator Will Muschamp in a corresponding move. Muschamp was the defensive coordinator at Texas from 2008-10 before becoming the head coach at Florida . He was also the head coach at South Carolina from 2016-20.
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Texas also announced passing game coordinator and safeties coach Duane Akina will not be retained. It was Akina's first season of his second stint at Texas, as he previously coached defensive backs at the school from 2001-13.
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"We appreciate all that Pete Kwiatkowski has done for the program in his five years coordinating our defense and are grateful for Duane Akina's efforts in returning to the program this past year," Sarkisian said in the announcement. "They are both tremendous coaches and people that worked extremely hard for Texas Football and the players they coached. We have had a great deal of success, are thankful for the roles they played in that, and wish them the best.
"But at this time, we just felt it was best for our program to move in a different direction, and having the opportunity to hire Will Muschamp provides us the leadership to take our defense to another level. Will is a guy I've known for a long time, always admired and is as good of a defensive mind and coach as I've ever coached against. His defenses are relentless; he absolutely gets the best out of his staff and players and is such an extremely well-respected coach.
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"I know Longhorn Nation knows him well, he led some incredible defenses here on the Forty, and I'm so fired up to be bringing him back to Texas. He'll be an awesome addition to our staff."
Kwiatkowski has been at Texas since head coach Steve Sarkisian took the job in 2021. He was previously the defensive coordinator at Washington. Muschamp was most recently a defensive analyst at Georgia in 2024, as he stepped away from coaching this season.
Texas' defense was one of the better units nationally this season, ranking No. 23 in scoring defense after allowing 19.75 points per game. The Longhorns also ranked No. 36 in total defense, allowing 335.7 yards per game.
Muschamp helped lead Texas into the national championship in 2010 before the Longhorns fell to Alabama 37-21. The 54-year-old coach has also spent time at LSU and Auburn, along with a season with the NFL's Miami Dolphins as part of Nick Saban's staff.
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"This is an exciting day for the Muschamp family," Muschamp said. "We loved our time in Austin and truly enjoyed everything about working with Texas Football. We're thrilled to be coming back to a program with one of the richest and proudest histories and traditions in college football. With what Coach Sark has done in rebuilding this program – knowing there are even better days ahead – I was fired up for the opportunity.
"I have tremendous respect and admiration for Sark, how he leads his program, develops his team and players, builds culture and goes about his business. I'm excited to be a part of it and can't wait to get started, Hook 'em!"
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas football hires Will Muschamp as defensive coordinator, fires Pete Kwiatkowski
