Will Muschamp is back running an SEC defense, and it will be back at Texas, where his head coaching career was originally supposed to begin.

Texas pulled a surprise on Thursday, announcing it had fired defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski and replaced him with Muschamp, who has been working with Georgia as an analyst.

Muschamp had been employed at Georgia, his alma mater, since 2021, originally joining as a defensive analyst, then moving into an on-field role for the next two seasons. Muschamp then stepped down into a quality control role before the 2024 season, in part so he could spend more time watching his son, Whit Muschamp, a quarterback at Vanderbilt. While Muschamp remained around Georgia’s building, popping in and out, his role lessened over the past year.

Texas, meanwhile, saw its defense slip from best in the SEC in yards-per-play allowed to fifth this year, and from second to sixth in scoring defense. The Longhorns were the preseason favorite to win the SEC, but went 9-3 and missed the College Football Playoff.

“Everybody in the building loves Will Muschamp,” Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann said last year before the CFP. “Obviously, there’s things in his life and his family that he wanted to step away, in some ways. But he’s actively, I mean, even when he’s not here, he’s involved in discussions. Football is really important to him. And this university is really important to him. So, he’s been great throughout the entire year.”

Kwiatkowski has been Texas’ defensive coordinator since 2021. The Longhorns typically had strong defenses, but head coach Steve Sarkisian opted for a change, with Muschamp’s availability a bonus.

Muschamp was one of the rising stars in the college coaching business when Texas hired him away from Auburn. The Longhorns eventually named Muschamp the head coach in waiting. However, with head coach Mack Brown showing no signs of leaving, Muschamp left to replace Urban Meyer as Florida’s head coach before the 2011 season.

Muschamp’s head coaching career didn’t go as well; he was fired during his fourth season at Florida, and then did not make it through five seasons at South Carolina. Still, his team’s defenses usually weren’t the problem, and he was well-regarded at Georgia the last few years for his input.