"Our fans need to get a grip" - When Will Muschamp defended Florida players from criticism after 19-14 loss to South Carolina

Will Muschamp coached Florida for four years from 2011 to 2014. He had a difficult 2013 season, losing the final seven games to post a 4-8 record, but made sure that his players were defended from criticism, even when the frustrations came from Gators fans.

After a 19-14 loss to then-No. 11 South Carolina in November, Muschamp protected his players from media criticism about their fight, despite a few key injuries.

"I mean, it's not excuses," Muschamp said in his postgame press conference. "It's real. It really is. You know? You can say what you wanna say, you can write whatever the hell you wanna write: It's real. It's frustrating. It's frustrating for that locker room — to hell with me, I worry about the kids. "You know, these kids have fought their butts off. There's a lot of negativity out there, and some of our fans need to get a grip. They really do. They got a bunch of kids in that locker room fighting their butt off. "They can criticize me all you want. I'm great with that. They pay me enough money to deal with it. But those kids don't. They really don't. And they fought their butts off, and they continue to fight and play hard. Nobody's ever questioned their efforts.

Muschamp also shouldered the blame for the defeat to South Carolina, which was the fifth loss in a row. He concluded by saying that he was proud of his players for putting up such a fight.

Florida went on to lose its remaining two games of the season as well.

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A look at Will Muschamp's head coaching career

Former Florida Gators coach Will Muschamp. (Credits: IMAGN)

Across four years at Florida, Will Muschamp compiled a 28-21 record. His best season was in 2012, when he led the Gators to an 11-2 record.

Muschamp also coached at South Carolina for just under five seasons, posting a 28-30 record. He was fired during the 2020 season after leading the team to a 2-5 record.

In total, Muschamp has a 56-51 record as a head coach.

Edited by William Paul