



Do you know this story?

There was man born in Rome, who first served on a defensive squad, then went on to lead a team of his own. He was hailed as a genius, then later hated, so he agreed to join his once bitter rivals. Unfortunately, for him, he couldn’t bring himself to defeat his former allies and was dispatched by his adopted nation



William Shakespeare’s Coriolanus is set in Ancient Rome, but this is also the story of Will Muschamp born in Rome, Georgia. He walked on at The University of Georgia, was a Broyles Award finalist at Auburn, named Head Coach in Waiting at Texas, before ultimately becoming the Head Coach of The University of Florida. He has lost every match up between the UGA Bulldogs and UF Gators both as a player and as coach. Muschamp will now likely be fired if he cannot beat his former team.



"He's a very dog to the commonalty."



In 2011 Georgia fans joked that Will Muschamp, having played for the Georgia Bulldogs would be loyal enough to throw games as the Florida Head Coach. It is a now a tired joke, often repeated. The only twist remaining is that in 2014, it is the Florida fans that are calling him a dog.



"There is no more mercy in him than there is milk in a male tiger."



Muschamp was two kinds of tigers, actually. He was a graduate assistant at Auburn and eventually worked his way up to Defensive Coordinator as an LSU Tiger. He was credited as having a ferocious defense. His fiery passion on the sidelines and in the locker room was seen as his strength.



"Coach Muschamp is someone we targeted from the beginning and he is the guy we wanted,’’ Foley said. "He is the only person we met with and the only person we offered the job to."



Like Coriolanus, Muschamp was first seen as a irreplaceable savior.



"But what Muschamp does with players in his program and with his status in Gainesville is important, too. And he deserves praise for what he does." Said the Gators.



Soon, it was too late. Will Muschamp could not win fast enough or well-enough.



Second Citizen: Before we proceed any further, hear me speak. You are all resolved rather to die than to famish?

Gathered Citizens: [in unison] Resolved.

Second Citizen: First, you know he is chief enemy to the people.

Gathered Citizens: We know it.



This is the mentality of Gator fans, they presume to have a birthright or greatness. This greatness demands blowout wins. And, they would rather lose for the chance of a new Coach then win close games.



"I talk of you:

Why did you wish me milder? would you have me

False to my nature? Rather say I play

The man I am."



Muschamp’s passionate attitude that once won him support, has become a target of ridicule. The punching a whiteboard or screaming at a player that received a penalty no longer received praise but criticism.



"Had I a dozen sons, I had rather had eleven die nobly for their country than one voluptuously surfeit out of action."



This is Coriolanus’ wife speaking, as the fanbase of UF who once again would rather their 11 players give up on defense rather than watch Muschamp, the 12th, flounder. Florida message boards agree that even one of the best defenses in the land is meaningless without a competent offense.



"The many headed multitude-"

"The beast With many heads butts me away."



It’s the riotous fanbase that calls for Muschamp’s head, not the Athletic Director or President of the University. Even to to the point that some have called for Foley’s job, he has said he would stand by Muschamp until the end of the season.



"Well, you've got to get home and explain to your 9-year-old why they're chanting to fire your dad," Muschamp said Monday. "That's not very fun."



The cynical Gator fan calls this a shameful plea for sympathy. Similarly, Coriolanus’s son is faced the terrible confusion of loving his father yet having to reconcile the vulgar populous of his peers saying that he is not "one of them."



"For the gods know I

speak this in hunger for bread, not in thirst for revenge"



Muschamp doesn’t want to beat Georgia, more than he wanted to beat Florida when he coached at LSU and actually beat them. He simply wants to win. The revenge is no more motivation than the motivation he feels toward victory and keeping his job. What revenge could Muschamp want on Georgia for taking him in in the first place?



"There is a world elsewhere."



This is the conclusion facing both Muschamp and the Florida Gators.



There is only one final climax to this Shakespearean Tragedy, this football career of Will Muschamp’s. When he meets his fate and falls to the the public outcry of his fanbase. Like, Coriolanus, Muschamp will be banished from Gainesville.





"You common cry of curs! whose breath I hate

As reek o' the rotten fens, whose loves I prize

As the dead carcasses of unburied men

That do corrupt my air, I banish you;

And here remain with your uncertainty!"





