So Much for Muschamp

All those schools who were thinking about firing your head coach to get in line for Will Muschamp? Yeah, you might not want to do that.

Muschamp is officially off the market after Texas more than doubled his salary and named him "head coach in waiting," the newest fad sweeping college football. It's like being prince, only without the need to find a suitable noblewoman to marry. And Mack Brown isn't your father, just your boss.

The reason for the move isn't hard to figure out.

Muschamp has been mentioned as a possibility for current openings at Clemson, Tennessee and Washington.

Reports out of Knoxville, Tenn., had the Volunteers pushing hard to interview Muschamp this week. ...

"I've had opportunities to be a head coach," Muschamp said. "This is the best job in the country. If I left Austin, my wife was going to stay here."

Dodds said he and Brown started talking about making Muschamp the head coach-designate about a month ago. That's also about when Clemson fired its head coach and started looking for a replacement.

For Tennesssee, it strikes one of the most coveted names in college football coaching off the Vols' list. One of the reasons some observers thought Clemson moved early to fire Tommy Bowden -- and that Tennessee and Washington followed suit -- was to get a jump on the competition for Muschamp.

Not that the Vols have a shortage of candidates. Phil Fulmer is still gone at the end of the year, and Tennessee still has enough money to get a good coach to follow the Great Pumpkin.

Auburn, though -- that's another matter. Many of those who want to oust Tommy Tuberville would like nothing more than to bring back last year's defensive coordinator for the Tigers, one Will Muschamp. With Tuberville's status still up in the air (or in no serious danger) by most accounts, and his solid results over the past few seasons giving him a little capital, the word that Muschamp will stay in Austin might be enough to clinch another year for Auburn's current head coach.