Pete Kwiatkowski shared a close bond with the Texas locker room. Especially with Texas’s five-star DE, whom Pete recruited from Duncanville High School. The replacement of Pete Kwiatkowski with Will Muschamp as DC has been a lot for the Longhorns as they prepare for the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. But a five-star recruit DE of the 2024 class is still coping with Steve Sarkisian’s move.

Colin Simmons revealed that Pete Kwiatkowski’s firing was heartbreaking for him. “That one hurt a little bit,” said Colin Simmons at the December 28 press conference, before the Citrus Bowl. “With PK [Pete Kwiatkowski] being my coach, coming in from high school, putting me in the right positions to go make plays and stuff like that.”

However, he admits that things like this could happen, and he’s now focused on how to build himself from here on. “But it’s a business, and things like this happen. So all we got to do is just keep on building from there.”

Kwiatkowski arrived at Austin along with Steve Sarkisian in 2021 and played a significant role in the Texas defense. In his five-year tenure, the ex-Texas DC helped the school reach back-to-back playoff and top-four finishes. He also developed 12 NFL draft picks from Austin, including first-rounders Jahdae Barron and Byron Murphy II.

His renowned success is considered one of the reasons for landing the No. 2 Edge, Colin Simmons, in Texas. Last year, he was announced as a finalist for the Broyles Award for building the Longhorns as the No. 3 scoring defense in FBS, which ended at the CFP Semifinals. Colin played every game for the Longhorns that season and recorded 48 tackles (31 solo), nine sacks, three forced fumbles, and two pass defenses as a true freshman.

With big expectations, they approached the 2025 season, but the Longhorns’ defense gave up 30 or more points in four of its last five games. One of these games resulted in a 35-10 loss at Georgia, which knocked them out of the CFP race. As a result, Sarkisian fired the fifth-season DC. 

Colin Simmons and the Texas Longhorns’ defense will now play under the new DC Will Muschamp, starting from the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl game against Michigan on New Year’s Eve.

Will Muschamp replaced Pete Kwiatkowski as Texas’ DC

Steve Sarkisian hired Will Muschamp, who has a history with the Longhorns. Muschamp worked as Texas’s DC from 2008 to 2010 and helped the school win the Big 12 championship and reach the BCS national championship game in 2009. This will be his second stint at Texas.

During his time at Austin, the Longhorns ranked No. 1 in defense across the country. The Texas defense posted 119 sacks, allowing 2.9 yards on third-down conversions. The Longhorns owned the line of scrimmage on his first stint, ranking seventh nationally, allowing only 297.4 yards per game.

He was billed as Mack Brown’s successor in 2008. Since there was no timeframe for Brown’s retirement, Muschamp left the program in 2011 to take the head coaching role at Florida. He had a 28-21 season with the Gators before stepping down in 2014.

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After a brief stint as Auburn’s DC, South Carolina’s HC, and as a staff member at Georgia, he is back as the DC of Texas. He will now take over the defense that ranked among the top 10 last year and dropped to 101 nationally. The roster already proved its potential last season, and it’s Muschamp’s job to uplift the defense to the top.

He will be leading his first game on his second stint on December 31st, when Texas takes on Michigan at the Citrus Bowl game.