Will Muschamp is back as a head coach in the SEC. After spending one year as Auburn’s defensive coordinator, the former Florida coach agreed to become the next head coach at South Carolina. He will replace another former Gators coach, Steve Spurrier.

Muschamp, who also coached for Nick Saban at LSU and for the Miami Dolphins, is the latest former Saban assistant to become a head coach in the SEC East, joining Jim McElwain (Florida) and Kirby Smart (Georgia).

Here are five things to know about Muschamp.

This isn’t his first rodeo: As mentioned above, Muschamp already cut his teeth at Florida. In four years as head coach, he compiled a 28-21 record and took his teams to three bowl games. What did he learn from that first go-around? There were things he did well and other things that maybe he didn’t do as well. Can he adapt and fix the things that didn’t go so well? Obviously, South Carolina believes he can or the athletic director wouldn’t have taken a chance on him. But there’s still a risk involved.

He’s one of the top defensive minds in football: If you ask his former boss, Muschamp is the “best defensive mind in all of football,” not just college football. That was from Auburn coach Gus Malzahn at last summer’s SEC media days. But a strong defense is one of the things that has remained constant just about everywhere he’s been. Even this past year at Auburn, his defense improved from the beginning of the season to the end. It should be no different at South Carolina, where the defense has been a major issue the last two seasons.

Finding the right offensive coordinator is critical: Part of what doomed Muschamp at Florida was the lack of consistency on offense. The Gators were always stout on defense, but between Charlie Weis, Brent Pease and Kurt Roper, they never could find a fit at offensive coordinator. And it was for that reason that Muschamp was fired after four seasons. There are already reports that Roper has been tabbed once again by Muschamp at South Carolina. Maybe a second stint with Muschamp -- and one with more job security -- will help.

Recruiting will be a strength: With question marks about Spurrier’s future, recruiting had grown stagnant a bit at South Carolina. The Gamecocks haven’t had a top-15 class since 2011, and their 2016 class is currently ranked No. 37 by ESPN. That will likely change under Muschamp, a proven recruiter who had top-five classes in three of his four years at Florida. In less than two months at Auburn, he persuaded the nation’s No. 1 recruit, Byron Cowart, to join him on the Plains. The guy can recruit.

He wasn’t South Carolina’s first choice: This might be the most interesting part about the new hire. South Carolina athletic director Ray Tanner reportedly offered the job to Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez first, but Rodriguez turned him down. Shortly after that, Tanner turned his attention to Muschamp and a deal was quick to follow. Maybe that’s not such a bad thing for the Gamecocks. The last time Rodriguez turned down an SEC job (that we know of), it was at Alabama in December 2006. A month later, the school hired Saban.