Texas defensive coordinator Muschamp to coach at Florida

? Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp has left the Longhorns to take over at Florida.

Muschamp will succeed Urban Meyer, who won two national championships in six seasons with the Gators but resigned Wednesday after a 7-5 season.

The 39-year-old Muschamp spent three seasons at Texas, where he was the head-coach-in-waiting to replace Mack Brown.

Muschamp, who lived in Gainesville for 10 years as a child, said taking over the Florida program is a “dream come true.”

“I grew up watching the Gators and whatever other SEC team was on television,” Muschamp said in a statement. “I have great memories watching SEC football with my father on Saturdays and playing football in the back yard with my two brothers right here in Gainesville.”

Muschamp will be introduced at a news conference Tuesday evening.

Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley said Muschamp was the “only person we met with and the only person we offered the job to.”

Foley said Muschamp’s familiarity with the Southeastern Conference — he graduated from Georgia and coached at Auburn and LSU — was an important factor. So was his knowledge of recruiting in Florida.

“We wanted a candidate who was high-energy and had been on the big stage,” Foley said in a statement. “We wanted a candidate who was respected by his players and his peers, and we wanted someone who had a passion for the University of Florida. Coach Muschamp is all of those things and more.”