ORLANDO — The Gus Malzahn era at UCF is over.
Saturday’s news, first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel, delivered a seismic shift in several parts of the Sunshine State as Malzahn decided to join Mike Norvell’s staff at Florida State as offensive coordinator. UCF, meanwhile, joins North Carolina as the only Power Four football programs with a head coaching vacancy to fill.
Norvell declined to confirm the move following the Seminoles‘ home loss to Florida, but UCF released a farewell statement earlier in the day: “We would like to thank Coach Malzahn for his contributions to our football program over the past four seasons, including our transition into the Big 12 Conference. We appreciate his professionalism and dedication to our student-athletes throughout his tenure at UCF and we wish he and his wife, Kristi, the very best in their future endeavors.”
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Malzahn, 59, went 28-24 across four seasons, but just 5-13 in conference games since the Knights joined the Big 12 in 2023. UCF squandered 3-0 starts in each of those two campaigns with five-game losing skids.
Let’s take a bigger-picture look on Malzahn’s departure, and where it leaves UCF going forward.
Fans voiced their displeasure of Malzahn starting in October, and the calls for his dismissal grew louder with each passing week. It became an increasingly toxic atmosphere inside the Bounce House, one which no longer seemed tenable.
Aside from the $13.75 million buyout figure, per USA TODAY Sports’ salaries database, UCF had few reasons to retain Malzahn. The Knights lost seven of their final eight games, snapped an eight-year bowl streak and sunk to the bottom of the Big 12 standings in a season where Malzahn switched coordinators on both sides of the ball and brought in more than 40 new players.
Malzahn’s handling of the quarterback situation from October onward was downright baffling. Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year KJ Jefferson underwhelmed in his five-game run as starter, but he then turned to 17-year-old true freshman EJ Colson for a crucial home contest with Cincinnati. That plan lasted all of two drives, both of which resulted in Johnny Richardson fumbles. Jacurri Brown made two starts, and Dylan Rizk started UCF’s last four games as Malzahn continually chased a “spark” for the offense.
Seven players — headlined by starting slot receiver/kick returner Xavier Townsend — publicly opted out following the loss to Colorado, tossing a wrench into the “tough and together” motto Malzahn stressed from the start of fall camp.
Still, with Malzahn leaving, it’s safe to assume other programs will start circling and poach the promising young players on UCF’s roster — including tight ends Randy Pittman and Kylan Fox, interior offensive linemen Caden Kitler and Waltclaire Flynn Jr., wide receiver Bredell Richardson, linebackers Xe’Ree Alexander and Qua Birdsong, defensive ends Malachi Lawrence, Nyjalik Kelly and Isaiah Nixon, defensive tackle John Walker and defensive backs Chasen Johnson, Jaylen Heyward, Braeden Marshall and Christian Peterson, all of whom have multiple years of eligibility left.
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All things considered, Malzahn no longer has to oversee the evolving day-to-day roster-management responsibilities and gets to enjoy play-calling control at FSU, something he handed to Tim Harris Jr. earlier this month. UCF avoids having to fork over an eight-figure buyout sum and can pitch a fresh start with an exciting, new leader. Perhaps parting is truly best for all parties.
Malzahn’s arrival brought about a long overdue change in recruiting philosophy, seeking to keep the area’s top players home while laying down strong roots in Atlanta and Tampa. Dependency on the transfer portal, however, scuppered those intentions in the long run.
UCF consistently produced one of the top rushing offenses in college football under Malzahn, with RJ Harvey eventually breaking the program’s all-time record for total touchdowns. Still, constant unrest at the QB spot prevented the unit from truly hitting the heights set under Scott Frost and Josh Heupel.
The Knights won nine games apiece in Malzahn’s first two seasons, toppling Florida in a memorable Gasparilla Bowl and reaching the American Athletic Conference championship game before bouncing for the Big 12. That transition proved far more difficult than anticipated, but UCF was the league’s only newcomer to go bowling in 2023.
There were 21-point comeback victories against Boise State and TCU, a 28-point collapse versus Baylor, headscratching, humbling losses to Navy — two of them, in fact — and East Carolina and four Space Game blowout triumphs, most notably against then-No. 15 Oklahoma State.
Rarely was Malzahn’s tenure at UCF boring, but it ultimately left more to be desired considering his consistent winning pedigree at Auburn.
UCF fans have become accustomed not only to winning, but doing so in a certain style — blindingly quick tempo, explosive runs and prolific passing displays. Chasing the days of scoring 50 points on a near-weekly basis and going undefeated might prove futile in the Big 12, but it’s why Scott Frost has resurfaced as a popular candidate to return to Orlando.
Frost oversaw the greatest season in school history before returning to his alma mater, Nebraska. The less said about that tenure the better; he went 16-31 across parts of five seasons with the Cornhuskers, including a 5-22 mark in one-score games.
Tulane’s Jon Sumrall and Texas State’s GJ Kinne, who was on Malzahn’s debut UCF staff in 2021, are popular Group of Five suggestions, as are Liberty’s Jamey Chadwell, South Florida’s Alex Golesh and UNLV’s Barry Odom. Perhaps offensive coordinators Will Stein (Oregon), Andy Kotelnicki (Penn State), Garrett Riley (Clemson) or Joe Sloan (LSU) are ready to make the leap. Then there are a handful of wild cards alongside Frost, such as former Florida boss Dan Mullen or even longtime NFL coach Jon Gruden, who recently expressed a desire to enter the college ranks.
Ultimately, the right candidate will restore UCF’s potent passing attack, recruit competitively against the in-state powers and SEC/Big 10 invaders and establish the Knights as a legitimate, annual contender in an unpredictable league.
It’s not unprecedented.
Curt Cignetti’s immediate turnaround at Indiana has been astonishing, as has Fran Brown’s work at Syracuse, including Saturday’s upset of No. 6 Miami. Spencer Danielson has Boise State on the verge of crashing the College Football Playoff as a top-four seed in his first year in charge.
However, former UCF offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby — a popular shout to take over in 2021 before Malzahn arrived — endured a turbulent 2-10 ride at Mississippi State. Willie Fritz (Houston) and Brent Brennan (Arizona) posted losing records in their debut campaigns at fellow Big 12 schools.
The sooner a successor is chosen, the more likely it will be to develop relationships and prevent all of UCF’s premier players from hopping into the portal. Money, of course, will talk as well.
The 30-day window officially starts Sunday.
Short-term pain, and the hope of long-term gain.
UCF’s high school recruiting stagnated after September, and the Knights plummeted from a fringe top-25 national class into the low 60s — and that might be the best-case scenario for 2025. Malzahn’s staff hardly expanded its initial board, and perhaps it makes more sense as to why with the benefit of hindsight.
Holding onto either or both of Osceola running back Taevion Swint or Cocoa wide receiver Jayvan Boggs, two premium Central Florida talents, should be considered a massive victory. Both are producing monster senior-year numbers for their respective, state-semifinal teams.
The new coach, and his staff, must patch immediate holes in the portal. If UCF lands Sumrall, Kinne or someone similar, there’s a strong possibility some of their higher-end commits will flip in favor of the Knights.
