The University of Central Florida (UCF) confirmed Monday the hiring of former Auburn football coach Gus Malzahn as the Orlando-based school’s next head football coach.
“I’m thrilled to be the head coach at UCF, and I’m truly looking forward to being part of Knight Nation,” said Malzahn in a release.
Malzahn was let go from Auburn in 2020 after eight years leading the program. During his time at the helm, the Tigers amassed a 68-35 record, went to eight bowl games, and won the 2013 SEC Championship.
“When I started the search process, it became very evident very quickly that, based on the conversations I had with the players last week and what they told me were looking for, Gus Malzahn was the guy for the job,” said UCF Director of Athletics Terry Mohajir in a statement.
Malzahn’s most decorated season at Auburn came in 2013 and saw the Tigers make their way to the BCS National Championship game, where they lost to the Florida State Seminoles for a final record 0f 12-2. The Tigers had gone winless in conference play the year before. Malzahn earned virtually every major coaching award for leading the remarkable turnaround.
The University of Central Florida, most commonly referred to by its initials UCF, competes in the FBS subdivision of college football, but outside the power five conferences. The Knights play in the American Athletic Conference alongside teams like the Houston Cougars, SMU Mustangs and Tulane Green Wave.
UCF gained national prominence in the 2017-2018 season when, under then-coach Scott Frost, the team went undefeated.
The Knights were not picked as one of the four teams in the College Football Playoff that season and were later selected for the 2018 Peach Bowl.
They defeated Gus Malzahn’s Auburn Tigers by a score of 34-27 in the Peach Bowl and later declared themselves national champions, a move that was seen by many as a protest of the small size of the field in the official playoff.
Frost left after the undefeated season to take the head job at the University of Nebraska. He was followed by Scott Heupel, who earned a 28-8 record during his three seasons in Orlando. Heupel left UCF in January to take the head coaching job with the University of Tennessee.
As noted first by Alabama Media Group’s Greg Stephenson, Malzahn will be the only head coach from a school in the Power 5 conferences to be offered an FBS job after being fired in 2020. Those in the same situation as Malazahn, such as Will Muschamp or Jeremy Pruitt, are now assistants at other schools or do not currently have a coaching job.
“It’s exciting to be head of a program where the future is extremely bright. I will be hitting the ground running in terms of getting to know our team and everyone else connected with UCF. Our goal is to be ready to win championships,” Malzahn concluded.
Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: henry@new-yhn.local or on Twitter @HenryThornton95.
