SO SAD: UCF knights head coach announce his departure from club due to

UCF Knights coach Gus Malzahn leaves to be FSU football offensive coordinator

Since his arrival in 2021, Gus Malzahn has called UCF the “future of college football.” As of Saturday morning, UCF’s future no longer includes the veteran head coach.

Malzahn resigned Saturday, one day after completing his fourth season in charge of the Knights, to become the offensive coordinator at Florida State football, the USA TODAY Network has confirmed. ESPN’s Pete Thamel was among the first to report the news. The 59-year-old went 28-24 overall at UCF but posted a lowly 5-13 mark in conference games since joining the Big 12.

In his first 11 seasons as a college head coach, Malzahn never experienced a losing record. He exits UCF on the heels of consecutive sub-.500 finishes, with defeats in eight of his last nine games.

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UCF Athletics released the following statement Saturday afternoon: “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 wish he and his wife, Kristi, the very best in their future endeavors.”

Malzahn has a long relationship with Florida State coach Mike Norvell, who was a graduate assistant at Tulsa in 2007 and ’08 while Malzahn served as assistant head coach, co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

The search for Malzahn’s replacement will begin immediately but comes at an inopportune time with regards to roster retention and construction. The early signing period for high school football athletes opens Wednesday, and the NCAA transfer portal window runs from Dec. 9-28.

Seven Knights — junior kicker Colton Boomer, sophomore defensive end Kaven Call, redshirt senior offensive tackle Wes Dorsey, junior linebacker Kam Moore, senior safety Bryon Threats, junior wide receiver Xavier Townsend and senior safety William Wells — opted out during the season to protect their eligibility with intentions to transfer. True freshman quarterback EJ Colson, who went 8 of 12 for 70 yards with one touchdown and one interception versus Utah, announced he would be leaving the program roughly an hour after the game ended.