UCF Officially Hires Malzahn as Next Head Coach

The University of Central Florida has officially hired former Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn to be their next head coach, it was announced on Twitter today.

The Knights will hire Malzahn to replace Josh Heupel, who departed Orlando for the Tennessee job after Jeremy Pruitt was fired at Tennessee.

Malzahn will be coaching out of the SEC for the first time since 2012 when he had a one year stint with Arkansas State, and led them to a record of 9-3 before returning to Auburn to replace Gene Chizik.

Get our free mobile app

Over the past three years since the departure of former coach Scott Frost for Nebraska, Heupel led the Knights to records of 12-1 in 2018, 10-3 in 2019, and 6-4 in 2020.

Malzahn will look to bring back some of the success that UCF enjoyed under Frost. Famously, Frost took an 0-12 Knights team, had them at 6-7 and in a bowl game in his first year, and of course led them to an undefeated 13-0 season in 2017.

The firing of Malzahn at Auburn is something that has been building for years. Malzahn will now face a much less difficult test in the AAC rather than the SEC. In six years at Auburn, he compiled a respectable record of 53-27, but was never able to completely get the Tigers over the hump and win a national championship.

Malzahn will look to establish a new regime in Orlando as he is leading a new program for the first time in almost a decade.