The UCF job is open after Gus Malzahn left Saturday — the day after the Knights finished a 4-8 season — to become Florida State’s offensive coordinator.
Malzahn exited amid growing pressure from the fan base after back-to-back losing records in UCF’s first two seasons in the Big 12. He was 28-24 in four years at a program that has had very high highs and very low lows over the past two decades.
So how good is the UCF job? What names could get in the mix? Based on conversations with industry sources, here is a breakdown of the job and the potential names to watch.
Recent history/tradition: B
UCF feels like the opposite of Big 12 peer West Virginia. While the Mountaineers have a high floor and lower ceiling, the Knights have a lower floor and higher ceiling.
Since 2004, UCF has had seven seasons with double-digit wins, two winless campaigns and three trips to New Year’s Six bowls — one each by Scott Frost, Josh Heupel and George O’Leary. The program is only 45 years old but has had an impressive rise from Division III to a Power 4 conference. But a 5-13 record in the Big 12 is a reminder of some necessary growing pains.
On-field outlook: B-
The roster has holes, despite ranking fifth in the Big 12 in 247Sports’ Talent Composite this season. UCF’s all-time touchdown leader, running back RJ Harvey, is out of eligibility, and a handful of players (including starting receiver Xavier Townsend) opted out during the season. The Knights started four quarterbacks, with redshirt freshman Dylan Rizk showing some promise (five touchdowns, two interceptions and a 61.9 completion percentage). Perhaps UCF needs a little more time to build the experienced depth necessary after moving into the Power 4. That’s harder, given a coaching change just days before the early signing period and a recruiting class that, as of Tuesday, was ranked last in the conference.
Three of UCF’s eight conference losses were decided in the closing minutes, and the Big 12 remains wide open. The right coach can turn things around.
Money situation: B-
UCF had one of the biggest football budgets in the Group of 5 but was near the bottom of the Big 12 last year. The Knights have been earning half a share of conference payouts and will get full distributions starting next year. Athletic director Terry Mohajir has said the program is moving in the right direction financially, but more strides need to be made.
The Knights are continuing to spend on facilities upgrades. Preliminary work has started on an $88 million stadium renovation that’s expected to be completed in time for the 2026 season.
Construction fences for the new Roth Tower are up setting the stage for the future of the Bounce House 👀🏟️https://t.co/JqoM3ZCHCf pic.twitter.com/L1ljEpkVxc
— UCF Knights 🌴 (@UCFKnights) December 3, 2024
University stability: A-
Mohajir was regarded as one of the Group of 5’s top ADs when UCF hired him from Arkansas State in 2021. He and president Alexander Cartwright are both established in their roles and helped the Knights earn their Big 12 invite. UCF remains one of the largest schools in the country (almost 60,000 undergraduates last fall) and has shown a commitment to athletics.
Coach pool: B+
Liberty head coach Jamey Chadwell is 57-17 as a full-time head coach, including a 21-4 run with the Flames. The 47-year-old Tennessee native ran one of the most entertaining offenses in the country at Coastal Carolina, which seems like a good fit for UCF’s modern, up-tempo brand. But he has never worked at a Power 4 program.
Los Angeles Rams analyst Scott Frost is beloved at UCF after going 13-0 in his second season. But he never had a winning record in his 16-31 stint at Nebraska, and coaching sequels rarely live up to the standard of the original.
Texas State head coach G.J. Kinne was Malzahn’s co-offensive coordinator at UCF in 2021. The 36-year-old Texas native also seems to fit the Knights’ identity. Kinne led Incarnate Word to the FCS semifinals in 2021, and his 15-10 record with the Bobcats earned him a contract extension in November. Is changing jobs a viable option?
Tennessee offensive coordinator Joey Halzle is another former UCF assistant; he spent two seasons under Heupel and followed him to the Vols. The 38-year-old California native has had success as a quarterbacks coach, tutoring Hendon Hooker and Nico Iamaleava, among others.
Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield overcame a bumpy start to his tenure and is 20-5 over the past two seasons. The former Mike Norvell assistant has Florida ties. The 44-year-old is from Jacksonville and spent two years with UCF as a graduate assistant. His offense has ranked in the top 25 in scoring in each of the past three years.
UNLV head coach Barry Odom was in consideration the last time and has the Rebels in Friday’s Mountain West title game. But the former Missouri head coach has a defensive background, and UCF has a much stronger offensive identity.
Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein leads a top-20 offense for a national championship contender. He’s also the position coach for former UCF star Dillon Gabriel, a potential Heisman Trophy finalist. A deep Playoff run could complicate the timing for the 35-year-old Kentucky native.
Ole Miss offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. is a future head coach, but is he ready for a Power 4 job at age 31? He has familiarity in the state with stints at South Florida and Florida Atlantic and briefly overlapped with Mohajir at Kansas (when Mohajir was an administrator and Weis was a manager on the football team coached by his father).
UConn head coach Jim Mora Jr. won 10 games twice at UCLA and just guided the Huskies to their first winning season (8-4) since the 2010 Fiesta Bowl run. Mora has done a miraculous job of resuscitating UConn, and stealing the Huskies’ coach would be a major development in the so-called Civil ConFLiCT “rivalry” between the programs.
Overall grade: B
UCF is the fourth major program sitting in the center of one of the most talent-laden states in the country. The Knights have a clear identity (modern, fast) to sell to recruits. But they’re new to the Power 4, and it’s fair to wonder if fans’ enormous expectations — buoyed by the undefeated season national title it claims from 2017 — are attainable immediately. Regardless, there’s great potential for eventual success in a Big 12 that lacks heavyweights.
(Top photo: Julio Aguilar / Getty Images)
