Former Auburn football coach Gus Malzahn may be the next head coach of the UCF Knights of the American (AAC), given the program has extended an offer to the 55-year-old long-time Tigers coach.
After eight seasons on the Plains, the Auburn football brain trust decided it was time to move on from Malzahn. He didn’t help his own cause when he angered some fans by calling a 6-4 season “solid” before their final game of the season against Mississippi State.
Either way, Malzahn was shown the door. He’s currently one of the hottest coaching free agents due to his National Championship game experience leading one of the premier pillar programs of college football, and UCF would like to change his “free agent” status as soon as possible.
I mentioned Malzahn as an option (alongside the man with “words of Chizdom” Gene Chizik) just two days ago, and noted the link to UCF’s new athletic director:
"The key to Malzahn’s candidacy could be his relationship with new UCF Athletics director Terry Mojahir. As 247sports.com notes, Mojahir has experienced success with Malzahn as his lead man when Gus worked for him at Arkansas State.That link is a significant one. As we’ve seen from Harsin’s coaching staff search at Auburn, where he brought many of his Boise State support staff members with him, these ties matter.Ultimately, that’s what makes Gus Malzahn a more likely choice than Chizik, and it may make him one of the frontrunners for the Knights head coaching role."
With a union seeming extremely possible, I have to applaud the UCF Knights for going after a coach with a successful track record of not only winning big games (Iron Bowls were more important than bowl games most years for Auburn) but for having a reputation for molding great athletes, and upstanding men as well.
With lower expectations at the Bounce House than Jordan-Hare–though not too low since UCF was ranked only nine spots lower on last year’s preseason rankings than Auburn football–and a much cushier schedule (Alabama/Texas A&M/Georgia games have been replaced by Navy/East Carolina/Tulane tilts), Malzahn would be just as happy.
A deal benefitting two sides makes a potential Malzahn-to-UCF scenario a home run hire for everyone involved.