After being fired as head coach of the Auburn football program, Gus Malzahn wasted no time in getting back into the game. It was announced today that UCF will be hiring Malzahn to replace Josh Heupel, who left for Tennessee.
In the wake of Malzahn’s bittersweet leave from The Plains, fans and players extended their gratitude for his time at Auburn and wished him well in the future. We can all agree that Gus is a good guy but he’s had quite a few too many mediocre football seasons at Auburn to stick.
However, UCF is in Group of Five conference, and they’ve recently seen their season records get progressively worse in the last few years. Malzahn has the potential to elevate UCF’s program and keep them at the top of the American Athletic Conference.
Fans of Auburn football, UCF, and the SEC alike tweeted out reactions to the official hiring of Gus Malzahn:
Gus Malzahn going to UCF? Not a bad gig at all after Auburn.
— Justin Hokanson (@_JHokanson) February 15, 2021
He’s made his millions, and now he gets to go live in Orlando where it’s currently 73 degrees in February.
Recruit your home state, be better than Cincinnati and Memphis, and your conference champion.
Will be interested to see if he can re-scalp some of his old coaches that have already gotten other jobs. Good for him! Happy to see him coaching and even happier to have him outside the sec.
— WL (@WarEagleEye) February 15, 2021
Fly War Eagle is interested in seeing T-Will moving a little further north if you know what we mean.
This excites me, the Gus Malzahn hiring excited me too, but I've been waiting for T-Will land a DC job. https://t.co/mNGuQs08Nj
— Darth Barner (@DarthBarner) February 15, 2021
Your UCF - Gus Malzahn starter kit.
— Clint Richardson (@Clintau24) February 15, 2021
Citronauts is the preferred choice.
Get yours here: https://t.co/6H32x9vlXt https://t.co/yxULwtXlA8 pic.twitter.com/CtX9EBAHFG
We’re excited to see Gus staying in on the action in Orlando, and the hope around these parts is that he’ll garner more national recognition for the UCF program with his storied SEC reputation.