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Gus Malzahn Resigns as UCF Head Coach to Take Power 4 Offensive Coordinator Job

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Michael Gallagher | Last updated Nov 30, 2024 4:49 PM ET

Gus Malzahn’s career arc took an interesting turn on Saturday.

After a 28-14 loss to Utah on Saturday night, Malzahn reportedly decided to resign as head coach at UCF to take an offensive coordinator job elsewhere, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Malzahn’s decision presumably was a surprise to some with head coach-to-offensive coordinator moves not traditionally seen unless the coach was fired beforehand. However, Malzahn, likely seeing the writing on the wall for him with the Knights, decided to get ahead of things before he was fired.

Malzahn was a disappointing 28-24 in four seasons at UCF with a 1-2 bowl record. He never won more than nine games. The Knights went downhill the last two seasons, going 6-7 and 4-8, respectively, with Malzahn entering this year on the hot seat.

UCF’s only wins this season came against New Hampshire, Sam Houston, TCU and Arizona.

Sources: UCF head coach Gus Malzahn is resigning to become the new offensive coordinator at Florida State, sources told ESPN. His UCF tenure will end after four years at 28-24. pic.twitter.com/XHlEFY91T2
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 30, 2024

After leading Auburn to the BCS national championship game back in 2013, Malzahn’s career has been on a downward spiral. He lasted seven more seasons at Auburn with a 56-33 record before he was fired after producing his eighth winning season and reached fifth on the school’s all-time wins list.

With four mediocre seasons at UCF, Malzahn likely believed taking the OC job for a team like Florida State in need of a shakeup could help get his coaching career back on track and lead to a better job than UCF.

The 2-9 Seminoles currently rank 88th in red-zone scoring (81.25%), 132nd in total offense (258.9 yards per game) and third-down conversions (24.8%), and 133rd in scoring (13.3 points per game) and yards per play (4.0).

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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