UCF near hiring Gus Malzahn as coach


Gus Malzahn is nearing a return to the sidelines in 2021.

The previous Auburn coach is near finalizing a deal to turn out to be the following head coach at UCF, sources informed Yahoo Sports activities’ Pete Thamel. An announcement might be made later Monday.

Ought to the rent come to fruition, Malzahn would exchange Josh Heupel, who left UCF to turn out to be the top coach of Tennessee.

Heupel went to Tennessee after the college employed UCF athletic director Danny White for a similar place. White made the transfer to maintain Heupel as his college’s soccer coach not lengthy after he bought to Knoxville. And now Malzahn is on the verge of becoming a member of a well-recognized athletic director in Orlando.

UCF employed Arkansas State’s Terry Mohajir to be White’s successor. Mohajir’s first 12 months at Arkansas State was 2012, the lone 12 months Malzahn coached the Crimson Wolves. After one 12 months at Arkansas State, Malzahn took over as Auburn’s head coach after Gene Chizik was fired.

Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn watches during the second half of an NCAA college football game against LSU on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Gus Malzahn was fired from Auburn on the finish of the 2020 common season. (AP Photograph/Butch Dill)

Malzahn bought a hefty buyout from Auburn

Malzahn’s firing was a shock and one of many largest strikes in a surprisingly busy teaching carousel after the 2020 season. Auburn determined that it was keen to pay over $20 million to purchase out the remainder of Malzahn’s contract after the Tigers went 6-4 within the common season.

The Tigers by no means replicated the heights they reached in Malzahn’s first season. Auburn went 12-2 and misplaced to Florida State within the last BCS Championship Sport on the finish of the 2013 season.

Over his eight years at Auburn, Malzahn coached the Tigers to a 68-35 general report with a 39-27 mark in SEC play. He additionally beat Alabama thrice. Along with his nationwide title recreation look, Malzahn additionally led Auburn to 10 wins and the SEC championship recreation in 2017, dropping to Georgia.

Following that season, Malzahn signed a seven-year, $49 million contract. His groups would underwhelm over the following three seasons, nevertheless, going a mixed 14-12 in SEC play. Because the middle-of-the-road SEC finishes continued, the speak about Malzahn’s job safety grew to become a standard matter.

UCF is without doubt one of the finest non-Energy 5 jobs

Malzahn has the prospect to take over a program that is asserted itself as a top-three program within the state of Florida in recent times, due to Florida State’s struggles. UCF has gone 41-8 over the past 4 seasons beneath Scott Frost and Heupel, although the Knights’ report has gotten worse with every passing 12 months in that timeframe. UCF went 13-0 in 2017, however Frost left for Nebraska on the finish of the season. Heupel’s groups then went 12-1, 10-3 and 6-4 in his three years with the college.

Can Malzahn reverse that slide? If he does, UCF will stay related on the prime of the American Athletic Convention. And it may get him one other shot at a job with a Energy 5 convention college if he needs it.

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