Joining Knight Nation is something that Gus Malzahn has eyed for the last couple of weeks.
The interest turned into reality on Monday morning, when UCF named Malzahn the new head coach of the UCF football team.
UCF held a press conference with Malzahn on Monday afternoon, along with UCF president Alexander Cartwright, and new Director of Athletics and former colleague of Malzahn, Terry Mohajir.
“Before even Terry (Mohjir) was hired, I was interested,” Malzahn said in the press conference. “When this job came open, I told my wife that this is one were going to be very interested in. Then when Terry got the athletic director, it was one I wanted to full-court press. When he offered the job, it was like ‘I’m in.’”
Mohajir was hired Feb. 9 to replace Danny White, who left UCF and is now the athletic director at Tennessee.
As Arkansas State’s AD, Mohajir worked with head coach Malzahn in 2012, where he led the Red Wolves to a 10-3 record and a Sun Belt Conference title in his lone season at ASU.
Mohajir said that when he started the search process, it became evident — based on conversations with the players and what they were looking for — that Malzahn was the guy for the job.
“He has won at every level, and he has coached a Heisman Trophy winner and NFL draft picks,” Mohajir said. “There has never been a better time for Coach Malzahn to lead this program than right now.”
Malzahn joins UCF after being released from the head coaching position at Auburn on Dec. 13, 2020.
After weeks of considering his next career move, Malzahn jumped at the opportunity of joining the UCF football program as head coach.
“This to me is one of the top 20 coaching jobs in all of college football,” Malzahn said.
After a disappointing 6-4 record last season for UCF, Malzahn said his goal is to win championships, along with hopes of making the College Football Playoffs and New Year Six bowl games.
Offensively, the Knights are expected to be led by sophomore quarterback Dillon Gabriel. Gabriel finished top five in passing yards and passing touchdowns last season.
Malzahn comes in embracing the “explosive” offense of UCF, with a goal to finish top 10 in the country in total offense.
Likewise, Malzahn said another goal of his is to finish top 10 in the country on the defensive end.
Under Malzahn, Auburn ranked in the top 20 in total defense in four seasons, dating back to 2016 according to the NCAA.
“If you’re going to truly win a championship, you’ve got to play championship defense, it can’t just be offense,” he said.
While Malzahn fills the head coaching position, the hunt for his complimenting staff lies ahead. White’s departure to Tennessee started a chain effect within the Knights’ coaching staff. First to follow was former head coach Josh Heupel, followed by former assistant coaches Alex Golesh and Glen Elarbee, and former quarterback coach Joey Halzle.
Malzahn said he hopes to finalize his coaching staff within the next week. In the search, he said he will be getting coaches who will be great examples for the players.
“What a great dad looks like. What a great husband looks like,” Malzahn said. “I told my players ‘I’m going to get coaches that truly care about them as a person and invest in their life.’”
Staying local with recruitment is another strategy we can expect to see from the Knights going forward.
Malzahn expressed his focus on “staying within six hours” for recruitment, focusing their recruitment efforts in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.
With the Knights defeating Auburn in the 2018 Peach Bowl and claiming the “National Champions” title, Malzahn said he loves the expectations that he is coming into as head coach of UCF.
Malzahn said he is a dreamer and loves expectations.
“I want our players to dream. I want our fans to dream. When you put expectations, that’s the fun part. I don’t want a job that doesn’t have expectations to win a championship. That’s not me,” Malzahn said. “I love the fact that, like I said, the foundation is built, there’s been some really good success, and it just needs to kind of be that next step and that consistency, and that’s what I’m here for.”
