It’s been a tough few weeks for Gus Malzahn and the UCF Knights.
UCF won its first three games of the season to start 3-0 and seemingly be on the fast track for their ninth straight bowl appearance and fourth straight under Malzahn.
In the time since, the bottom has fallen out for the Knights. They ended nonconference play with a loss to the Florida Gators before dropping their first four Big 12 games to limp into November at 3-5.
Things have gotten worse for UCF in the past 48 hours. Fans chanted “Fire Gus” at the head coach in the waning moments of Saturday’s 37-24 loss to the BYU Cougars.
Monday brought a pair of changes to the UCF coaching staff. First, defensive coordinator Ted Roof was fired from his post just eight games into his second stint holding the position.
Then, during his weekly media availability, Malzahn announced that he would turn over offensive playcalling duties to offensive coordinator Tim Harris Jr.
“Offensively, Tim Harris is gonna take over playcalling duties the rest of the season. Real excited for Tim. He’s a rising star. He’s been waiting on this moment. Gonna allow me to be taking care of more of the head coaching duties, which there is more demands on the head coach this day and time than ever before…. Our players have a lot of confidence in Tim,” Malzahn said.
Harris has worked with the Florida International Panthers and Miami Hurricanes and previously with UCF. He was the offensive coordinator during the 2021 and 2022 seasons before leaving for Miami and returning to the school in 2024.
UCF will return to the win column on November 2 when it hosts the Arizona Wildcats.
