Sources – UCF’s Gus Malzahn joins FSU as offensive coordinator

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  • Pete Thamel, ESPNNovember 30, 2024, 4:31 PM ET

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      College Football Senior Writer for ESPN. Insider to College Gameday.

UCF head coach Gus Malzahn is stepping down to become the new offensive coordinator at Florida State, sources told ESPN on Saturday.

Malzahn will be FSU’s primary playcaller, a role previously held by head coach Mike Norvell. This marks a significant shift for Norvell, who has shaken up his staff in the wake of a 2-9 season that ends Saturday night against Florida.

Norvell worked with Malzahn back in Tulsa when he was Malzahn’s graduate assistant in 2007 and 2008.

The move comes on the heels of two uneven seasons for Malzahn at UCF, going 6-7 last year and struggling this season to go 4-8. UCF lost eight of its last nine games to end the year, and Malzahn would have been considered on the hot seat had he survived into 2025. His four-year tenure with the Knights ends 28-24, including 5- 13 in the Big 12 over the past two years.

In 13 seasons as a college head coach, including stints with Arkansas State and Auburn, Malzahn is 105-62. He reached the BCS title game as Auburn’s coach in 2013.

Now Malzahn heads to Tallahassee and will try to help Norvell bounce back from a season in which the Seminoles went 1-7 in the ACC. FSU is just one year removed from a 13-1 season that saw them fall just short of a College Football Playoff berth in a controversial decision.

Malzahn is an experienced playcaller; he was Auburn’s offensive coordinator and playcaller on its 2010 national title team.

The move should help recharge FSU’s offense, which never looked in sync in 2024. FSU entered Saturday ranked 131st in the country in total offense.

In Malzahn’s 19 years as a collegiate offensive coordinator or head coach, his offenses have averaged 447.7 yards. They have eclipsed 5,000 yards of total offense in a season 16 times, 6,000 yards eight times and 7,000 yards three times.

His last three offenses at UCF have all ranked in the top-10 nationally in rushing. That should mesh well with Norvell’s passing game, which had been a specialty until the offense never got going this season.