Moving to the Sunshine State relaxed Gus Malzahn, but the UCF coach still wants to win
ARLINGTON, Texas ― Do a Google search for Gus Malzahn’s introductory press conference at UCF, and you’ll find a video of the bespectacled, brown-haired football coach from that day two years ago.
Lock that image in your brain.
Then, search for any of Malzahn’s interviews a few months later during the 2021 season, his first as the coach of the Knights, and you’ll see a totally different look. The thin-rimmed glasses remain, but the brown hair has changed to gray.
Not some gray.
All gray.
He stopped dying his hair ― college football coaches coloring their hair is such an epidemic Just For Men should consider sponsoring a bowl game ― and he even started wearing UCF-branded Hawaiian shirts to some of his press conferences.
Malzahn definitely isn’t the first person to move to Florida and relax a bit.
But make no mistake: Malzahn still has a passion for building winning football teams.
In each of his first two seasons at UCF, the Knights won nine games, and last season, they played in the American Athletic Conference title game. Now, they are about to enter the Big 12, which is the program’s first foray into Power Five football.
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“This is a huge moment for our program to be a part of the Big 12,” Malzahn said last week at Big 12 Media Days. “A lot of excitement.
“I think the best thing for us is … we had time to prepare for this moment and building our roster and our staff and everything that goes with that.”
UCF and its fellow Big 12 newbies have known for almost two years that they’d be joining the league. From the start, BYU was set to join in 2023, but UCF, Cincinnati and Houston had to negotiate an early buyout of their contracts with the American.
That happened last summer.
But even before that deal was cut, Malzahn was doing everything he could to get ready. He knows, after all, what it takes to win in a Power Five conference.
He was the offensive coordinator at Auburn when Cam Newton and the Tigers won the 2010 national title. Then, he became the head coach there for eight seasons, taking the Tigers to the 2013 BCS national championship game. If not for a last-second touchdown by Florida State, Auburn would’ve won another title with Malzahn.
He had more success against Nick Saban’s Alabama teams than any other Auburn coach, beating the Crimson Tide three times, including the iconic Kick Six victory.
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Malzahn was one of the big reasons Saban altered his offense. For years, Saban fought against the spread, but the success Malzahn and his Tigers had ― they often kept scores close in the Iron Bowl even when they were overmatched ― was difficult for Saban to ignore.
Malzahn believes the same sort of success can happen at UCF in the Big 12, and he’s been building with an eye on playing Power Five football.
“We brought in 18 transfers, and most of these guys weren’t just starters on their previous teams; quite a few of them were impact players,” Malzahn said. “So that quality depth that you really need when you go take the next step to another conference, really feel good about that, specifically on the O-line and D-line.”
Even though he’s still driven to build teams and win championships, there’s little doubt Malzahn is a chilled-out version of his former self.
It might not just be Florida either.
Starting in October 2021 Malzahn’s family endured a six-month string of events that provided perspective on life. First, his youngest daughter had complications after giving birth that kept her in the hospital for two weeks. A month later, Malzahn got run into on the sideline during a game and broke his leg. Then a couple of months after that, his wife spent three weeks in the hospital, including five days on a ventilator, after developing a viral infection.
Finally, during the spring of 2022, his wife’s father died after ongoing health struggles, then Malzahn and his wife were involved in a crash with a motorcyclist.
“It’s been one of the more challenging parts of my life,” Malzahn told Sports Illustrated in April 2022. “Anytime you go through something like that … there’s nothing more important than your wife and your kids. I’m one of those extreme football (guys), outwork people.
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“I haven’t had balance.”
Whatever the reason, Malzahn sure seems more at ease than he did during his Auburn days. But he knows people at UCF want to have success in the Big 12. Want to make a big splash. Want to contend for championships.
He wants that, too.
And he believes by building around his up-tempo spread offense, he has the formula to make it happen.
“We’re planning on putting the hammer down,” he said, “and playing as fast as we can.”
Just because Malzahn is more relaxed off the field doesn’t mean he’s eased up on it.
Jenni Carlson: Jenni can be reached at 405-475-4125 or jcarlson@oklahoman.com. Like her at facebook.com/JenniCarlsonOK, follow her at twitter.com/jennicarlson_ok or on Threads at jennicarlson_ok, and support her work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Big 12 expansion: Gus Malzahn is more relaxed, still wants UCF success
