UCF's Malzahn fires defensive coordinator and will no longer calls offensive plays for Knights
Central Florida head coach Gus Malzahn, right, stands next to a referee, left, while a play is reviewed during the first half of an NCAA college football game against BYU, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. Credit: AP/Kevin Kolczynski
ORLANDO, Fla. — With UCF mired in a five-game losing streak, coach Gus Malzahn fired his defensive coordinator Monday and also announced he'll no longer call offensive plays for the Knights.
Ted Roof, in his first year with the program, was dismissed two days after a 37-24 loss to then-No. 11 BYU dropped UCF to 3-5, 1-4 in the Big 12. Malzahn replaced him with Addison Williams, who was defensive coordinator a year ago when the Knights went 6-7 in their first season in the expanded conference.
First-year offensive coordinator Tim Harris Jr. is taking over the play-calling duties that Malzahn initially relinquished to Darin Hinshaw in 2023 to give himself more time to manage all aspects of the program as the Knights made the transition to the Big 12 from the American Athletic Conference.
“Both of these decisions are my decisions,” Malzahn said. “What’s best for our team. As a leader, as a head coach, that’s what you’ve got to be thinking. That’s what I did. Looking forward to going through this process the last four games with that.”
Malzahn hired Roof ahead of this season to help reshape a struggling defense. He's also hoping that giving up offensive play-calling responsibilities to Harris will spark the offense, too.
“I’m a football coach first, but as a leader and as a head coach, you’ve got to do what’s best for your team," Malzahn said. "This is what’s best for our team. This is what’s best for me as a head coach.”
Roof arrived at UCF from Oklahoma promising a more aggressive style of play designed to revitalize the pass rush and put more pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
Central Florida head coach Gus Malzahn, right, reacts after a series as quarterback Jacurri Brown (11) comes off of the field against Cincinnati during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. Credit: AP/Phelan M. Ebenhack
But the Knights have struggled, ranking 115th in the nation with only 11 sacks through eight games. They're 12th in the 16-team Big 12 — 79th nationally — in total defense, yielding 379.1 yards per game.
“This has been a grind on our guys," Roof said during his weekly availability on Sunday. "The part of it when they invest so much time and energy and effort to this and don't get the results they want can be disappointing. But the leadership is strong. At the same time, I think they can understand how close we are to breaking through.”
UCF’s typically fast-paced offense, which has featured three different starting quarterbacks, has also struggled to score points.
The Knights are 20th in the nation in total offense at 454.8 yards per game. They are 51st in scoring offense, though, at 30.4 points per game. In Big 12 play, UCF is averaging 434.4 yards per game, but just 25.6 points per game.
