There’s something about Gus: The UCF coach’s magnetism is drawing former players and coaches back

When Tim Harris Jr. decided to leave UCF at the end of the 2022 season for a position with the Miami Hurricanes, he met with Knights coach Gus Malzahn to discuss the move.

It was a tough choice for Harris, who wanted to return to his South Florida roots with his alma mater. His strong connection to Malzahn made the decision even more difficult.

“Before he left, he told me, ‘Tim, you’re always going to be one of my guys,’” Harris said. “At that point, he did everything he could to not let me go.”

That conversation stuck with Harris, and after spending one season as the Hurricanes’ running backs coach, Malzahn took another opportunity to become UCF’s offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach.

UCF offensive coordinator Tim Harris Jr. is reuniting with Gus Malzahn after working for the Knights coach in 2021-22. (Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel)

“We’ve always stayed in touch,” Harris said. “So it wasn’t a surprise when he called me to talk about coming back here. I knew he had a lot of respect for me and I have a lot of respect for him.”

Although they’ve only been together for two seasons, Harris credits Malzahn with teaching him the ins and outs of coaching. The two also share a common bond, having cut their teeth as high school coaches.

Malzahn spent more than a decade at Hughes, Shiloh Christian and Springdale high schools in Arkansas, while Harris attended Booker T. Washington High School.

“I saw Harris do that as a high school football coach, trying to get myself into the game and working toward my long-term goals,” Harris said. “He sees a lot of the same thing in me.”

Harris is one of several coaches who worked with Malzahn and returned to join his staff at UCF. Many of them were drawn to working with someone they trusted and who was authentic.

UCF coaches Ted Roof (defensive coordinator), Addison Williams (co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs), Herb Hand (offensive line), Brian Blackmon (tight end/special teams), Kenny Ingram (defensive ends), Kam Martin (defensive backs) and Trovon Reed (cornerbacks) worked with Malzahn before UCF.

Several people on his support team, including strength and conditioning coach Anthony Kincy and chief of staff Ross Newton, are also connected to him. Kincy played for him at Arkansas State before eventually joining his team at Auburn.

UCF offensive line coach Herb Hand worked with Gus Malzahn at Auburn before reuniting with him at UCF in 2021. (Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel)

Hand worked with Malzahn on Todd Graham’s coaching staff at Tulsa. He reunited with him at Auburn (2016-17) and again in Orlando.

“It’s a combination of several factors. One of them is familiarity,” Hand said. “You know the expectations and the operating procedures, if you will. That familiarity is a positive.”

Roof reunited with Malzahn this offseason after working with him at Auburn (2009-11).

“There’s a million coaches that would love to coach here at the University of Central Florida, but the guys that he has a relationship with see something that they love and that he believes in and gets them involved,” Roof said. “I’m blessed to be a part of it.”

Reed, who joined the team this spring, has the unique perspective of having played football for Malzahn.

“He’s really himself every day,” said Reed, who played at Auburn from 2010-14. “You accept people for who they are every day. The same coach that showed up to that staff meeting is the same coach I had in my staff meeting in 2010. He’s the same guy every day.”

After a stint in the NFL, Reed returned to Auburn, where he served as director of football and player relations under Bryan Harsin and Hugh Freeze.

“You don’t see a lot of coaches hiring former players,” he said. “There’s a lot of former players. There’s 100 people on a team every year, and the fact that he keeps hiring former players, former players, former players shows who he is.”

UCF running backs coach Kam Martin played for Gus Malzahn at Auburn before coming to Orlando. (Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel)

“I’m grateful for the opportunity and I tell him every chance I get, ‘Coach, you’re going to give me the best I can. I’m going to fight for UCF. I didn’t graduate here, but I owe a lot to those who did, because I know how I feel about Auburn.'”

During his short stint with Malzahn, Harris saw the staff’s confidence in the 58-year-old coach.

“Everybody has some experience with coach (Malzahn), and that’s how he likes to operate, and he’s had success everywhere he’s gone because of that,” Harris said.

Over the course of his long career, Malzahn has worked with numerous assistant coaches, some of whom have gone on to become head coaches. Others choose to be part of his staff, bringing a sense of familiarity that makes them an attractive option.

“I’m older now and I have a lot of experience, and the people that have been with me have had a lot of success,” Malzahn told the Sentinel earlier this year. “I know a lot about them and they know a lot about me. It greatly shortens the learning curve that a lot of coaches have to go through.”

“Also, I know exactly what I’m going to get. They’re all good examples for our players and that’s very important to me in terms of culture. We’re a tight-knit squad, which is a key element today.”

You can contact Matt Murschel at [email protected]