The Gus Malzahn era in Orlando didn’t unfold as the UCF Knights had envisioned. Tasked with guiding the program into the Big 12, his Power Five experience seemed like a perfect match.
However, after back-to-back lackluster seasons and a 4-8 record in 2024, Malzahn has moved on, joining Mike Norvell’s Florida State Seminoles staff as offensive coordinator.
In response, UCF turned to a familiar face to right the ship: Scott Frost.
UCF Knights Replace Gus Malzahn With Scott Frost
Frost took the Knights to new heights during his two-year tenure (2016-17). UCF had just gone 0-8 the season prior under longtime head coach George O’Leary, but that didn’t stop Frost from leading the program to a 6-6 regular-season record.
Yet, 2017 was one for record books. The Knights wrote their own Cinderella story, finishing 13-0 and defeating the Auburn Tigers in the Peach Bowl.
According to the Colley Matrix, the computer-generated sports rating system designed for BCS rankings by Dr. Wesley Colley, UCF was the 2017 national champion, and the program ran with the branding.
After the unforgettable season, Frost parlayed the success into a Power Five opportunity as the head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, his alma mater.
The result? The worst era of Cornhuskers football since the 1950s.
Frost’s teams went a combined 16-31 from 2018-22, failing to reach a bowl game in any season. That’s particularly egregious, considering Nebraska made a bowl appearance in all but three seasons over the previous 49 years.
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Nebraska fired Frost on Sept. 11 following a 1-2 start to the 2022 campaign, including a 45-42 home loss to the Georgia Southern Eagles. After spending a season away from the game (at least in a full-time capacity), Frost joined the Los Angeles Rams’ staff in 2024 as an offensive analyst.
College football, thanks to NIL and new NCAA rules, is in a completely different landscape than when Frost last manned the helm of a team. Can he hit the ground running like he did in 2016?
As UCF heads into its third year in the Big 12, the program is gearing up for a new financial reality. Since joining the conference, the Knights have operated on a partial revenue share of around $19 million annually. Starting in 2025, they will receive a payout — estimated at $38-40 million — bolstering their ability to compete in the Power Four.
The school hopes that Frost can revive a version of his up-tempo, no-huddle offense that ranked near the top nationally in scoring (48.2 ppg) and total yardage (530 ypg) in 2017. He wasn’t able to do so with Nebraska, as the Cornhuskers finished near the bottom of the Big Ten in both categories during his tenure.
Redshirt freshman QB Dylan Rizk wasted no time sharing his excitement over the unexpected hire, reacting to the news on X.
LETS GOOOOOO!!! 🥶 #GKCO
— DYLAN RIZK (@dylanrizk11) December 7, 2024
Now, it’s up to Frost to prove his magic wasn’t a one-time spell and that he can rekindle the fire at UCF as the Knights aim to rise in the ever-competitive Big 12.
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