UCF is set to hire former Texas and Auburn offensive line coach Herb Hand to coach the same position, a source tells 247Sports.
Hand was recently hired by Charlotte, but he will join his friend Gus Malzahn in Orlando.
Hand coached Malzahn's offensive line at Auburn in 2016 and 2017 before joining Tom Herman's staff at Texas as co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach in 2018. He was not retained by newly-hired head coach Steve Sarkisian at Texas, but landed a job at Charlotte coaching the 49ers' offensive line in January. He now heads to Orlando to coach for arguably the best Group of 5 school in the country.
Hand is the first to join Malzahn's offensive staff. He joins a staff that includes Travis Williams (defensive coordinator) and David Gibbs (co-defensive coordinator). Malzahn will call plays on offense and is prioritizing a quarterbacks coach in his search for staff members.
Malzahn was introduced as UCF's head coach Monday. The coach was fired after eight seasons at Auburn, where he won an SEC Championship, appeared in the final BCS Championship Game and won two SEC West titles. He defeated Alabama three times, the most by any coach in the SEC at the time last season.
"I've had a lot of respect for the [UCF] program for a long period of time," Malzahn said during his introductory presser on Monday. "I was telling (athletic director Terry Mohajir) during the interview process that over the last five years, from time to time, I would tell our (Auburn) staff that if the right guy after got to UCF and stayed there and built it, everybody else would be in trouble. I feel like I am that right guy, and I truly believe that this is a program with a future in college football...The foundation has been built with the players before and the coaches that have been here before. I think it's in great shape."
Malzahn wants to schedule one top-10 non-conference opponent each season in an attempt to lift the profile of the program in the coming years. No Group of 5 school has been included in the College Football Playoff.
"You say best non-Power 5 job ... we need to change the narrative," Malzahn said. "This is going to be one of the best programs in college football in a short period of time. At times they've (already) been that way ... This is a job that I plan on being here and building it. Like I said, that's what really makes me tick. Now you ask about why I didn't sit out for a Power 5 job. This, to me, is one of the top 20 coaching jobs in all of college football."
Malzahn replaced Josh Heupel, who was hired away by Tennessee in the wake of Jeremy Pruitt's firing at the SEC school.
The Link LonkFebruary 19, 2021 at 05:05AM
https://ift.tt/3awdbUQ
Source: UCF hires Herb Hand as offensive line coach - 247Sports
https://ift.tt/3eCf9lu
Herb
No comments:
Post a Comment