An open letter to the new UCF Knights football coach
Hey Scott,
Welcome back to UCF! I’m sure you’ve been pretty busy over the past week, but I figured I would write you a quick letter to get you caught up on what you have missed over the past seven years. And, because I want to see you be successful, I’ve got some tips and ideas for you to consider.
First off, you should probably know that you are walking into a pretty tough situation. With all due respect to Coach Malzahn, things around the kingdom have been pretty dark over the past six months or so. You see, we were supposed to have put together the perfect team to compete in the Big 12. We signed a veteran quarterback out of the SEC, revamped our defense by bringing in an old school coordinator, and had a slew of young talent we were going to unleash. Unfortunately, all of that excitement turned into frustration by the time we hit October. As the season wound down, the team and coaching staff looked like wounded animals just trying to get to safety. And the fan base, well, let’s just say that interest was dwindling and there were threats of people opting out of their season tickets and cutting off their donations. All of that culminated in your predecessor getting booed off the field to end the season.
While 2024 certainly seemed to be the nadir of the football program, a lot of things really need to be traced back to just after you left. Coach Heupel came in and kept things rolling early, keeping a high powered and fast paced offense that helped bring the Knights back to a New Year’s Six game bowl game, narrowly losing to an LSU team that turned out to be pretty good. Despite the extended loss of McKenzie due to injury, optimism was high in 2019 because of a hotshot freshman QB named Dillon Gabriel. There was a lot of early success (we crushed Stanford, the school you initially attended out of high school), but ultimately, we got tripped up in a few frustrating games (Tulsa, if you can believe it).
2020 was a weird year all-around, with COVID restrictions, condensed schedules, and opt-outs, UCF stumbled through the year managing a 6-4 record. But, if we are being honest, this might have been the first sign that cracks were showing within the team. First, there was a shoving match between our kicker and third string QB that was captured on TV. Then, multiple defensive players, including several starters, were kicked off of the team after a traffic stop that led to one player being arrested. To cap off the season, we put up a lackluster performance in the Boca Bowl and got our asses kicked by BYU.
A few weeks later, both Danny White (remember him?) and Heupel would leave for Tennessee, and UCF was in search of new leadership. If we are being honest, people were way more upset about losing Danny than they were Heupel, mainly because of the apathetic performance of the team in 2020 and his “four play” playbook.
Enter Terry Mohajir and Gus Malzahn.
I’ll be honest with you, not everybody was super excited about the hire of Gus. Yes, he was a tenured SEC coach, but for many he represented a retread hire as opposed to somebody hungry to prove themselves in the mold of you and Heupel. In fact, there was quite a ground swell of support from current and former players for UCF to hire former offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby.
Nonetheless, we jumped on-board the Gus bus. The early results were inconclusive, largely because of injuries in the 2021 season, including to Dillon Gabriel. The high-powered flashy offense took a back seat as UCF slogged its way to a nine-win season, capped off with a win over Florida in the Gasparilla Bowl. However, the world of college football began to creep in, with several big-name players choosing to leave UCF via the transfer portal. The biggest, but least surprising, loss was Dillon Gabriel (yes, the same guy who was just up for the 2024 Heisman).
What’s the old saying, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em? Well, UCF also got involved heavily in the transfer portal too. Over the next three seasons, Gus and the coaching staff tried to bring in talent from all over the country, although one can’t help to see that there was an obvious connection to Auburn, the state of Alabama, and the SEC. In a few cases it worked really well, including Javon Baker, Kobe Hudson, and Lee Hunter. In other cases, not so much (look up Joey Gatewood when you get a chance).
One of the other big names that came to UCF during this time was quarterback John Rhys Plumlee. Not sure how much you know about JRP, but let me start by telling you he appears to be a phenomenal human being. He represented UCF in a positive way and was always accessible to the fans. However, as a QB, well, he had his ups and downs. Those ups and downs started the two-year odyssey of quarterback controversy at UCF – first with Mikey Keene (who ended up transferring) and then Thomas Castellanos (who ended up transferring). It was hard to have a conversation about UCF without talking about who should be playing at QB, which was only compounded as the Knights suffered numerous head scratching and frustrating losses (Navy and ECU among them).
However, as 2023 rolled around, some of that noise took a backseat to the excitement of UCF joining the Big 12. Finally, after all of the years of being discounted because we were in the “group of 5”, UCF finally cracked the power conference level. No pun intended, but this was BIG. Unfortunately, the results on the field did not live up to those expectations. A five-game losing streak, highlighted by an epic collapse at home against Baylor, helped to solidify the first losing season at UCF since 2016 (your first year). Gus vowed changes, but as I mentioned above, those changes did not bring success.
This brings me back to present day, and the situation that you are now facing. Graduation, portal, and NIL have heavily impacted the roster you inherited. In our quest to build a champion in 2024, it appears we might have mortgaged our future. Veteran players with one-year remaining are leaving to find a more competitive team (and probably one last payday), while some of the younger players have hurt feelings about how they were (or weren’t) used this season, and they don’t believe in the future of this program. Needless to say, Scott, you’ve got some work to do, but one thing I will tell you though, is that it seems like the UCF community has a lot of trust and faith in you to turn this thing around.
Speaking of trust, we are going to have to talk about the past for a second. First, there will always be a small portion of the fan-base who will have some hurt feelings over the way you left. The red checkered shirt. The recruiting database. Downplaying the national championship. People around here have long memories, and those are some lightning rod moments attached with your name. Now, I know you can’t turn back the clock and un-do what was done, but I think owning up to those things when appropriate and sharing your feeling will go a long way. Your opening press conference was not the right forum for that, but someday soon I think you should consider airing out some of your feelings.
There are also a lot of the rumors and stories coming out of your time at Nebraska. My personal belief is that you do not owe any of us an explanation about things that may have been happening in your life at that time. There are certain things you have the right to keep private and protect when it comes to your family. However, I think you have to be mindful of not giving anybody the ammunition to question your commitment and work ethic going forward. Your actions will allow you to answer those criticisms head-on, and put them to rest once and for all.
Ok, so here is what you need to know about getting this program back on track. First, as you might recall from your time here before, UCF has always been a program with a chip on their shoulders. For decades we have been told what we can’t do, or what we don’t deserve. We’ve used that as fuel to bust through the glass ceilings set for us by the football establishment. But now that we find ourselves in the football establishment for the first time, it appears as though we’ve forgotten about the grit it took to get here. We need to get that grit and that fighting spirit back. While I am all for evolution, it should not be done at the sacrifice of our DNA. Let’s get some of our swagger back.
Next, we need to have fun again, and I don’t just mean by scoring points and having a high-flying offense (although that would certainly help). Over the past few years things have become too closed off and sanitized around this football team. From a uniform scale back, to stringent media policies, and even game day operations and traditions, things just haven’t felt fun. Of course, you could blame some of that on the losing, but I think most people would tell you something felt off. You have a chance to try to get us back to having some fun. First, let us get to know the players on the team. Allow the UCF content team and the media who cover you daily the ability to tell their stories, and not just for 5 minutes at the podium each week, but in more meaningful ways. I know the transfer portal will always bring roster change, but while they are here, allow your guys to make some connections with the fans. Eric DeSalvo told us some new uniforms are coming, which is cool, and hopefully we’ll see some unique designs and combos. Lastly, I understand from your opening presser that UCFast and UCFierce might not be coming back in the same form, but I think you have a chance to establish a fun identity. The previous regime used the tagline ‘The Future of College Football’, and while I understand the bigger message involved in that phrase, there didn’t seem to be much to grab onto.
Lastly, we know that college sports in general is in a period of change and uncertainty. There will undoubtedly be challenges and growing pains as we move through the NIL era and into a rev share model. We as fans understand and recognize that this isn’t 2017 anymore, and we need you to realize that as well. All we ask is that you position UCF to be a school that can compete in this new era. Don’t always rely on the portal for high priced or one-year rentals. Fortify strong ties with local talent to continue to make UCF a desirable place to play college football. Prioritize player development, character, and homegrown talent to build your program. Let’s focus on being competitive in the Big 12 and showing growth from week to week and year to year.
Anyways, when your schedule clears up we’d love to have you on the show for an interview. Until then, we look forward to your leadership of this program.
UCFuture.
Charge On,
Adam
Greetings Adams,
As a UCF alumni and season ticket holder for 18 years, my wife and I began this journey with Coach O’Leary. We have felt the thrill of victories and the agonies of defeat. Thank you for your letter of reflection. You highlighted the most important facts of this journey and well placed advice to coach Frost. I close by staying what every UCF Knight who loves our University and our team as much as we do. We will never quit, we will never fold, and we will never stop fighting for greatness. My dream is to to stand at least one time with knight Nation again as National Champions before God calls us home.
Happy Holidays
Richard and Lourdes Estefan
Lake Mary Florida