A chronology of UCF football coaches through the years

The success of UCF‘s football program can be attributed, in part, to the 12 coaches who have provided guidance to the Knights throughout their over four decades of existence.

Don Jonas (1979-81)
14-12-1 (53%)
Dr. Jack O’Leary, the former athletics director, chose Jonas to lead the Knights in 1979. UCF was able to secure its first victory against St. Leo, marking a significant milestone for the fledgling program. That team would finish 6-2 while playing as an NCAA Division III independent.

Sam Weir (1982)
0-10 (0%)
After Jonas left in 1981, Weir took over. The Knights faced a challenging transition from Division III to Division II and finished went winless. Weir, who had coached at Lake Highland High School, resigned after one year.

Lou Saban (1983-84)
6-12 (33%)
Saban arrived in Orlando with a way-fair reputation that included coaching stops at Northwestern, Maryland, Miami and Army and professional stints with the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos. He guided UCF to 5-6 in 1983 but resigned after a 1-6 start in 1984.

Jerry Anderson (1984)
1-3 (25%)
After Saban’s departure, he was promoted to interim coach. Later on, he left to become an assistant coach at his alma mater, Florida. He worked under coaches Galen Hall and Steve Spurrier.

Gene McDowell (1985-97)
86-61 (59%)
McDowell was brought in to resuscitate the football program after a successful stint as an assistant coach at Florida State. He also assumed the role of athletics director, which he held until 1992. Under his leadership, the Knights made it to the Division II and Division I-AA playoffs several times. However, his tenure was cut short due to a cell phone scandal that led to his resignation.

Mike Kruczek (1998-2003)
36-30 (55%)
Kruczek started as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under McDowell’s leadership. He was promoted to interim and head coach, leading the Knights to a 9-2 in 1998 and helping Daunte Culpepper secure a sixth-place finish in the Heisman Trophy voting. His tenure came to an abrupt end when he was fired with two games left in the 2003 season.

Alan Gooch (2003)
0-2 (0%)
Gooch took over coaching duties at his alma mater after Kruczek’s firing, but he didn’t get a victory in the final two games.

George O’Leary (2004-15)
81-68 (54%)
O’Leary had a rough beginning at the program, with his first season being the worst in history at 0-11. However, things turned around the following year after the team moved to Conference USA. The Knights won a divisional crown and secured a spot in the title game. UCF claimed four conference titles under his watch, with the most memorable moment coming against Baylor in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl. O’Leary resigned after an 0-8 start to the 2015 season.

Danny Barrett (2015)
0-4 (0%)
Barrett served as running backs coach and quarterbacks coach at UCF from 2011-15 before being promoted to interim coach after O’Leary’s resignation. The Knights finished 0-12, their worst season in program history. He went on to be an assistant coach with the Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans.

Scott Frost (2016-17)
19-7 (73%)
Frost had a successful run as an assistant coach before earning his first head coaching job. His time at Nebraska, Kansas State, Northern Iowa and Oregon helped him develop his uptempo style of offense, which he utilized while coaching the Ducks to a national title appearance in 2014. He led the Knights to an undefeated season in 2017, which included a victory over No. 7 Auburn in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. The school would go on to claim the Colley Matrix National Championship. Frost left to return to his alma mater, Nebraska.

Josh Heupel (2018-2020)
28-8 (78%)
UCF had a successful start under Heupel, with a 12-0 regular season record and its second American Athletic Conference title. The team also made it to a New Year’s Six bowl game where it lost to LSU. Over the next two seasons, the program finished with a 10-3 and 6-4 record before Heupel left to join former UCF AD Danny White at Tennessee. Throughout his tenure, UCF maintained one of the top-scoring offenses in the country.

Gus Malzahn (2021-current)
18-9 (67%)
UCF AD Terry Mohajir had a strong interest in bringing on Malzahn as head coach, particularly after his good friend had been let go at Auburn. He led the Knights to a 9-4 record in his first season, culminating in a victory over Florida in the Gasparilla Bowl. In the subsequent year, UCF achieved another nine-win season, losing to Tulane in the AAC Championship Game.

This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Matt Murschel at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @osmattmurschel.