Oregon offensive coordinator Scott Frost is UCF's new football coach

[CF DolFan]

I'm very happy with this hire although there were a few good candidates. They should be fun to watch in a couple of years.

Oregon offensive coordinator Scott Frost will be named UCF’s new head football coach, according to sources with knowledge of the coaching search.

After days of rumors and a 247Sports.com report Bowling Green coach Dino Babers would take the UCF job, Frost is set to take over the UCF football program. UCFSports.com was the first to report the news later confirmed by multiple media outlets.

"Scott was highly sought after and we are excited that he will bring his innovative offense to UCF. He’s the ideal coach for the Knights," UCF vice president for communications and marketing Grant Heston told the Orlando Sentinel.

Frost, 40, was the starting quarterback on the 1997 Nebraska national title team and spent six years playing in the NFL before moving into coaching in 2002.

He joined the Oregon coaching staff in 2009 as the receivers coach under Chip Kelly. After Kelly jumped to the NFL, Frost was named offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach  by new Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich.

UCF administrators were forced to move quickly in a competitive market that could see as many as 25 vacancies at the end of the college football season.

The school is facing a critical juncture in the post George O’Leary era, having just completed its second winless season since 2004.

This is the first head coaching job for Frost, who previously served as an assistant coach at Northern Iowa before joining Oregon’s staff.

Administrators conducted final interviews during the weekend as most college football teams ended their regular seasons.

Other finalists said to have been considered for the job were Florida co-defensive coordinators Geoff Collins’ and Randy  Shannon, Nevada coach Brian Polian, former Bucs coach Greg Schiano and Babers.

UCF’s current football coaches met the interim athletics director Brad Stricklin Sunday afternoon following their season-ending loss to USF to discuss their futures. They were told to hold off from recruiting.

O'Leary, 69, retired Oct. 26, wrapping up a 12-year tenure during which he helped put the school's football program on the national radar. He finished his career second in school history in wins.

O'Leary compiled an 81-68 record at UCF and led the team to seven bowl games. He has won three postseason games at UCF, including his crowning achievement in 2013 — an upset of No. 5 Baylor to win the Fiesta Bowl.

Overall, O'Leary has compiled a 133-101 record and 11 bowl appearances as a college football head coach dating back to when he took over Georgia Tech's program in 1995.

Speculation about O’Leary’s retirement started to gain traction in 2014 as reports surfaced that he planned to step down after the team’s season opener against Penn State and would hand over the program to trusted assistant Brent Key.

O’Leary denied the reports, but the questions about his future picked up more traction after he was named interim athletics director in addition to head coaching duties in August. Key, who was the offensive line coach, was promoted to offensive coordinator during the offseason.

UCF’s collapse on the field continued to fuel attention about the future of the football program and O’Leary resigned from the interim athletics director role to focus on football. Just 48 hours after the Knights recorded a 59-10 loss to No. 21 Houston, the worst home loss at Bright House Networks Stadium, O’Leary announced he would retire immediately. Quarterbacks coach Danny Barrett was named interim head coach for the team’s final four games.

The Knights entered the season as the third youngest football team among Football Bowl Subdivision teams.

Frost  will inherit a group that used 33 first-time starters during the 2015 season, tying with Kansas for most in the FBS, and a promising receiving corps spearheaded by redshirt freshman Tre’Quan Smith. Smith finished the season with 52 receptions for 724 receiving yards and four touchdowns. He ranks No. 1 in UCF history for receptions and receiving yards by a freshman.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/ucf-knights/os-oregon-scott-frost-new-ucf-coach-20151201-story.html

Copyright © 2015, Orlando Sentinel

[Phishfan]

There are a lot of college openings this year. UCF and VT have named new coaches. The others better get on the ball.

[BuccaneerBrad]

Looks like that wacky machine gun offense is coming to UCF