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Gus Malzahn contract details: Does Florida State owe UCF a buyout for hiring former Knights coach?
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- Gus Malzahn contract details: Does Florida State owe UCF a buyout for hiring former Knights coach?
Florida State already lined up an offensive coordinator for the 2025 season before its disappointing 2024 football season ended with a game against rival Florida on Saturday night.
UCF coach Gus Malzahn is stepping down from his position with the Knights after four seasons to become the offensive coordinator for Florida State, according to a report from ESPN on Saturday.
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Malzahn's resignation comes a day after the Knights finished off a disappointing 4-8 season with a 28-14 loss to Utah. UCF has gone 10-15 overall since joining the Big 12 ahead of the 2023 season after winning nine games in each of Malzahn's first two seasons in Orlando.
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The move reunites Malzahn with Seminoles coach Mike Norvell, who worked with him as a graduate assistant at Tulsa while Malzahn was a co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Golden Hurricane.
But will poaching a sitting head coach for a top assistant role come with a price tag for Florida State?
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Here's what you need to know about Malzahn's contract with UCF and its buyout:
Does Florida State owe UCF a buyout for hiring Gus Malzahn?
In the same way that schools owe coaches money guaranteed to them based on the terms of their contract if they're fired without cause, coaches (or, more commonly, the schools hiring them) have to pay their employer if they leave before their contract ends.
Malzahn is no exception.
If Malzahn terminated his deal with UCF before June 30, 2025, he owes the university $6 million, according to documents obtained by USA TODAY through an open records request.
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Malzahn was the 55th-highest paid coach in the FBS this season, according to USA TODAY's Coaching Salary database , bringing in $4 million.
He went 28-24 in four seasons at UCF. Previously, he was the head coach for eight seasons at Auburn, where he went 68-35 and led the Tigers to the national championship game at the end of the 2013 season.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Does Florida State owe UCF a buyout for hiring Gus Malzahn?
