Former Charlotte coach Healy hired as adviser for Malzahn
A former FBS head coach and FCS coach of the year is joining UCF football’s coaching staff, Gus Malzahn announced Monday.
Will Healy, who most recently was the head coach at Charlotte 2019-22, will serve as an adviser to the head coach and senior offensive analyst for the Knights.
Healy, 38, was fired on Oct. 23 after Charlotte began last season 1-7 in his fourth year on the job.
In his first season there, Charlotte finished 7-6 and set school records for most wins (7), most Conference USA wins (5) and most home wins (5) while advancing to the school’s first bowl game.
The early success quickly halted, however, as Healy posted an 8-18 record in the next three seasons before finishing 15-24 overall as the head coach at Charlotte.
Prior to his time at the Conference USA school that’s set to join the AAC this summer, Healy was the head coach at Austin Peay in 2016-18.
Austin Peay went 8-4 in his second season as Healy guided an offense that finished sixth in the nation and set a school record with 3,105 yards rushing in 2017. That season Healy was named National FCS Coach of the Year.
Against UCF that season, Healy’s Austin Peay squad fell 73-33 during an October matchup in Orlando.
In 2018, the Governors went 5-6 overall to post a five-win season in back-toback years for the first time since 1984-85. In the 25 years prior to 2017, Austin Peay won at least five games just twice.
Healy spent seven years as an assistant coach at Chattanooga before taking over at Austin Peay. He held a number of roles there including quarterbacks coach, wide receivers coach, passing-game coordinator and recruiting coordinator.
During his time at Austin Peay, CBS Sports tabbed Healy as one of the best young coaches in college football.