Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Knights welcome Harris back as new OC
UCF coach Gus Malzahn continues to tweak his coaching staff, welcoming former Miami assistant Tim Harris Jr. back to the fold.
Harris spent last season as the Hurricanes running backs coach under coach Mario Cristobal after two seasons with Malzahn and the Knights (2021-22) as associate head coach, co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach.
247Sports was the first to report the move, with Harris taking over as wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator. He’ll replace Grant Heard, who is no longer with the program after three seasons.
“I’m excited to welcome Tim back to our staff,” Malzahn said in a statement. “He’s one of the best coaches and teachers of the game that I’ve worked with. Tim was a huge part of building our foundation in our first two years here and he’s a rising star in our profession.”
Darin Hinshaw, who served as UCF’s offensive coordinator last season, will now serve as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
“Darin did a great job with the development of John Rhys Plumlee, which led to him ranking among the national leaders in passing yards per completion and passing efficiency,” Malzahn added.
Hinshaw will join Herb Hand, who also is a co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach.
UCF finished eighth in the nation in total offense (487 yards per game) and 41st in scoring offense (31 points).
Malzahn has already made several changes to his coaching staff following the conclusion of the 2023 season, adding Ted Roof as the Knights’ defensive coordinator while moving Addison Williams to associate head coach and co-defensive coordinator duties.
Safeties coach David Gibbs left the program to join the coaching staff at Illinois.
Harris was running backs coach at Florida International from 2015-20 before being hired by Malzahn in ’21.
Miami featured the 44th-ranked rushing offense in the country this past season, according to NCAA statistics, with Henry Parrish Jr. (625 yards), Mark Fletcher Jr. (514), and Donald Chaney, Jr. (478) leading the way for the Hurricanes.
In his two season sin Orlando, the Knights finished 28th and ninth in the country in rushing, averaging 5.36 and 5.2 yards per carry.
This past season, the first in the Big 12, UCF finished fourth in rushing offense (228.2 yards per game) and featured a 1,000-yard rusher in RJ Harvey (1,416).