Gus Malzahn Name New UCF Head Coach:
On Monday, the University of Central Florida hired former Auburn football head coach to a 5-year, $11.5 million dollar contract to become the program’s new leader. This is big news for a football school like UCF because they have had recent success in the past few years on the big scene, even beating Malzhan’s old Auburn team back in the 2018 Peach Bowl, and are trying to finally become a respected D-1 football program year-in and year-out. Furthermore, UCF had extreme success lately, going 13-0 in 2017 and even claiming to be National Champions (as they beat Auburn and Auburn beat eventual champs Alabama), but slipped a little this year at 6-4, so Malzhan might be just what this program needs to get them over the hump.
Malzhan should also be thrilled about his new spot in the American Athletic Conference after spending so much time in the SEC. The SEC is the hardest football conference in the country, and Malzhan failed to find success against powerhouses like Alabama and Georgia, so a spin in a more lowly AAC could allow Gus to bust out all the cards for a record-winning season with the Golden Knights.
Former Iowa Strength Coach Resigns from New Jaguars’ Post Amid Controversy:
Chris Doyle was the Iowa Hawkeyes strength coach for the football program for 20 years until he was forced to resign under many accusations by black players that Doyle bullied and discriminated against them racially. Doyle was hired by new Jacksonville Jaguars’ head coach Urban Meyer on Thursday, dismissing the rumors of Doyle’s racism and saying that he “has known Chris for 20 years.”
However, many people were furious with the hire and lack of social awareness. Specifically, a civil rights activist group named The Fritz Pollard Alliance, who works to increase diversity in the NFL non-player world, came out with some angry statements towards the coach and organization, saying that it was ridiculous and completely unacceptable to hire a known racist just because Meyer had known him for a while when there were many minority candidates with more qualifications than Doyle who were overlooked. The alliance claimed that Meyer’s actions fell into a larger problem of “the good ol’ boy network” where white coaches get hired by their friends in higher places because of their connections, not qualifications.
The hire was particularly peculiar because Meyer claimed that Jacksonville’s majority owner Shad Khan, the NFL’s only minority major owner, was involved in the hiring process. Khan has been a victim of racism himself in the past, so it is interesting to see him agree with the hire of an alleged racist and discriminator.
However, among all the criticism and controversy, Chris Doyle stepped down from his new position on Friday, the very next day after he was hired. The team claims that Doyle came to the organization and resigned of his own free will, though some speculate that the Jaguars probably forced him out because of all the bad press and attention he was bringing the organization. All of this is a part of a larger, promising initiative to bring more diversity to football, which is definitely coming in the future.
.svg)
