UCF coach George O’Leary announced his resignation as head coach of the Knights as his team has floundered to an 0-8 start.
George O’Leary has resigned as head coach of UCF football, UCF announced in a press release Sunday.
After getting out to an 0-8 start, the pressure on O’Leary was increasing. Questions raised about his future plans and whether he could manage being the school’s interim athletic director on top of head coach for the team. There was a sense his time was coming.
This is certainly not how O’Leary wanted to go out though.
The Knights had fallen apart this year as graduation stripped the team of tons of talent and injuries only compounded the problem. The Knights struggled to step up and fill in those that were missing. It seems the Knights have dug themselves a deeper and deeper hole.
The record reflects that and disappointingly O’Leary will end his final season the way he began his first one — winless.
In between those seasons though, O’Leary lifted the UCF program to unprecedented heights. The Knights reached seven bowl games in 12 season under O’Leary. They won four conference division titles and four conference championships on top of that as the Knights moved from the MAC to Conference USA to the American Conference. UCF became the clearly established mid-major program for the state of Florida, challenging the big three on several occasions with their success.
That success reached its peak in 2013 when the Knights won the American and reached the Fiesta Bowl, upsetting Baylor. It seemed to preview future success for the Knights and the ascendance into a major program. Conference realignment rumors, it would seem, would have to include UCF with its access to the large Orlando market and the rest of Florida.
However, O’Leary said, that was supposed to be his moment to step away. His “riding off into the sunset” so to speak.
He said in his release, his intention was to retire after this season until he was persuaded to say on for the 2014 season:
“After the 2013 championship season and Fiesta Bowl win I expressed my intention to retire at that time,” O’Leary said in a statement. “After significant discussion with the UCF administration, I reconsidered and agreed to coach two additional seasons, 2014 and 2015. The administration has always been aware of my plan to retire after this season.
“2014 was a rewarding season which culminated in our second consecutive AAC championship and third conference championship in five seasons. 2015, however, has been a disappointment to me and many despite the hard work of our coaches and players. Many of the players are young but gaining valuable playing experience due to injuries and graduation. I am sure this will benefit them next season.”
The disappointment of this season may have led to an earlier retirement than planned, but not by much. It seemed UCF was always going to be entering the coaching market this offseason. And they knew it.
Where they go from here remains a complete mystery.
For the rest of this season, quarterbacks coach Danny Barrett will take over the head coaching role (leaving a reported $700,000 paycheck to offensive coordinator Brent Key since he will not take over as head coach). That should help the Knights begin to take some step forward. But they will be introducing a new voice very quickly this offseason.
O’Leary oversaw a lot of change in his time. There were the conference changes. The bowl appearances. The move to Bright House Networks Stadium. There is no denying the impact O’Leary had on the program at the end of the day.
It just seemed to have played itself out as O’Leary’s age and the fan appetite for more took over.
The Knights will move on through their final four games of this season before taking on the coaching search in full. As much frustration as O’Leary seemed to provide the fan base, there is no denying what he built either.
In the end, it was just time for both to move on to better things.
