Gus Malzahn Explains Why He Came To FSU: ‘This Is A Place Where You Can Win The Whole Thing'

Florida State's new offensive coordinator believes he is in the right place for championship football.

Tommy Mire - NoleGameday

The Florida State Seminoles have an ongoing overhaul of staff heading into 2025, with the additions of former Auburn and UCF head coach Gus Malzahn signing on to fill the offensive coordinator position. Malzahn recently resigned from the head role with the Knights to join the Seminole staff and will be bringing with him an extensive coaching resume.

When asked about why he stepped down as head coach at UCF to fill the position at Florida State on Wednesday, he had a simple answer: "This is a place where you can win the whole thing."

Malzahn is no stranger to championships as he competed against the Seminoles in the 2013 BCS National Championship when he was at Auburn, although the 'Noles came out on top 34-31. Former FSU wide receiver caught the game-winning touchdown as the seconds dwindled in the fourth quarter, and Malzahn laughed about having to walk by a picture of that moment every day now.

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"Well, I've got to walk by the picture of the guy catching the ball as I go to the office every day, but that was was a real special game," Malzahn said with a smile. "I mean, there were a lot of great players on the field. It went down to the very end. It was probably entertaining or a great game to watch. It was tough, obviously, to be on the losing side."

FSU head coach Mike Norvell and Malzahn have a history together. The two first met when Norvell joined Tulsa as a graduate assistant from 2007-08. Malzahn said that he saw something special in Norvell and that he was excited the two had crossed paths once again.

"I was the offensive coordinator at the University of Tulsa, and Rhett Lashley was my GA the year before. He decided to get married, and so I was looking for a GA and had some connections, and that's how I got to know Mike," Malzahn continued. "You could tell he had something special about him. He wasn't your normal GA, and he ended up being our wide receiver coach as a graduate assistant, which, at that point, I'd never heard of, but he earned that. So, we're really close, and I'm just really excited to be back with him."

Malzahn has been known for producing powerful offenses during his tenure in college football. In the two years that Norvell and Malzahn were together, they produced consecutive top offenses. The 2007 Tulsa offense averaged 543.9 yards and 41.1 points per game and improved to 569.9 yards and 47.2 points per game in 2008. Tulsa led the nation in total offense in 2007 ranking second nationally in total offense and scoring offense in 2008.

The two coaches share similar offensive philosophies, and that is creating a fast, run-heavy offense that takes big shots down the field, which was one of Florida State's major setbacks in 2024. Malzahn said that establishing and committing to the run game will be a big emphasis in his offense.

"I'm a big believer you've got to run the football downhill. It makes everything better as far as pass protection, better on the quarterback, everything. I think the big thing is just the emphasis on the downhill run game and being committed to it, and we will. We'll get that done."

With the transfer portal in full swing, Malzahn will have a lot of new faces to go along with the faces already on the roster he's getting to become familiar with. It will be a long offseason with the hope that he and Norvell will turn around last year's 2-10 team.

Malzahn's full interview can be seen below.

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