A long and storied career spanning from the high school ranks to leading a storied SEC program is coming to an end for Gus Malzahn.

The veteran head coach and current Florida State offensive coordinator announced his retirement today.

“After 35 years, it’s time for me to step away from coaching,” Malzahn shared in the school’s release of the news. 

“I am excited to spend more time with my family and focus on the next chapter of my life. I want to thank Coach Norvell for giving me the opportunity to coach at such a prestigious program. I will continue to follow Florida State, and I believe great things are ahead for the program under Coach Norvell’s leadership and for the offense under Tim Harris.”

The school has announced co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach Tim Harris Jr. is being promoted to fill the offensive coordinator role. Harris previously called offenses at UCF and FIU, and is in his second season on staff in Tallahassee after joining as pass game coordinator and wide receivers coach prior to the 2025 season.

The move means Harris will be Mike Norvell’s third offensive coordinator in three seasons.

“I want to thank Coach Malzahn for his effort and dedication to our program over the last 14 months,” Norvell shared. 

“He did a wonderful job coordinating our offense and calling plays in 2025, and he has set a strong foundation for us to continue building on in 2026 behind the coordination of Tim Harris and the multiple other assistant coaches who are returning. Coach Harris has a complete understanding of the offensive scheme, and his ability to effectively share that knowledge with his players will continue to be a benefit for our offense.”

Back in November, many wondered if a move like this was on the table for the 60-year old, after he was asked about the likelihood he would return with the program in 2026 following a 21-11 loss to NC State while fighting for bowl eligibility. In his response, Malzahn offered a very vague response, “Yeah. I mean, my intent is to help us get bowl eligible and win this game, and that’s exactly what my focus is.” 

Malzahn’s career began at the Arkansas high school level, compiling a 144-36-1 record and was honored with selection into the Arkansas High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2013. His up tempo approach was perfected at the high school level at Hughes HS, Shiloh Christian, and Springdale, where he set a number of national offensive records and a handful of state titles. He went 28-17 at Hughes, 63-8-1 at Shiloh Christian, and 53-11 at Springdale.

He made the jump to college football in 2006 as the offensive coordinator and receivers coach at Arkansas, where the tension between himself and Houston Nutt lasted just a year before he left for Tulsa as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

By 2009 he was the offensive coordinator at Auburn under Gene Chizik, where he engineered an impressive offensive turnaround, and he became the highest paid assistant in college football a year later in 2010 and brought home the Broyles Award that year as well.

He took over the head coaching job at Arkansas State in December 2011, and led the Red Wolves to a 9-3 mark and Sun Belt title in his debut season as a college head coach. He spent just one year with the program before he was called back to The Plains to take over for Gene Chizik at Auburn.

In arguably the best rivalry in college football, Gus Malzahn faced off against Nick Saban and Alabama eight times, and he held a respectable 3-5 record against Saban and the Tide. That marks the highest win percentage of any SEC coach that faced Saban more than 6 times. Les Miles at LSU was the only other coach to beat Saban twice. 

He left The Plains with a 68-35 mark overall after a 6-4 final season at the helm.

After parting ways with Auburn in 2020, Malzahn landed at UCF and spent two seasons, leading the Knights to a pair of 9-win seasons in the American Athletic Conference before joining the Big 12, where they went 6-7 in their first season, followed by a disappointing 4-8 final year.

While he considered retiring after that final UCF season, he took the opportunity to reunite with former assistant Mike Norvell at Florida State as the Seminoles were looking to rebound from a disappointing 2-win season just a year removed from a playoff snub.

Despite a disappointing 5-7 finish, the Seminoles offense under Malzahn was largely successful. The Seminoles led the ACC in total offense and rushing offense in 2025, and their 472 yards per game was good for sixth nationally in college football, while also holding the highest rushing numbers per game that the program had seen since 1995.

For many high school coaches, Malzahn’s path is the dream journey for so many in the profession, and his legacy on the game from uptempo football to only running power one way and counter the other, will remain for years to come.