ORLANDO, Fla. — UCF coach Gus Malzahn is resigning after four seasons with the school. ESPN’s Pete Thamel was the first to report the move, which will see Malzahn to leave to take the offensive coordinator job at Florida State. Malzahn previously worked with FSU coach Mike Norvell during their time at Tulsa under then-coach Todd Graham from 2007-08. The Knights ended a disappointing 4-8 season in which they lost eight of their last nine games, the longest losing streak since 2015. Malzahn, 59, was in the fourth year of a contract through 2028. His buyout, it is reported, would have been $13.75 million. He finished 27-25 at UCF but lost 16 of his last 22 games and was a dismal 4-14 in two seasons in the Big 12. After back-to-back nine-win seasons in 2021-22, the Knights went 6-7 in 2023 and 4-8 in 2024. People are also reading... Former senior administrator at Tulsa Public Schools sentenced to prison Pagan prayer before Tulsa City Council meeting riles up Gov. Stitt, Ryan Walters Where to eat on Thanksgiving Day Berry Tramel: $100k in fines is worth the cost to restore optimism in Oklahoma football POLL CLOSED: Vote for the Bill Knight Automotive high school football player of the week for Week 12 Josh Blankenship resigns as Broken Arrow’s head football coach after four seasons Is GJ Kinne out of reach? What about Brennan Marion? A look at possible TU coaching candidates Cowgirls head coach Jacie Hoyt unable to fly, who will lead OSU in her absence? McAlester football coach Forrest Mazey faces criminal misdemeanor charges OU’s upset of Alabama prompts epic tirade from Paul Finebaum Show caller 'Legend' Bill Haisten: At TU, an urgency to score a fast hire and a greater urgency to get it right Mayor-elect Monroe Nichols names Tulsa police major as public safety commissioner Bill Haisten: ‘Hungrier than ever’ Mike Gundy says, ‘I ain’t going out this way’ OU football bowl projections: After beating Alabama, where might Sooners land in postseason? Berry Tramel: Extreme makeover needed for OSU football after thrashing by Colorado This season started with high expectations as Malzahn made sweeping changes to the program. He retooled the strength and conditioning department and hired Ted Roof and Tim Harris Jr. as defensive and offensive coordinators, respectively. He also added nearly 50 new players to the roster, leaning heavily on the transfer market. UCF started by winning its first three games against New Hampshire, Sam Houston and a thrilling comeback at TCU, but offensive struggles saw the Knights tumble through a TBD-game losing streak to finish the season. Terry Mohajir hired Malzahn on Feb. 15, 2021, six days after he was hired to replace Danny White. The move came eight weeks after Malzahn had been fired at Auburn after eight seasons of coaching the Tigers. The two briefly worked together at Arkansas State in 2012 before Malzahn left for the Auburn job. “When he [Mohajir] offered the job, I was like, ‘I’m in.’ There wasn’t thinking about or talking about ...,” Malzahn said during his introductory press conference. “This will be one of the best programs in college football in a short time. This is a job that I plan on being here and building it.” UCF opened the 2021 season with non-conference wins over Boise State and Bethune-Cookman before traveling to Louisville on Sept. 17, where quarterback Dillon Gabriel suffered a fractured collarbone in the final minute of a 42-35 loss. Backup Mikey Keene would finish out the season as Gabriel announced his intention to transfer. The Knights would finish the season on the plus side by accepting a bid to join the Big 12 Conference in September and then by defeating Florida 29-17 in the Gasparilla Bowl. Malzahn struck transfer portal gold in the offseason when he signed former Ole Miss quarterback John Rhys Plumlee. Plumlee, a two-sport star with the Rebels, helped guide UCF to the American Athletic Conference Championship in its final season. However, Plumlee’s injury forced the Knights to go with Keene and freshman Thomas Castellanos. The team finished with losses to Tulane in the conference championship and Duke in the Military Bowl. Plumlee would return in 2023 as UCF transitioned to the Big 12 but would go down with a knee injury in the final minute of the Knights’ 18-16 win at Boise State on Sept. 9. He would miss the next four games as backup Timmy McClain took over the team. Even on his return, Plumlee couldn’t help UCF, on a five-game losing streak to open conference play. The Knights got their first Big 12 win at Cincinnati on Nov. 4 and upset No. 15 Oklahoma State the following week, but the team still needed a win over Houston in the regular-season finale to secure a bowl bid for the eighth straight season. From the moment Malzahn stepped on campus, he prioritized recruiting, particularly in Central Florida. “We’re going to recruit like our hair’s on fire,” Malzahn said at the time. “We’re going to go after the best players in America and we’re not backing down to anybody.” From 2007 to 2020, UCF signed 10 four-star high school and junior college prospects. Eight four-star prospects were in the three recruiting classes signed under Malzahn. The 2024 recruiting class earned a composite ranking of 39 from 247Sports, the highest-ranked class in school history. The 2025 recruiting class is ranked No. 41 and has commitments from three four-star prospects. Malzahn has always leaned on the transfer market, signing 60 players over the past three seasons. Some have paid huge dividends, such as Javon Baker, Lee Hunter, Kobe Hudson, Tylan Grable, Bula Schmidt, Amari Kight, Marcellus Marshall, Trent Whittemore, Gage King, Ethan Barr, Deshawn Pace and Plumlee. Others haven’t been as successful, such as quarterback KJ Jefferson, who started the first five games of this season before being benched for poor performance. Jefferson’s struggles forced the Knights to play musical chairs at quarterback, with true freshman EJ Colson, redshirt sophomore Jacurri Brown and redshirt freshman Dylan Rizk all seeing action at one point or another this season. This season’s struggles led to several players utilizing the NCAA’s redshirt rule after four games, including starting slot receiver Xavier Townsend and kicker Colton Boomer, who have also entered the transfer portal. Defensive end Kaven Call posted a letter to Malzahn on Twitter in which he accused the UCF coaching staff of recently kicking him off the team when he requested to be redshirted.Former 'New Mexican' owner changed paper, served in Senate
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ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit had a packed Saturday, starting his morning at Ohio State for "College GameDay" and finishing the night in Norman, calling the Alabama-Oklahoma game. Even with his busy schedule, Herbstreit found time to tune in to the Ole Miss-Florida matchup in Gainesville. For Ole Miss, the stakes couldn’t have been higher, needing a win to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive. On the other hand, Florida was looking to play spoiler after a Week 12 upset over LSU. The Gators did just that, pulling off another upset (24-17) to improve to 6-5 on the season after previously falling to 4-5. After the game, Herbstreit took to X to share a message, saying Florida head coach Billy Napier should win the Coach of the Year Award. "Can a guy with a team that will finish 7-5 win the coach of the year award?" Herbstreit said. "He should!! Billy Napier and @GatorsFB after being 4-5 and losing 2 straight, have beaten LSU and Ole Miss. So impressive to see this fight from the Gators and their fans after having a tough year. And, oh yeah, DJ Lagway is the REAL DEAL!" Can a guy with a team that will finish 7-5 win the coach of the year award? He should!! Billy Napier and @GatorsFB after being 4-5 and losing 2 straight, have beaten LSU and Ole Miss. So impressive to see this fight from the Gators and their fans after having a tough year. And,... Fans weren't pleased with Herbstreit suggesting Napier as Coach of the Year, especially with the Gators sitting at 6-5 and needing a win over Florida State just to finish 7-5. "Going a little overboard here Kirk," one fan said . "He shouldn’t win the award though, cmon," another wrote . "That record is outrageous." "Slow down there cupcake," added a fan . "No," added another . "Ridiculous." "really Kirk, Cignetti hands down," a fan said . "Hell nawl, he shouldn't," wrote another . © Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports The Gators opened the season with blowout losses to Miami and Texas A&M, leading to calls from Florida fans for Napier’s firing . But instead of losing the locker room, he kept his team together, going toe-to-toe against Tennessee and Georgia while pulling off major upsets over LSU and Ole Miss. There’s no denying the job Napier has done this season, navigating the nation’s second-toughest schedule . However, those on social media who are giving Herbstreit a hard time are simply arguing that five losses are not good enough to win the Coach of the Year honors. Related: Pat McAfee Puts $1 Million on the Line for Florida Head Coach on College GameDayMinistry of Education’s Doodle Learn to engage over 6,000 students in Belize
Bill Belichick didn't wait around for a call that he might not get from an NFL team. With no guarantees that another opportunity might come his way — only the Atlanta Falcons interviewed Belichick last offseason — and unsure whether he could find the right fit in the NFL, the 72-year-old future Hall of Fame coach decided to go back to school. Belichick took his eight Super Bowl rings to North Carolina on a mission to build a college program the way he constructed two dynasties during 24 seasons with the New England Patriots. It starts with doing things his way. The Patriot Way is legendary. Perhaps it'll translate into the Tar Heel way. That's to be determined. But Belichick is back doing what he loves: coaching. And, he's going to run the show with his guys around him. An NFL team giving Belichick full control the way he had in New England seemed unlikely. Success at North Carolina could change that thinking. For now, Belichick's quest to break Don Shula's all-time record for most wins in the NFL is on hold. He's 15 victories short but the buyout clause in his college contract — a $10 million fee if done before June 2025 and $1 million after that date — leaves the window open for a return to the league. If Belichick stays in college or retires without returning to the NFL, his legacy is already cemented. Winning at North Carolina will only enhance his reputation. Losing won't impact his NFL resume. "He's one of the all-time great coaches. What he's done for the NFL and the game, we all know where he'll end up — in the Hall of Fame with a gold jacket," Dallas Cowboys executive Stephen Jones said Wednesday shortly before Belichick agreed on a five-year deal with North Carolina that pays him $10 million in base and supplemental salary annually with up to $3.5 million in bonuses per year. Belichick has his detractors. There's no denying he couldn't win without Tom Brady. He was 29-39 and had no playoff wins without No. 12 in his final four seasons with the Patriots. Critics have labeled him a cheater because of the Spygate and Deflategate scandals. He overlooked Aaron Hernandez's issues. He was tough on players, even alienating Brady in the end and letting him walk him away in free agency in 2020 only to see him lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl in his first season there. But Belichick instilled in players the importance of doing their job and presided over an unprecedented two-decade run of dominance that withstood changing times, free agency, salary-cap restrictions and much more. Brady has always maintained how important Belichick was for his career, giving him credit for helping him become one of the best players in sports. Now, Belichick is onto Chapel Hill in a surprise twist after he spent most of the NFL season reinventing himself as an entertaining and engaging analyst. Belichick is a football genius and his knowledge came across on television. But he also displayed a fun personality, trading quips with the Mannings and cracking jokes with Pat McAffee. "College kind of came to me this year," Belichick said at his introductory news conference. "I didn't necessarily go and seek it out. I had many coaches, probably a couple dozen coaches, talk to me and say, 'Can we come down and talk to you about these things?' Let's call it the salary cap of pro football relative to college football. The headsets, the green dot, the two-minute warning, the tablets on the sideline. Those were all rules changes this year for college football that were either or the same or similar to what we had in the NFL. These coaches said, 'Hey coach can we talk to you about how you did this? How you did that? How did you use this?'. "As those conversations started and then the personnel conversations started relative to salary cap and how you spend whatever the allotment of money you have. I'd say that started to make me a lot more aware of it because the first thing I would have to do is learn about it. .... As you learn different things about different programs you start to put it all together. There is some common threads and there's some variables." How will he do as a college coach? Nobody knows yet. Three of Belichick's former players were skeptical before he took the job. "There's a lot of things he can do, and obviously he's tremendous, and even showing his personality. But getting out there on the recruiting trail and dealing with all these college kids, that would be ..." Brady said before trailing off during a conversation on Fox's NFL pregame show last Sunday. Fellow former Patriots Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman also wondered the same. "Can you imagine NIL, and all that nonsense?" Gronkowski said. Edelman added: "Can you imagine Bill on a couch recruiting an 18-year-old?" But Belichick doesn't have to recruit kids on visits. These are new times in college sports. The NIL has dramatically changed the landscape. Plus, Belichick's name is enough. Just like Deion Sanders at Colorado. "I think it could be great for this game, honestly, if he can find a way to make college football more like this in terms of what's being asked of the coaches, the recruiting staff, the personnel, the NIL, and all those different things," Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Cohen said. "If he can make it a little bit less demanding on some of the coaches and create a great atmosphere and have success, I think it's great for our game. It's pretty cool to see, actually." Time for Belichick to do his job. Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Tarar for ‘acceptable to all’ AI regulatory framework Minister stresses need for using AI in combating climate change, bolstering economy and curbing misinformation ISTANBUL: Federal Minister for Information, Broadcasting, National Heritage and Culture Attaullah Tarar on Friday made a passionate call at an international conference to work out a comprehensive and inclusive AI regulatory framework which is “acceptable to all”. “As the world is progressing with the AI advancement, we must come up with a regulatory framework that upholds ethical standards and works for collective good of humanity which has common goals and objectives,” said the minister while addressing the Startcom Summit 2024. “We must come together on common terms and make a regulatory framework which is acceptable to all,” he said while advocating encouraging the positive use of AI and discouraging the negative ones. “What I would like to achieve from AI...in the field of agri-tech, we would like to have more productivity and high yield crops through inducement of technology because we are a rice exporting country and we have the agriculture as a backbone of economy,” he said while underlining the need for AI advancement in education, skill development and fintech and healthtech sectors.” “With regard to education and skill development, we would like to see the AI advancement in distance learning so that those students who do not have access to good universities could gain higher education,” he said, adding AI should be used in increasing the children enrolment in schools, and eradicating diseases like hepatitis and polio. He stressed the need for using AI in combating the climate change, bolstering economy and curbing misinformation and disinformation. “We just need to make right policies and benefit our people,” he said while pointing out the biggest contemporary challenge in the form of misinformation and disinformation. He cited the World Economic Forum where most of the leaders called misinformation a greatest threat as it led to chaos and anarchy. The minister said international fora could be used to deal with this challenge and an international agreement could be reached or a task-force could be established to deal with this challenge that eventually leads to economic instability and security crises that caused destruction beyond imagination. He expressed reservation over the censorship of issues related to Gaza, Kashmir and Lebanon on social media. “AI is being used negatively there, and there is a selective judgement in this regard,” he added. He regretted that he was unable to mention the name of martyr Burhan Wani on social media and use his picture due to what he called “selective judgement”. He said people should be told about humanitarian crises in Gaza, Kashmir and other countries. “In Pakistan, we have 111 million Internet users, about 45 per cent of our population. Then, we have 71 million social media users, about 29 per cent of our population and mobile phone users are about 188 million,” he said while highlighting the young population of Pakistan. “We have an opportunity and challenge in the form of youths of this country. So we are trying to impart IT skills to the youth so they can not only be efficient in IT skills and AI at home but also abroad.” He mentioned three policies for digital advancement including the National Fiberization Policy which is aimed at providing Internet to the entire population in Pakistan. “Besides, we are moving towards 5G spectrum that is our next target, we hope to achieve that by mid next year.” In addition to that, he said the National Artificial Intelligence Policy was being worked out, which was in line with modern trends in the world and included the best ethical standards. “So to tackle misinformation, we have to develop large language models, we have to go to natural language processing. So LLMs and NLPs have to be developed in order to cope with this challenge of misinformation and disinformation the world over,” he stressed. “As far as our national AI policy is concerned, a big part of it going to focus on ethical part, there is accuracy of historical data and accuracy of facts,” he said, highlighting the Fact-check Forum created by the Ministry of Information that actually verified certain facts which had not only AI as integral part but also human intervention that oversaw that AI module. “In addition to that, we are running two more programmes. We have the Directorate of Electronic Media and Publications which monitored opinions and narratives the world over and within our own country and came up with a strategic communication policy for the government. “We are using our own AI engine for that to improve our strategic communication,” he said, adding that the government of Pakistan had also established a counter-violent extremism cell.
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