GAINESVILLE, FLA. (FWAA) – The Football Writers Association of America announced the finalists for the Steve Spurrier First Year Coach Award, which goes to the best coach in his first year at a school, and UCF's Gus Malzahn was among the three finalists. The awards is sponsored and presented by Chris Doering Mortgage, with the winners announced in January.
"I'm excited to honor my former coach (Spurrier) with the naming of the First Year Coach Award," said Chris Doering, former college and NFL player and current football analyst for SEC Network. "It means a lot to me knowing how passionate he is about this award and what it stands for. In most cases as a first year coach, you're basically being asked to turn around a program with a largely inherited roster. Coach Spurrier took great pride in each of his first year head coaching opportunities with an innate ability to get those around him to buy into the culture and what they're being asked to do. I think it speaks to the essence of what a good coach is."
Malzahn led the Knights to a 9-4 season, including a Gasparilla Bowl victory over Florida, a three-game improvement from the 6-4 mark they ran up last season despite losing several key players along the way. Malzahn finished the season coaching with a broken tibia after being injured in a sideline collision, working some games from a sideline platform rather than going up into the coach's box and just finished off the highest recruiting class in school history.
"This award is given to the coach in his first year at his school who comes in and exceeds expectations," said Steve Spurrier. "All three of these coaches got their programs heading in the right direction and they didn't make any excuses. They took what was there and started running with it and they all had outstanding seasons."
ALL-TIME FWAA FIRST-YEAR COACHES OF THE YEAR
2002 Tyrone Willingham, Notre Dame
2003 Steve Kragthorpe, Tulsa
2004 Mike Price, UTEP
2005 Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
2006 Chris Petersen, Boise State
2007 Jeff Jagodzinski, Boston College
2008 Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech
2009 Chip Kelly, Oregon
2010 Jimbo Fisher, Florida State
2011 Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia
2012 Urban Meyer, Ohio State
2013 Gus Malzahn, Auburn
2014 Bryan Harsin, Boise State
2015 Tom Herman, Houston
2016 Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech; Clay Helton, USC
2017 Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma
2018 Josh Heupel, UCF
2019 Ryan Day, Ohio State
2020 Karl Dorrell, Colorado
This will be the 20th straight season in which the FWAA has had the First Year Coach Award, although the first time with a namesake for the award, Steve Spurrier. The winner of each award will be announced in January 2022.
Spurrier, along with former player Chris Doering of Chris Doering Mortgage, is planning a February dinner to honor the winners. The site of the dinner in the state of Florida will be announced at a future time.
Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of journalists, broadcasters, publicists, photographers and key executives in all areas of college football. The FWAA works to govern media access and gameday operations while presenting awards and honors, including an annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its programs and initiatives, contact Executive Director Steve Richardson at 214-870-6516 or tiger@fwaa.com.
Chris Doering Mortgage, based in Gainesville, Fla., was established in April 2007 as a residential lending company providing mortgage products including conventional, FHA, USDA and VA loans. The branch is a division of MortgageAdvisors.com – 3940 NW 16th Blvd., Suite A, Gainesville, FL 32605 – NMLS 70168/1937321. FHA Lender ID 2631500094. Chris Doering Mortgage is committed to skillfully and ethically delivering the highest quality customer service throughout the mortgage process, with a team of professionals that strive to exceed the expectations of clients and business partners while continually educating and adapting to the changing needs of the industry. For more information, visit ChrisDoeringMortgage.com.