UCF Position Coach Hired By Florida State
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The UCF Knights are set to have another position coach vacancy to fill this offseason.
UCF defensive backs coach Brandon Harris is expected to get hired to the same position, or a similar one, at Florida State, per reports from ESPN's Pete Thamel, CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz and 247 Sports' Zach Blostein on Wednesday morning.
Sources: Florida State is expected to hire UCF defensive backs coach Brandon Harris to work with the FSU secondary. He was named to the AFCA 35 Under 35 this year and worked at FAU prior to UCF. He's a former second-round NFL Draft pick. pic.twitter.com/r156USepnd
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 10, 2025
Harris is no stranger to the Seminoles. He served as a defensive analyst for them back in 2020, the first season of coach Mike Norvell's tenure.
Harris, alongside Alex Grinch, UCF's defensive coordinator and safeties coach, helped the Knights' passing defense rank 25th in the nation in fewest passing yards allowed and 48th in the nation in team passing efficiency defense as part of a wider defensive unit that ranked 38th in the nation in total defense.
One of Harris' defensive backs, Phillip Dunnam, followed him from his previous stop at Florida Atlantic. He ended up becoming the first Knight to get three interceptions in a single game this season and recently declared for the 2026 NFL Draft. He was also named an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention alongside another transfer defensive back, Jayden Bellamy.
Frost said back on Early Signing Day that he did not expect to need to make any other position coach hires this offseason, though he did not rule out being "surprised by some things."
By joining the Seminoles' coaching staff, Harris reunites with his older brother, Tim Harris Jr., who serves as pass game coordinator and wide receivers coach. Harris Jr. has also spent time at UCF, first as the Knights' co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach from 2021-2022 and then as their offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach in 2024.
The 2026 season is set to mark the first time the two brothers have been on the same coaching staff since 2019 at Florida International. Harris was making his coaching debut as a graduate assistant while Harris Jr. was serving as the Panthers' running backs coach. Both brothers have never coached for schools outside the state of Florida in their entire coaching careers.
Harris' hiring by the Seminoles comes two days after he was announced to be a part of this year's American Football Coaches Association's 2026 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute, a one-day program that features "a curriculum of interactive lectures focused on topics specifically tailored to emphasize leadership in the coaching profession, ethics, influential responsibilities, career progression, and family balance," according to the AFCA's website.
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Bryson Turner is a sports journalist who covers UCF Athletics. Turner has contributed to the Black and Gold Banneret, the home for UCF Athletics on SB Nation. He has called the Orlando area home since the age of 8 and received his bachelor's and master's degrees from UCF.
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