UCF loses defensive backs coach Brandon Harris

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UCF defensive backs coach Brandon Harris is no longer on the coaching staff, according to a source.

Florida State is reportedly eyeing Harris, 35, as a replacement for Patrick Surtain Sr.

He signed a two-year agreement in February to join coach Scott Frost’s coaching staff at UCF, paying him $275,000 annually. According to his contract, Harris’ buyout is 50% of the remaining balance of his payable salary, except if he resigns for a head coaching or coordinator position (collegiate or higher) or an NFL coaching job.

Harris is the younger brother of Tim Harris Jr., who previously worked as UCF’s offensive coordinator/receivers coach last season under coach Gus Malzahn. His father, Tim Harris Sr., is a high school coaching legend in Miami, having thrived at Booker T. Washington Senior High School.

Prior to joining UCF in 2025, he spent the previous two seasons serving as the defensive coordinator at Florida Atlantic and previously worked at Florida International as a cornerbacks coach, defensive analyst and graduate assistant.

During his lone season at UCF, Harris inherited a secondary unit that returned more than a dozen defensive backs, including Braeden Marshall (safety). The unit also featured nine newcomers, seven from the transfer portal, including Isaiah Reed, Jaeden Gould, Jayden Bellamy, DJ Bell, Jyaire Brown, Brandon Jacobs and Phillip Dunham.

UCF finished the season ranked 25th in the country in passing defense, allowing 185 yards per game.

Please find me on X, Bluesky or Instagram @osmattmurschel. Email: mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com. Sign up for the Sentinel’s Knights Weekly newsletter for a roundup of all our UCF coverage.

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