George Frazier, a former University of Colorado player with previous stints working at the high school ranks, as well as at Ole Miss and Memphis, is leaving Jason Simpson’s UT-Martin staff to join Mike MacIntyre’s inaugural Florida International Staff, multiple sources told FootballScoop on Tuesday.
Frazier, who spent the past two years with the Skyhawks’ program and helped the team to an unprecedented season this fall, played at Colorado under MacIntyre and joins fellow Colorado alum and MacIntyre’s son, Jay, in helping to fill out some of the positions on the Panthers’ new staff.
Twice a captain under MacIntyre at Colorado, Frazier immediately helped bolster the Skyhawks’ defensive line in both the COVID-19-shortened spring season and during this most recent 11-win campaign that culminated with UTM’s advancement to the second round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
The rebuild at FIU will be a steep one for MacIntyre, Frazier and the remainder of the staff. The Panthers allowed Butch Davis’ contract to run out, and Davis eviscerated the program with parting shots about the school’s and administration’s alleged lack of commitment to winning and providing necessary resources for competitive balance.
FIU finished this season a meager 1-11 – with its only victory coming in a season-opening win against FCS Long Island University, a program that also had undergone a coaching transition.
The Panthers tentatively have games scheduled next season with Texas State, New Mexico State and UConn – the latter two programs also entering transition years to new head coaches. NMSU hired Jerry Kill to take over, and the Huskies recently hired former UCLA and Atlanta Falcons head coach Jim Mora.