Central Florida's George O'Leary announces retirement

After 48 years of coaching between the high school, collegiate, and NFL levels, Central Florida head coach George O'Leary announced his retirement Sunday, effective immediately.

O'Leary previously expressed his intention to retire after this season, but with UCF mired in an 0-8 season, pressure mounted for O'Leary to remove himself from the program sooner rather than later.

Knights quarterbacks coach Danny Barrett, who's in his fifth season with the program, will serve as the interim head coach.

"After the 2013 championship season and Fiesta Bowl win I expressed my intention to retire at that time," O'Leary said. "After significant discussion with the UCF administration, I reconsidered and agreed to coach two additional seasons, 2014 and 2015. The administration has always been aware of my plan to retire after this season."

O'Leary made headlines recently for refusing to discuss certain details of his contract. It has been speculated his contract contains a clause that guarantees offensive coordinator Brent Key the head coaching position once O'Leary exits, but the 69-year-old has continually denied the claim.

Since taking over the program in 2004, O'Leary coached the Knights to an 81-68 record. His banner year came in 2013 when UCF finished 12-1, which included a victory at the Fiesta Bowl.

O'Leary has also been hailed for the academic success of his players. Prior to coaching at UCF, he spent eight seasons as the head coach at Georgia Tech.