Two schools in Florida are currently fighting over a former South Carolina football assistant coach. Former position coach Bobby Bentley agreed to join the USF team under the command of the technician Jeff Scott but now, a school located about 100 miles away is trying to woo the former Gamecocks assistant.
UCF, under the new head coach Gus Malzahn, is trying to convince Bentley to skip the show at the USF and join the Golden Knights program, according to this Football Scoop report. The website reports that, according to its sources, Bentley is inclined to maintain its commitment to the USF.
Bentley is still under contract in South Carolina until the end of May. He agreed last month to go to the USF as the pass game coordinator and coach for the team’s wide receivers. At UCF, he would be the offensive coordinator of the team and coach of defenders.
There is certainly some difference in the places offered by the two schools.
Football Scoop has indicated that while Bentley is inclined to stick with the USF, the Golden Knights can come back and offer him more money.
Bentley previously worked with Malzahn, where he was an offensive analyst during his time at Auburn. Bentley left Auburn with the former defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, who accepted the position of head coach in South Carolina. Bentley, one of Muschamp’s first hires, stayed with the Gamecocks for five seasons training both running back and tight end, and also served as interim quarterback coach when Kurt Roper He was fired.
Bentley also has ties to Scott, who he hired to be his technical assistant at Presbyterian College. Scott, son of the former Gamecocks coach Brad Scott, continued to build his career at Clemson before taking over from the USF before the 2019 season.
South Carolina’s first-year coach Shane Beamer decided not to keep Bentley as part of his full-time team. He was asked to work as an analyst to stay with the Gamecocks, but Bentley obviously had better opportunities elsewhere.