UCF Announces Shawn Clark Replacement as HC Scott Frost Tears Up in Public

September 21, 2025, Sunday was indeed a dark day for the UCF Knights fam. Scott Frost’s college football program was running high with a three-game winning streak when it got slammed by the most unfortunate incident. Frost and the Knights lost their offensive line coach, Shawn Clark.

The university released a statement stating that he passed away nearly two weeks after suffering a “medical emergency.” Clark coached his alma mater, Appalachian State, for five full seasons. And it’s only in this off-season that he joined Frost’s staff. It was during UCF’s bye week on September 9 that he suffered a medical crisis. While Scott and Co. are yet to get over this tragedy, they had to name someone to fill Clark’s place.

On September 23, Matt Murschel, the college football writer for the Orlando Sentinel, tweeted, “#UCF coach Scott Frost said former Purdue coach Danny Hope is joining the staff to help with the offensive line.” Frost earlier shared that Alex Farah, Clark’s personally chosen right-hand man, will slide into the offensive line coach role for the team. However, it was no cakewalk for the Knights to find Clark’s replacement, and they were hardly prepared to do so. But now that Danny Hope is here, will he be able to live up to his last name in Frost’s squad?

Well, we are yet to figure that out. But Hope is no stranger to Clark’s style of coaching. The late coach served as Hope’s offensive line coach with the Purdue Boilermakers and at Eastern Kentucky. The stats? During Hope’s four-year run at Purdue, 22-27 overall, the Boilermakers capped things with consecutive bowl bids. Clark handled the offensive line throughout that stretch. Perhaps the fact that Hope knows Clark’s scheme of things is what prompted Frost to opt for the name. But this indeed feels heavy for Frost himself to cope with the loss.  

“I just miss my friend,” said the head coach while fighting back his tears during a press conference on October 24. Frost continued, “I wasn’t around him as long as I’ve been around some other people, but he just had an energy and a spirit about him. He was one of my favorite people I’ve ever been around and coached with. It’s a tough deal, but we have a football game to play, too.” But will Hope be able to ward off the empty feeling?

He walks into Frost’s squad with an extensive background in coaching the offensive line, having made multiple stops. Hope has spent 10 seasons in that capacity at Louisville, with one each at Oklahoma and Wyoming. In Purdue itself, he served as Joe Tiller’s offensive line coach for five seasons. While the college football world will no longer witness Clark coaching, the memories will continue to live forever.  

Shawn Clark’s passing sparks waves of gratitude and remembrance

Shawn Clark’s 40-24 stint at his alma mater ended in December 2024 after the Mountaineers stumbled to their first losing season since 2013,  their last year in the FCS. But nobody talked about the efforts he had put in before taking over. Scott’s former coach had spent four years molding the offensive line and then stepping into the head coach role after Eli Drinkwitz.

Promoted to the head job at Appalachian State in 2019, Clark steered the Mountaineers to three bowl wins and two trips to the conference championship. However, after being dismissed, he found a new home with Frost at UCF. And the Knights benefited from him carrying the distinction of having coached two Joe Moore Award–nominated O-lines. From App State’s former coach to the present one, both of them paid their tribute to Clark. Drinkwitz tweeted, “The world lost one of the finest coaches, husband, and father that I’ve ever known. His love and loyalty for those on his team was contagious. My prayers are with his family and those who knew Shawn. 2nd Corinthians’s 1:3-4.”

Being Clark’s successor is a huge responsibility, and who better knows it than his successor, Dowell Loggains. He, too, tweeted, “A coach will impact more people in a year than the average person does in a lifetime. – Rev. Billy Graham.” Not just the coaches. Players, too, are moved by Clark’s demise. For instance, Tennessee Volunteers Joey Aguilar is indebted to the late coach, in front of whom he made rookie mistakes. The timing is delicate for Frost’s squad, indeed. 

Shawn Clark’s demise came at a time when UCF is still relatively early in its Big 12 era. In that way, compromising with the consistency on the offensive front is a BIG NO-NO. The Knights need to hold firm through turbulence with Danny Hope being in the pilot’s seat.