Charlie Taaffe Charlie Taaffe ( born April 20 , 1950 ) is an American football coach . He currently serves as offensive coordinator for the UCF Knights . Taaffe ' s coaching career stretches back to 1973 , when he was an offensive coach for the University at Albany . From 1984 to 1986 , he was an offensive coordinator for Army , as well as for the Maryland Terrapins from 2001 to 2005 , and the Pittsburgh Panthers for the 2006 season . Taaffe also served as the head football coach at The Citadel from 1987 to 1996 , and was the head coach of the Canadian Football League Montreal Alouettes and Hamilton Tiger - Cats . Coaching career . After 4 years as a college quarterback ( 1 with Clemson , then 3 with Siena College ) Taaffe ' s coaching career began in 1973 as an Offensive Backfield coach at Albany . He then served two years as a Graduate Assistant at Georgia Tech ( Wide Receivers ) and North Carolina State ( Offensive Backs ) . From 1976 to 1980 he was an Assistant Coach at Virginia , working with the Offensive Backfield , Linebackers , and Special Teams . From 1981 – 83 he was a Quarterbacks coach and Offensive Backfield coach at the U . S . Military Academy . From 1984 until 1986 Taaffe served a successful stint as an Army ' s offensive coordinator . In his three seasons as offensive coordinator , the Cadets had a combined record of 23 – 13 . The Citadel . In 1987 , Taaffe was hired as head coach of The Citadel . In 1992 he coached what was arguably the best in The Citadel ' s history , finishing 11 – 2 and was the top ranked team at the end of the regular season . The team however lost to Youngstown State in the quarterfinals . For his efforts , Taaffe won the Eddie Robinson Award . In 10 seasons at The Citadel , his overall record was 55 – 47 – 1 , including six seasons of . 500 or better and is the school ' s winningest head coach . Taaffe was suspended by the school for the entire 1996 season after his second drunken - driven arrest in three years . Taaffe admitted to the police that he had four to six beers prior to driving Charlie Taaffe was acquitted of the charges on February 6 , 1997 after prosecutors failed to prove that Taaffe was under the influence when he was stopped . It was the second time he had been cleared of drunken driving . Montreal Alouettes . Taaffe was Offensive Coordinator of the CFL ' s Montreal Alouettes from 1997 to 1998 , helping the Als to a 25 – 10 – 1 record . In 1999 he became the team ' s head coach . With Taaffe at the helm , the Alouettes had a combined 25 – 14 record , including an appearance in the 2000 Grey Cup . For his efforts in 1999 and 2000 , Taaffe won the Annis Stukus Trophy as the CFL ' s Coach of the Year , making him only the second Montreal coach to win the award ( Marv Levy being the first in 1974 ) and the first coach in CFL history to earn the honor in each of his first two seasons . While in Montreal , Taaffe ' s offenses put up some impressive numbers . In 2000 , the Alouettes broke the CFL ' s all - time record for points in a regular season as they posted 594 . Taaffe helped quarterback Anthony Calvillo to a 112 . 9 passer rating in 2000 . Running back Mike Pringle also excelled in Taaffe ' s system , rushing for a league - best 1 , 656 yards in 1999 . Maryland . In 2001 Taaffe became Maryland ' s Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks Coach . In his first year , Taaffe was able to steer Maryland to 390 points ( a then school record ) and an average of 35 . 5 points per game . The Terps ' 439 . 7 yards of total offense per game were the best in the ACC . Taaffe ' s option offense helped the team to an average of 220 . 7 yards per game on the ground , second - best in the league . Shaun Hill flourished at quarterback and was a second team All - ACC selection . In 2002 , the Terps set a school record for points scored with 451 while finishing second in the ACC in rushing ( 198 . 8 ypg ) and scoring ( 32 . 2 ppg ) offense . Taaffe helped guide quarterback Scott McBrien to an honorable mention all - league performer and finished 12th nationally in pass efficiency . At Maryland Taaffe ' s offense earned national respect with a balanced attack that beat opponents both on the ground and through the air . In 2004 he led the offense during the school ' s first - ever victory over Florida State , then ranked No . 5 . A year earlier , Taaffe helped guide the Terps through injuries to finish the season ranked in the top 30 nationally in four offensive categories ( rushing ( 24th ) , total offense ( 28th ) , scoring ( 27th ) and pass efficiency ( 26th ) . Hamilton Tiger - Cats . On December 15 , 2006 Taaffe was hired as the head coach of the Hamilton Tiger - Cats . With little talent to work with , Taaffe not surprisingly led the Tiger - Cats to a 3 – 15 record , with only one win against fellow Eastern Division teams . Despite Taaffe ' s offensive credentials , the Ti - Cats nearly 80 points fewer than any other team in the league . On September 8 , 2008 the Tiger - Cats fired Taaffe and replaced him with offensive co - ordinator Marcel Bellefeuille . University of Central Florida . On January 5 , 2009 the University of Central Florida hired Taaffe as Offensive Coordinator . UCF was in much needed help on offense after finishing the 2008 season ranked 119th on total offense and 115th in passing offense . Charlie also brought his son Brian Taaffe , a freshman quarterback transfer from Fordham University . Taaffe immediately went to work and the 2009 offense featured senior transfer quarterback Brett Hodges and a sophomore running - back Brynn Harvey . UCF posted a 8 – 5 record for the year , losing its bowl game , St . Petersburg Bowl , to Rutgers 24 to 45 . Beginning the 2010 season , UCF ' s offense featured a two - quarterback system , which junior Rob Calabrese and freshman Jeffrey Godfrey . Taaffe also devised a committee of running - backs for the Knights run - game , including Ronnie Weaver , Latavius Murray , and Jonathan Davis . Jeff Godfrey would eventually take over as the starter after an injury to Rob Calabrese early in the season . Taaffe would also develop a new offensive package known as the " Wild Knight . " The new offensive package developed by Taaffe and the Knights continued defensive dominance led the Knights to their most successful season in program history . The Conference USA Championship game featured a 17 – 7 win over the SMU Mustangs , earning UCF its second C - USA title , and earning the Knights an invite to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl . The Knights would defeat SEC foe Georgia 10 – 6 in the Liberty Bowl , for the program ' s first ever bowl win . With the successful season , UCF was ranked in the final polls for the first time , No . 20 in the coaches poll , No . 21 in the AP poll , and No . 25 in the BCS poll .