As far as coaching searches go, you’re not going to find a situation where all of the stars aligned more perfectly than they did for Nebraska in its pursuit of Scott Frost.

Not only was he a Nebraska native and a beloved alum from NU’s glory years, he was also regarded as maybe the hottest college football coaching commodity in the country.

But it went well beyond just Frost’s obvious Husker ties that sealed the deal. It was because everything was set up perfectly for it to finally happen, which wasn’t the case in previous years.

“I wasn’t considered for this job the last time it came open. I’m glad I wasn’t,” Frost said. “I didn’t get a phone call the last time this job was open. I’m glad I didn’t. The pieces are in place now. I believe a lot in Bill (Moos). I believe in Hank (Bounds) and Ronnie (Green), and I think this state is ready to see this place return to what it was.”

Frost said the decision to leave Central Florida for his alma mater truly did come down to the final days of this past week, and said it wasn’t until a long phone call with his former NU coach, Tom Osborne, that confirmed he was making the right choice.

Moos said Frost was the No. 1 coach on his list from the day he took over at Nebraska, and while it was a long and at times delicate process to get him, everything fell into place when all was said and done.

“I got the pick of the litter,” Moos said. “We got the pick of the litter.”

During Moos’ press conference following the firing of former head coach Mike Riley, he was asked about a rumored meeting with Frost held in Philadelphia the weekend Nebraska was playing at Penn State and UCF was playing at Temple.

Moos coyly avoided the question, saying he’d heard there were good sandwiches in Philadelphia but declined to confirm or deny if that meeting took place.

On Sunday, Moos finally gave in.

“There were more than sandwiches in Philadelphia,” Moos said. “But both were real good.”

Moos said he, Frost, former Husker and NU radio analyst Matt Davison, and Moos’ wife, Kendra, all sat down for about an hour and had an informal conversation. Needless to say, that meeting got the ball rolling for what eventually went down this weekend.

“It was very casual,” Moos said. “There were no notes, it was just I wanted to get to know this guy, and I felt that maybe he wanted to get a feel for me too.”

There’s a lot of responsibility that comes with being the head football coach at Nebraska, and with that comes a sometimes daunting amount of pressure.

The good thing is that Frost has already gone through as much Husker scrutiny as any coach in the country from his days as the starting quarterback from 1996-97.

“I played here. I understand it,” Frost said. “I saw the best of this place. I also saw some hard times that maybe other people hadn’t. But that’s what makes this place great, is the passion that the people here have for it.

“Watching it from afar, I’m not sure that that passion was unified, that that passion wasn’t always completely supported. It’s my hope that by returning this to its roots and maybe with me coming back we can get that passion all pointed in the right direction. When that happens at Nebraska, this is the best place in the country to be.”

Considering the total train wrecks that have been the coaching searches at other programs around the country, the way Moos handled the hiring of Frost couldn’t have been much better.

Moos identified Frost as his top target essentially from the day he took over at Nebraska, and he was able to approach Frost about the topic in a way that expressed NU’s interest but also gave Frost space to keep his focus on Central Florida.

Moos also tapped into maybe the biggest resource in this process by using Davison, one of Frost’s best friends and former teammate, as a middleman to help get the conversations going.

It was about as quiet of a hiring process as there could be, which is even more impressive given how out of control these situations can get in this day and age.

“There were others that really, really wanted Scott, and some prestigious programs," Moos said. "There were some prestigious coaches that really, really wanted Nebraska. But this is a fit. We talk about fit here, and it has substance. You’ve got to fit at Nebraska, and I don’t know of any better fit than this gentleman on my left.”

Frost coming back to Nebraska is unique in many ways, but maybe the most interesting dynamic has been Frost’s open interest in continuing to coach Central Florida as much as he can through its bowl game.

After going 12-0 and winning the AAC title game on Saturday, the Knights earned a berth in the Peach Bowl against Auburn on Jan. 1. Frost has been adamant about his bond with his former players there, and one of his biggest holdups in taking the NU job was the thought of leaving them behind.

“I don’t want to leave the players down there without a coach, and they deserve to have the best chance that they possibly can, especially in the bowl game that they qualified for,” Frost said. “So if it all works out I’d love to go back and help those kids one more time.”

There are some obvious hurdles with Frost wanting to finish the season out with UCF, especially the new early recruiting signing period which runs from Dec. 20-22.

But Frost and Moos are very much on the same page about how the next few weeks will be handled, as members of Frost’s staff are already on the road recruiting. Frost will work on settling in at Nebraska for the next couple weeks, and then re-join UCF after the signing period through the bowl.

“Scott’s very organized,” Moos said. “He’s got members of his staff out recruiting right now. We hired them on the spot in Orlando after the game… They’re out recruiting and wearing Husker gear right now as we speak. Being as organized as he is, I know that he can have things in place and be actively recruiting.”

Easily the quote of the press conference came when Frost was asked how he would modify his system - derived from the famous high-octane scheme originated by Chip Kelly at Oregon - to adjust to the competition in the Big Ten.

“I’m hoping the Big Ten has to modify their system for us,” Frost said confidently, resulting in a loud cheer from the group of current and former players and NU administration.

Frost made his coaching name on bringing that explosive offense to UCF, as the Knights led the nation in scoring and averaged more than 500 yards per game this season.

But Frost said his system goes far beyond just what his teams do with the football.

“We’re going to work harder than everybody else,” Frost said. “That’s what Nebraska’s about. We’re going to be a more united team than everybody else. That’s what Nebraska’s about. And we’re going to work your tails off in the weight room and be stronger and more physical and tougher than everybody else, because that’s what Nebraska’s about.”

HuskerOnline has already confirmed a number of Central Florida assistant coaches who will join Frost at Nebraska, but Frost wasn’t ready to officially announce any members of his staff just yet.

However, he said the majority of them would be carryovers from UCF, and he firmly believed that group would be just as successful in Lincoln as it was in Orlando.

“The staff that I’m going to bring in here is going to be a bunch of guys that these players will love, a bunch of guys that have tremendous character and are going to care about these guys that are going to mentor them and teach them and help them be better on and off the field,” Frost said.

“A lot of coaches when they get a bigger job or change from one school to another think they need to go out there and hire some different people. The guys that helped us win there can help us win here, and I expect the majority of them to join me.”

Moos said the salary pool for Frost’s 10 assistant coaches and a head strength trainers would be $5 million.

Nebraska’s group of former football letter winners got about 12 hours of notice for an invitation to come back to Memorial Stadium for a surprise welcoming for Frost back to Nebraska.

Despite the late invite, well over 100 former Huskers were waiting for Frost in the NU weight room to give him a rousing round of applause.

Those players then filled into the third floor of Memorial Stadium to watch Frost’s press conference, and more cheers would follow as Frost talked about restoring the program to where it was when he played here.

That excitement carried over the to the current Huskers as well, as they too watched Frost speak and then gushed their praise and excitement in interviews and on social media afterward.

Frost said he met with the team before his press conference and met some players individually. He told them to enjoy the rest of the month and the holidays, but to be ready to get back and hit the ground running next semester.

“I saw a lot of fire in their eyes,” Frost said. “I saw a group that was excited. I let them know that there was a lot of hard work to be done, that things were going to change - a lot of things we going to change - but it’s going to be a really fun process. I’ve seen it happen before, and I know it can happen here.”

As expected, Frost was asked about the importance of Nebraska’s walk-on program to rebuilding the Huskers back to a championship level.

Frost fondly remembered the influence in-state players like himself had on the overall passion the team had for the program, and how that dedication and pride set an expectation of success within the locker room.

“This place needs that,” Frost said. “I’m looking forward to try and grow the walk-on program and making it what it was before. There’s going to be some sacrifices that are probably going to have to be made to get it there, but when you have a bunch of kids that are from the state of Nebraska in this program, those are the type of players who would bleed for this place and are going to work hard to make this work.”

Frost said that goes beyond just getting in-state players to walk-on at Nebraska. He said he and his staff had to keep the state’s top talent from leaving and playing for other schools, which he thinks has happened far too much in recent years.

“When I was growing up, every kid in the state of Nebraska dreamed about running out here in this stadium, on this field, wearing the red ’N’ on their helmet,” Frost said. “There’s too many kids from this state right now playing at other schools. We’re going to do everything we can to make sure those kids are here.”

Frost obviously had a lot of other responsibilities on his plate over the years, but like any former player, he kept an eye on how things were going back at Nebraska.

While the lack of on-field success was disappointing, Frost said he was even more concerned with how the culture of the program had drifted so far away from where it was when he was playing 20 years ago.

“From afar, it didn’t look like the Nebraska that I knew,” Frost said.

“I think this state is hungry for unity. When I was here under Coach Osborne, there was unity of purpose, and unity of belief, and unity of understanding, and unity of support for this program, what it stood for and what it was accomplishing. This program needs that again, and this state needs that again.”

Moos said that understanding of what Nebraska needed to get back on top was one of the primary selling points for Frost. He also said that’s why he gave from the seven-year, $35 million contract, because he knew a rebuilding project like this would be no easy task.

“He like I believe there are no quick fixes,” Moos said. “We will build this football program on solid footings, and if we do stub our toe it’s not going to be a house of cards. I felt that we needed seven years, and if I’m going to hire one of the premier coaches in the country, we’re going to pay him a premier salary.

“This is Nebraska. This is as good as it gets, and I think we got as good as it gets, and we’re going to compensate him properly.”