Frost recaps changes, talks future of NU coaching staff

Here are some quick notes and observations to pass along from head coach Scott Frost following Nebraska's bye week practice on Wednesday morning...

***Frost said it had been a "really tough" past 72 hours for Nebraska's coaches and players following the firings of four assistants on Monday. He said NU had to let go of good coaches "and even better men," and "guys are hurting right now."

***However, Frost said he came to the decision "a few weeks ago" that changes needed to be made, and a lot of that came from his weekly conversations with athletic director Trev Alberts.

Frost said he concluded that he couldn't continue doing the same things and expect the program to get better.

***Frost said he expected the new hires to happen quickly because of the recruiting calendar and the transfer portal. However, nothing would likely become official until after the season since they were looking at candidates that were still coaching other teams.

***In the end, Frost said it was "an easy decision for me" to restructure his contract and buyout and stay at Nebraska. He said he loved the job, the program, and the state too much to quit trying to build NU into a winner.

***Frost hinted that he would likely step away as the primary play-caller after this season, but he would still have a say in that going forward. Frost said he'd been calling this offense for 10 years, and even though he and Matt Lubick "shared those duties" this season, he felt that he "wore himself a little thin" trying to call plays and be the head coach.

***Frost said he was the one who first brought up the idea of restructuring his contract and buyout, and the final plan came together through his conversations with Alberts.

***Frost said he didn't expect to make any "wholesale changes" to the offense, but a lot of that would depend on who ended up being the offensive coordinator. Frost said his offense "has been really good, and when we've had the right players, it's been elite."

***Frost said offensive coordinator would be the top priority with the upcoming hires and that coach would have a say in who else filled the open positions on the staff.

***More than anything, Frost said he wanted an offensive coordinator "I can trust" to turn over the play-calling to and be on the same page of what he wants the offense to look like.

***Frost said he "potentially" could hire a full-time special teams coach, but he also praised the job Mike Dawson had done in making that phase of the game "vastly improved." He said the specialists needed to get better, but the coverage teams had been very good this year.

***Frost said he would have "a lot of people helping me" make the upcoming staff hires, "but in the end, they're my decisions."

***Frost confirmed the coaches that would fill the open positions for the remainder of the season:

RB - Ron Brown

OL- Frank Verducci

QB - Steve Cooper

WR - Mike Cassano

***Frost declined to comment on the status of linebacker JoJo Domann for the remainder of the season. Frost said he would let Domann announce any news "in his own way."

***Frost said tight ends coach Sean Beckton was the lone offensive assistant retained because he brought a lot of value to the staff, and NU needed to maintain some level of continuity between what they've done offensively and what they're going to do in the future.

***Frost confirmed there had been no player transfers since Monday's news came out.