The moment many Nebraska fans had been anxiously awaiting for months finally came, as Nebraska athletic director Bill Moos announced Saturday that Central Florida’s Scott Frost will be the new Husker head football coach.
“I am thrilled that Scott is returning to his alma mater to lead the Husker football program,” Moos said in a statement. “I truly believe that we have hired the premier young coach in the country and that exciting times lie ahead.”
Frost, a native of Wood River, Neb., who quarterbacked NU to the 1997 national championship, had long been the clear No. 1 choice to replace former head coach Mike Riley even well before Riley was fired.
It took a long, rumor-filled week before it finally became official, but in the end, Nebraska got the man they wanted by naming Frost as its 30th head coach. He agreed to a seven-year, $35 million contract.
“It is a great honor and privilege to have the opportunity to return to Nebraska and to lead the Husker football program,” Frost said in the statement. “I have been fortunate to be at a wonderful school the last two years, but Nebraska is a special place with a storied tradition and a fan base which is second to none. I am truly humbled to be here. The state of Nebraska and the Husker program mean a great deal to me. This is home.
“I am appreciative of the confidence Bill Moos and our University leadership have in me to lead this program. I would not have the opportunity to be in this position without a lot of great people who have helped me throughout my career. Specifically, I would like to thank Coach Osborne who has played such an integral role in my life over the past two decades, both on and off the field. Go Big Red!”
Despite owning just two seasons of head coaching experience, Frost, 42, emerged as college football’s hottest name after a remarkable turnaround at UCF.
After inheriting a program that finished 0-12 the previous year in 2015, Frost guided the Knights to a 6-7 mark a trip to the Cure Bowl in 2016 in his first season as a head coach.
He then took Central Florida to a different level this season, rolling to a perfect 12-0 record and then winning the American Athletic Conference Championship on Saturday afternoon with a 62-55 double-overtime victory over Memphis.
Frost was the unanimous selection for the AAC Coach of the Year and is currently a semifinalist for the George Munger Coach of the Year.
Under Frost, UCF became the first program in Football Bowl Subdivision history to go from a winless season to a perfect regular season in just two years.
Not only did Frost bring the Knights, now ranked No. 14 in the latest College Football Playoff poll, back to national relevance, he also turned them into arguably the most dynamic offense in the country.
Led by quarterback and AAC Player of the Year McKenzie Milton, Central Florida boasts the nation’s highest-scoring offense at 48.3 points per game and ranks sixth in total offense at 523.5 yards per game.
While he’s only been a head coach for two seasons, Frost has a wide range of coaching experience as an assistant, particularly his time at Oregon working under Chip Kelly and Mark Helfrich.
After playing for legendary coaches Bill Walsh, Tom Osborne, Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick and Jon Gruden during his collegiate and NFL career, Frost served as a graduate assistant at his alma mater Nebraska under Frank Solich in 2002.
Following his official retirement from the NFL in 2003, Frost got his first college job as the linebackers coach and then co-defensive coordinator at Northern Iowa from 2006-08.
He then went to Oregon to work as receivers coach under Kelly, and when Helfrich took over as head coach in 2013, he appointed Frost as his offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
As for his playing career, Frost went 24-2 as a two-year starter for Nebraska at quarterback and joined the ranks of legendary Huskers when he guided NU to the 1997 national title.
A finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award as a senior who became just the 10th player in college football history to rush and pass for more than 1,000 yards in a season, Frost was drafted by the New Jets with the 67th overall pick in the third round of the 1998 NFL Draft.
Though he had to make the change from quarterback to safety to make it in the NFL, Frost ended up playing six pro seasons with the Jets, Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
