Three takeaways on Scott Frost's plan for Nebraska in 2022

Head coach Scott Frost met with reporters on Tuesday for the first time since news broke that he would be returning for a fifth year at Nebraska under a restructured contract and buyout.

Frost covered a wide range of topics, but most of the focus was on his plans to fill out the four open spots on his offensive coaching staff leading up to a critical 2022 season.

Here are three of the biggest takeaways from what Frost had to say…

Frost made it clear that the No. 1 priority in reconfiguring his staff would be hiring a new offensive coordinator. Whoever Nebraska hires will have a say in how the remaining positions are filled.

But while there were rumors about the Huskers potentially doing a complete overhaul of their offensive identity, Frost made it clear that he didn't want to make "wholesale changes" on that side of the ball.

"We're early in the stages of identifying people," Frost said of potential OC candidates. "I have a pretty good idea of what I want it to look like, and we'll see where we land. If I'm going to turn it over to somebody, I just need somebody that's done it and that I can trust to put our heads together and put the best of what they do with the best of what we do and let him run with it."

Frost also noted that with the expedited offseason now with the Early Signing Period on Dec. 15 and the emergence of the NCAA Transfer Portal, the process of filling out the staff would have to move quickly.

However, he didn't expect anything official to happen before the end of the regular season at the earliest.

"There's a lot of people with jobs in other places," Frost said, "and I imagine nothing can be done until after the season's over."

For the past four seasons, Frost has tried to get by on special teams through a collective staff effort, an analyst, and using a full-time assistant with dual titles.

None of it has translated into success in the kicking, punting, or return games. In fact, many aspects of the third element have been a downright disaster.

With a full-time position opening now available, Frost was asked if he was considering a designated special teams coach for 2022. All he would say was, “potentially.”

Frost praised the job outside linebackers coach Mike Dawson had done since taking on that role this season.

“Our special teams have vastly improved,” Frost said. “Our specialists, we need to continue to get better in those roles. But our coverage units, when you watch the tape and compare to where we’ve been, I’m really happy with the progress we’ve made there.”

For the past 10 years, Frost has been a play-caller. Even this season, when he and former offensive coordinator Matt Lubick “shared” those duties, Frost ultimately had the final say over NU’s play calling.

But now with more pressure than ever to turn the program around quickly, Frost realized through his weekly conversations with athletic director Trev Alberts that he needed to take some responsibility off of his plate.

“Frankly, I’ve been wearing myself thin trying to run the offense and call the offense,” Frost said. “It’s not just game day, it’s all week long. There are probably areas of the program that I could spend more time with if I wasn’t so occupied with that. (Alberts) talked to me about that, and I agree.

“I appreciate his advice on that, and I’m going to do my best to put together a team that allows some of those things to happen.”

Frost said looking back on the past four years, there were aspects of being Nebraska’s head football coach that he wasn’t able to enjoy the way he wanted.

Part of that was more interaction with the fan base and boosters. Some of it was having more time to go hunting in Western Nebraska.

“There are things about being the coach at Nebraska that I haven’t been able to enjoy because of all the time I’ve been spending trying to fix problems and dig ourselves out of a hole and get the team better,” Frost said.

“I’ve spent a lot of time offensively, too. Not that I didn’t have the right guys. I can’t say enough good about them. But I need to really trust somebody. I’ll still be involved. That will take a lot off my plate and I think help me be better in some other areas.”