Nebraska won’t be facing off against Scott Frost when it heads west to play Oregon next season according to the former Husker himself.
The Central Florida head coach had an automatic bid to sportswriters’ speculative Oregon shortlists given his ties to the program and reportedly cozy relationship with Nike founder Phil Knight, but Frost told reporters that he is not a candidate for the job.
“A lot of coaches are in a hurry to take the next step,” Frost says. “I think you get yourself in trouble when you take a step before you’re ready or before the time is right. I’m committed to making this place [UCF] a really good football program that can win and win consistently in our league. I’m not planning on looking for a job until we get to that point.”
Taken at face value, that might make Frost one of the more astute and organized young coaches in the business. He was pretty calculated in taking the UCF job. Later in that Orlando Sentinel story, he mentioned being out recruiting and then being home at night, something Orlando affords. Is it really possible that he has a meticulously detailed career map and it doesn’t include a Eugene detour this early in his career? That honestly wouldn’t surprise me.
It’s also possible Oregon isn’t interested in Frost right now. There has been some talk out of Oregon that Frost was a fringe candidate to begin with, so there’s that.
It’s also possible Frost just isn’t interested in Oregon right now, either. Now that the Ducks have been knocked back a bit and the rest of college football has caught up with the bells and whistles, the reality of that job is becoming more apparent — it has challenges. It’s a lot like Nebraska in many regards, and if Frost wanted to be some place that isn’t close to a ton of highly touted recruits, why wouldn’t he just wait and choose to do that at Neb…
…well, we better slow the hypothetical train down a bit. The simplest explanation is usually the best explanation.
Maybe Frost really does just have the one thing most young coaches don’t — patience. It takes a lot of belief in yourself not to jump at the first opportunity that comes your way in coaching, and we know Frost always had that.
Hoosier Handoff
Bizarre day in Bloomington, Indiana, yesterday. It was initially reported that Indiana head football coach Kevin Wilson had been fired yesterday. That was surprising news given that Wilson had taken the Hoosiers to back-to-back bowl games for the first time in 25 years, so it was unsurprising that it was followed by murmurs of mistreatment of players.
At a press conference later that day, Indiana athletic director Fred Glass revealed that Wilson had actually resigned over “philosophical differences.” Glass went on to add that Indiana wasn’t facing any NCAA compliance issues and that he wasn’t aware of any Hoosier players having their health compromised by Wilson’s actions.
Something isn’t adding up here. Wilson signed a six-year extension last year, but he agreed to resign and take only a $542,000 buyout despite having five years left on a deal that paid him $2.5 million per year? He did that with Indiana looking like it was about to turn a corner now that new defensive coordinator Tom Allen finally turned the defense around? Seems like a lot to walk away from based on “philosophical differences.”
Seems like there’s more to the story, but we’ll have to wait for that, I guess.
Allen will take over head-coaching duties for the Hoosiers, with a contract expected to be finalized shortly.
The Grab Bag
- Steve Sipple writes that there’s a sense of urgency on this Husker staff that speaks well to Mike Riley’s preparation.
- Chip Kelly says he’s not going back to Oregon either.
- Wichita State volleyball coach Chris Lamb says Nebraska has the “No. 1 volleyball home-court advantage maybe in the world.”
- Houston has reportedly been in contact with Lane Kiffin and Les Miles about its coaching vacancy.
Today’s Song of Today
https://youtu.be/szk4pTK67-0
