Scott Frost Will Never Hold Himself Accountable For His Failings at Nebraska

He now had the coaching résumé to match. Frost had done the unthinkable at UCF -- taking a program that was winless the season before he arrived, to undefeated and the talk of the college football world just two years later.

But he could not ignore the pull of Nebraska and the opportunities that came along with power conference football.

"I was so happy here," Frost said. "We went undefeated and didn't get a chance to win a championship, at least on the field. You are always striving to reach higher goals. I had always told myself I wasn't going to leave here unless there was a place that you can legitimately go and win a national championship. It was a tough decision because I didn't want to leave regardless of which place it was."

Indeed, Frost maintains he was always happy at UCF. But he also knew returning to Nebraska would make others happy, too.

"I think I kind of knew that wasn't best for me," he said. "It was what some other people wanted me to do to some degree."

Scott Frost, as usual, is putting the blame on anyone but himself.

Imagine being wanted – being given the keys to the kingdom, all the power you could ever want – and blaming those that gave you the keys.

That’s what we’re talking about here. That’s what Scott Frost is trying to do.

Even if you want to take Frost at face value, what he says is absolutely ridiculous. He knew it wasn’t what was best for him, yet he still made that decision? Others wanted him to come home, and he seemingly went against his own gut feelings, choosing to leave for Nebraska rather than staying at UCF?

How is that anyone’s fault but Frost’s?

Even if I decide to go along for the ride with him, it’s hard not to come back to one thing and one thing only: Frost still decided to do this. Even if Nebraska wanted Frost more than Frost wanted Nebraska, he still had the agency to agree and come to Lincoln.

I don’t even have an ask of Scott Frost, really. I don’t know why it’s so frustrating to me, given he was fired close to three years ago after his disastrous run at Nebraska. This is who he is.

The same coach that once blamed TV timeouts for his team losing momentum inside a football game.

The same coach that said Illinois lined up in a way they didn’t expect and they had to throw out half their playbook.

The same coach that tried to get out of the Oklahoma game six months before the 50th anniversary matchup in 2021.

The same coach that put blame on anyone but himself for his time in Lincoln would be the same coach to blame those inside the program that wanted him to take over in the first place.

If you didn’t have any skin in the game, it all would be pretty hilarious.

What does all this mean for 2025? Well, it’s interesting.

In recent seasons, Frank Solich and Bo Pelini are a couple other former Nebraska head coaches that became college football head coaches again after their time in Lincoln. In the initial years at their new stops, each was written and talked about at a relatively high clip, especially when you consider they were coaching at a MAC school – Frank Solich, Ohio – and an FCS school – Bo Pelini, Youngstown State.

Given they both were fired following (a) a win in their final game and (b) going 9-3 in the regular season, many Husker fans not only watched with interest, but rooted for them to spite Nebraska. The wounds of those 2003 and 2014 firings are still felt today for some, as fans happily remind anyone that’ll listen that Nebraska football hasn’t been the same since.

I’m here to tell you that you don’t need to do that with Scott Frost.

Forget his record at Nebraska; that alone is one reason no you don’t need to root for the guy. It’s not about that. And while he didn’t fail on his own – it takes a whole village after all – years later, he’s still not owning up to what went wrong at Nebraska. And he’s never going to. Why on earth would you want that type of person to succeed?

I for one will be paying attention to the Scott Frost UCF era at a pretty high level. I imagine many around here will try to ignore what happens – especially if he struggles like he did at Nebraska – pretending the entire thing isn’t happening. I’ll be watching to see if he’s learned; if he’s different. If he can recreate the magic of his lone season above .500, when UCF caught magic in a bottle and went 13-0.

I’ll be watching to see if he’s changed.

I’m not holding my breath.

More From Nebraska on SI

• 2027 4-Star CB Montre Jackson Talks Husker Offer
• 'This One Is Big': 2027 4-Star WR Anthony Jennings Discusses Nebraska Football Offer
• Johnnie Fitzgerald Talks Nebraska Football Offer, Future Visit
• Tucker Timmerman Quiets Michigan's Bats, Nebraska Takes Game 1
• Nebraska Falls to UCLA in Big Ten Softball Tournament Semifinals