Yardbarker
x
Scott Frost’s Bitterness Toward Nebraska Makes No Sense
Jul 8, 2025; Frisco, TX, USA; UCF head coach Scott Frost addresses the media during 2025 Big 12 Football Media Days at The Star. Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

We interrupt your regularly scheduled summer programming with an update from the Golden Boy. 

Scott Frost is a smart guy—but he could really use some media training. Every time he gets asked about his time as head coach at Nebraska, or references it in any way, he just makes things worse. More on that in a moment. 

After everything that happened during his time in Lincoln–the losing seasons, the one-score losses, the inability to make even one bowl game, all the heartache and frustration–there are plenty of Nebraska fans (myself included) who were ready to pull for him. It didn’t work out at Nebraska, but he’ll always be a Husker legend as a player. When he got the head job at UCF in December, I was pulling for a comeback story as he took the reins for the second time in Orlando.

It’s becoming increasingly hard to do that. Frost got asked about Nebraska again this week, this time at Big 12 media days. According to a series of Twitter posts from Chris Vannini of The Athletic, Frost was asked what he learned from his time at Nebraska. 

"Don't take the wrong job," Frost said. "I said I wouldn't leave (UCF) unless it was someplace you could win a national championship. I got tugged in a direction to try to help my alma mater and didn't really want to do it. It wasn't a good move. I'm lucky to get back to a place where I was a lot happier."

That one line—“didn’t really want to do it”—says a lot. Maybe too much.

This comes on the heels of an interview with ESPN in May, when he had this to say: "I think I kind of knew that (the Nebraska job) wasn't best for me," he said. "It was what some other people wanted me to do to some degree."

It’s odd to me that Frost can’t even bring himself to say the word Nebraska. He talks about taking the job like it was something he was forced to do. He talks about his failed tenure as head coach like something that was caused by others, like he has no responsibility for what happened. He seems bitter about his time at Nebraska; like the fans or the media or athletic department or some other straw man made his life miserable and therefore he was unable to win football games. 

It’s getting really old, and it makes no sense. Frost was given a hero’s welcome in Lincoln. He was universally hailed as a home run hire for the Big Red. He was embraced by the fan base, former players, and former coaches. He was given whatever resources he needed to build a winner (not to mention a 7-year, $35 million contract). Whatever factors might have existed that made the job harder–pressure from fans, some perceived lack of support from the administration, the COVID season–none of this changes the fact that the buck stops with the head man. It is and always has been that way in football (and in life). You are what your record says you are. 

There’s no shame in admitting it didn’t go as well as you had hoped. Just own it and move on, Scott. He could say any number of things to put this behind him (per the earlier point about media training). 

“I love Nebraska and wish it would have worked out better.” 

“I’ll always cherish my time as a Husker player. As head coach, I didn’t get the results I wanted, but I wish them the best and am excited to be back at UCF.”

“Nebraska has been a big part of my life. I gave it my all and came up short, but I learned a lot and am ready to be a head coach again.” 

These are just a few options. He could even (God forbid) thank the fans for the tremendous support he had in Lincoln, even after four consecutive losing seasons, but something tells me we shouldn’t hold our breath for that to happen any time soon. 

When Frost was hired at UCF this past December, I wrote this:

“I’m genuinely happy that Frost will get another shot at being a head coach. It will never not be shocking to me that his tenure at Nebraska went so poorly. Yes, there were rumors about personal and professional shortcomings, lack of attention to detail, being late to meetings, lack of commitment to recruiting, all sorts of things. Most of us will never know the extent to which any of that stuff was or wasn’t true. But I do believe he desperately wanted to make it work at Nebraska. He wanted to do it for his father, for Tom Osborne, for the entire state. Did the weight of the job become too much for him? Quite possibly. Ultimately, he owns his record and any mistakes he might have made at Nebraska. There’s no hiding from that. But for me, he’ll always be a Husker legend as a player, and that counts for a lot. My sense is, most Husker fans are happy that he’ll get a shot at redemption, even if they’re still a bit salty about how his time in Lincoln played out. Hopefully he learned from his failed stint at Nebraska, and hopefully he finds both success and peace in his second go-round at Central Florida.”

I’m not sure the part about “most Husker fans are happy that he’ll get a shot at redemption” is true anymore. For that, and for his epic failure as head coach at Nebraska, he has no one to blame but himself.

More From Nebraska On SI

This article first appeared on Nebraska Cornhuskers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

Yardbarker +

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!