Scott Frost, one of the nation’s most successful head coaches in the past two seasons and a member of two Husker national championship teams, will return to his alma mater as Nebraska’s head football coach.
Bill Moos, athletic director, introduced Frost during a Dec. 3 news conference at Memorial Stadium.
“Not only is Scott Frost considered the premier young coach in college football today, he’s a native son, a former two-time national championship Husker football athlete, and an Academic All-American,” said Chancellor Ronnie Green. “We are immensely pleased to welcome him home with his growing family.
“This is a great day for Nebraska because we anticipate his proven leadership will have great impact on our student athletes for many years to come.”
Frost comes to Nebraska after two highly successful seasons as the head coach at the University of Central Florida, where he guided the Golden Knights to a perfect 12-0 season in 2017, and an 18-7 record in two seasons. The Golden Knights defeated No. 16 Memphis Dec. 2 in Orlando to capture the American Athletic Conference title. The title was Frost’s first as a head coach and seventh in 11 seasons as a full-time coach.
Moos selected Frost after consulting with Green and University of Nebraska President Hank Bounds.
Moos said Frost is well-prepared to take over a tradition-rich program like Nebraska in part because of the successful coaches he has learned from during his football career. Notable coaches Frost has played for or coached with include Tom Osborne, Bill Walsh, Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Jon Gruden, Mike Tomlin and Chip Kelly.
“I am thrilled that Scott is returning to his alma mater to lead the Husker football program,” Moos said. “I truly believe that we have hired the premier young coach in the country and that exciting times lie ahead.”
The 42-year-old Frost was a member of national championship teams at Nebraska in 1995 and 1997 and becomes the fifth former Husker to lead the NU football program, and first since Frank Solich.
“It is a great honor and privilege to have the opportunity to return to Nebraska and to lead the Husker football program,” Frost said. “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.”
Frost is a semifinalist for the George Munger National Coach of the Year Award for a second consecutive season in 2017. He joins Alabama’s Nick Saban and Wisconsin’s Paul Chryst as the only coaches to be a semifinalist for the Munger Award in both 2016 and 2017.
The turnaround Frost has led at Central Florida is one of the quickest in college football history. After inheriting a team that finished 0-12 in 2015, Frost led the Golden Knights to a nation-leading six-win improvement in 2016. Frost became the fourth coach in Football Bowl Subdivision history to make a bowl game with a team that was winless the previous season. He is also the only coach to do so in his first year at the school.
This season, Frost led the Golden Knights to a perfect 12-0 record, the first in the history of Central Florida and the American Athletic Conference. The team was ranked No. 11 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 12 in the Associated Press poll heading into the AAC title game.
Before taking over as head coach at Central Florida, Frost spent time as an assistant at Oregon (2009-15) and Northern Iowa (2007-08) and served as a graduate assistant at Kansas State (2006) and Nebraska (2002). In his nine years as a full-time assistant coach, Frost was associated with teams that posted a 103-18 record, won six conference titles and played in two national championship games.
“The best predictor of future performance is past performance, and Scott Frost’s record speaks for itself,” Bounds said. “He’s going to be a great leader of young men and of our football program. I couldn’t be more excited to welcome Scott and his family back to Nebraska.”
Frost was equally successful as a player. He went 24-2 as Nebraska’s starting quarterback in 1996 and 1997, playing for Hall of Fame Coach Tom Osborne. Frost led the Huskers to the 1997 national championship, and was the first Nebraska player to rush and pass for 1,000 yards in the same season.
As a senior in 1997, Frost was an Academic All-American and a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. Frost went on to play six seasons in the National Football League as a defensive back.
A native of Wood River, Neb., Frost and his wife, Ashley, celebrated the birth of their son earlier this month. Frost’s father, Larry, played at Nebraska from 1967 to 1969, and was a high school football coach for more than 40 years. His mother, Carol, was an Olympic track athlete and was the head coach of the Nebraska women’s track and field team from 1977 to 1980.
Frost is the 30th official head coach in Nebraska history. He has agreed to a seven-year, $35 million contract.
