There was no time to wait. The end for Scott Frost at Nebraska had to happen. And happen now. This football program was flailing, and the coach had lost control.
Athletic director Trev Alberts fired Frost on Sunday morning, 20 days before the negotiated reduction of his contract buyout and 14 hours after Nebraska lost 45-42 at Memorial Stadium against Georgia Southern, allowing 642 yards in the Huskers’ second defeat in three games to open this season.
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The defensive embarrassment represented the final blow for Frost, who exits Nebraska at 16-31 after four-plus seasons, the worst performance by a coach at the school in more than 60 years. He will get his full buyout of $15 million, Alberts said during a news conference Sunday.
“We need a different voice,” Alberts said. “We need to provide hope for these young men.”
Saturday night marked only the latest in a long line of disappointing events, making clear to Alberts that a change in leadership was needed.
Consider the signs pointing in this direction since Alberts’ arrival in July 2021:
•In the wake of three consecutive losing seasons to start his time as the Nebraska coach, Frost came under scrutiny from the NCAA for the school’s use of an analyst in an impermissible coaching role. While the investigation resulted in minor sanctions, including a one-year show cause for Frost, it shined a light on disorganization in his operation and underscored a rift between Frost and Alberts, who addressed the investigation in an awkward public appearance during preseason camp last August.
• Nebraska lost an NCAA-record eight games decided by one score in 2021 and nine games by single-digit margins. The close defeats illustrated Frost’s inability to manage special teams and to succeed in situations that accentuate late-game coaching decisions.
• Frost unexpectedly exposed an injury suffered by Adrian Martinez after a Nebraska loss against Ohio State last November, revealing that the four-year starting quarterback has been playing with a fractured jaw for several weeks. Martinez was left to unpreparedly answer questions about his health minutes later. The episode served to expand a divide in their relationship. It factored in Martinez’s decision to leave Nebraska for Kansas State after the 2021 season.
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• After an offseason largely filled with positivity in Lincoln as Nebraska added 18 transfers, Frost’s stopover at Big Ten media days in July veered in an odd direction. He declined to offer a traditional opening statement in his televised appearance at the main podium. His entire stay at the event, in fact, was characterized by the coach’s lack of enthusiasm ahead of a key season for his team. He appeared disengaged at a time when observers were searching for evidence that pointed to a Nebraska rebound.
• Trying to offer praise for first-year offensive line coach Donovan Raiola on the Huskers Radio Network, Frost said the Nebraska offensive linemen had worked so hard in practice that they vomited 15 to 20 times per day as a group. He drew criticism for the remarks and later said that he had exaggerated, serving as another public misstep for Frost.
• In the Huskers’ season opener against Northwestern in Dublin, Frost called for an onside kick after Nebraska scored a pair of touchdowns early in the third quarter to take an 11-point lead. The special teams gimmick failed, and Northwestern used the coaching blunder to seize momentum in a 31-28 victory.
• Frost, after both of the first two games this season, stressed the need for improved communication between himself and new offensive coordinator Mark Whipple – to whom Frost had ceded control of offensive play calling. Frost appeared to step in and exert influence over Whipple’s decisions in the second half of a 38-17 win on Sept. 3 against North Dakota. Frost, after that game, declined to answer questions about play-calling roles on the Nebraska sideline.
“He’s an undisciplined coach,” said a source close to the program in recruiting and coaching circles. “And the players lack discipline. He had not instilled a healthy fear. There’s no fear of losing your job if you made a mistake. Leadership has to come from the top. When adversity strikes, you bring everybody together.
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“For too long, Frost wouldn’t look for help. It was stubbornness with him. His personality wouldn’t allow it.”
And then came Saturday night. Georgia Southern snapped a streak of 214 consecutive Nebraska wins in Lincoln when the Huskers scored 35 points or more.
Students at Memorial Stadium broke into chants of “fire Frost.”
The coach had no answers for the continued lapses. For more than four years, when one part of his team ran smoothly, another broke down. It was always something.
“I’m blessed to be the coach here,” he said in his final postgame session with the media. “I love this state and this program. I’m fighting with everything I have, and so is the rest of this coaching staff.”
In the end, it wasn’t enough. Frost is out.
Last year when the Huskers lost against Purdue at home, his time in Lincoln appeared short.
Less than 10 days later, Alberts gave him a reprieve, cutting Frost’s buyout from $15 million to $7.5 million, as of Oct. 1, and reducing his salary by $1 million. Frost replaced four offensive coaches and hired a special teams coordinator. He and Alberts agreed to a series of metrics, unknown to the public, that could have returned his lost pay and earned the coach a contract extension.
The new deal lasted only three games. He was the first coach of this season fired in college football.
It’s Sept. 11, stunningly early for such a move — confirmation of a failed experiment, no doubt, in bringing Frost back for his fifth season.
Enter Mickey Joseph, another former Nebraska QB who’s set to take over as the interim coach and the first Black head coach in any sport at Nebraska. Time remains, with nine games left, for the Huskers to make something of this season.
They’ll start Saturday against Oklahoma, the historic Nebraska rival from a generation ago. With a national spotlight on Lincoln, the Sooners and first-year coach Brent Venables visit one year after Nebraska traveled to Norman and lost 23-16.
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Just another close loss for Frost in the long list that led to his demise.
The Huskers finally found their way to the place this weekend where another close loss rated not at all as close. It was farther away, in fact, from success than Alberts and the Nebraska administration could stand to accept.
(Photo: Steven Branscombe / Getty Images)
Mitch Sherman is a staff writer for The Athletic covering Nebraska football. He previously covered college sports for ESPN.com after working 13 years for the Omaha World-Herald. Mitch is an Omaha native and lifelong Nebraskan. Follow Mitch on Twitter @mitchsherman
