Nebraska Football: Extensions for assistant coaches is just good business

The Nebraska football program extended the contracts of all 10 of Scott Frost’s assistant coaches this week and here’s why that makes so much sense.

While the Nebraska football team didn’t necessarily meet expectations in its first season under the direction of head coach Scott Frost, with a 4-2 finish, the arrow seems pointed in the right direction.

A big reason for that has been the job Nebraska football, with help of its assistant coaches, has been doing on the recruiting trail. When it comes to 2019, the Huskers have a top-20 class and the best group of recruits in the Big Ten West.

Nebraska also has a bunch of young, up-and-coming players that offer plenty of reasons to be excited about the 2019 season and beyond. So, when the University offered contract extensions for each of the 10 assistants on staff under Frost, it made a lot of sense.

Those contracts were going to run through Jan. 2020 but the Lincoln Journal Star confirmed through the Huskers athletic department that all of the contracts were signed or would be when coaches returned from the recruiting trail.

It sounds like the extensions will add a year onto the deals of all of the assistants, although it is not clear if anyone was given any type of salary increase. Last season, Nebraska football spent close to $5 million on its assistant coaches.

So why does this move make sense? Well, in college football, great assistant coaches are extremely valuable. They contribute to game-planning and player development but also are huge on the recruiting trail.

Obviously, Frost is the face of the program, but no head coach is great without a good staff working behind him and right now, the Huskers must feel they have that in place.

You might be asking if the coaches were going to be under contract, then why act so soon? Well, if you don’t watch the college football news as closely as some, you will realize that some big-time assistants switch jobs all the time.

Just this offseason, Ohio State hired two assistants away from Michigan and then, the Wolverines turned around and hired assistants away from Alabama, Boston College and Arizona State. These guys matter and they matter a lot when it comes to recruits. So you don’t want them to get poached and if they are happy with their contracts, it’s a lot less likely.

So all in all, it was a good move and it might just help the Huskers keep some cohesion in their coaching staff for an extra year or so and in today’s world of college football, that’s a very good thing.