Nebraska Football: Keep Your Faith in Coach Scott Frost

Husker fans, keep you faith in Scott Frost

After a bad loss on the road to Ohio State, and a shortened season filled with tricky games ahead an uneasy notion may creep into the minds of some Cornhusker fans, ‘What if Frost can’t do it? What if he can’t bring us back?’ If you are thinking that, you have come to the right place, allow me to wipe your mind clean of such a ridiculous notion and calm your nerves before an unpredictable season.

Now I will concede, things have not gone to plan for Scott Frost in Lincoln so far. Frost is sporting a 9-15 record and considering he is now in year three some people are beginning to become inpatient considering by year two at UCF his team was 13-0 and pushing for a national championship.

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However, Frost inherited a larger, more complex project in Lincoln than at UCF. You are probably thinking, ‘But Paul UCF went winless the year before he arrived’ and you would be right. UCF plays in the meager AAC while Nebraska plays in one of the toughest conferences in the land, the Big 10. Unlike the AAC, good leadership and better play calling isn’t enough to flip a program’s switch. In large conferences and at large schools the process is longer especially for a program that lost their way as much as Nebraska.

A perfect example of a coach who needed considerable time to build, to win, and to create a culture of winning and where patience paid off is the case of Jim Harbaugh at Stanford. His record year by year went, 4-8, 5-7, 8-5, and 12-1. Yes Harbaugh improved every year but it was incremental. His first two seasons mirror Frost’s exactly and Harbaugh didn’t have to deal with a pandemic in year three.

Harbaugh turned Stanford slowly from a doormat to a powerhouse slowly, he did it the right way and built a program that still competes today long after his departure. There is little reason to doubt given time Frost cannot create a culture of winning, success and maybe the next great Cornhuskers team in Lincoln.

The final thing I would like to discuss is the gravity of the situation Frost has undertaken. While Nebraska is a clear blue blood of college football, after the retirement of the great Tom Osborne they contracted a severe case of what I call the ‘Alex Ferguson Syndrome.’ Allow me to explain. Alex Ferguson coached Manchester United in the English Premier League for 25 years from 1986 to 2013, similar to Osborne who led the Cornhuskers for 24 years from 1973 to 1997. Ferguson and Osborne both won titles in their final years at the helm and both teams declined dramatically after their departures.

While both the Huskers and Red Devils have had minor successes neither have reached the summit of their respective games since their legends departure. This can be attributed to a mutual truism, Osborne was Nebraska and Ferguson was Manchester United. The organizations were one with the men and as a result both struggled for survival after the removal of a vital organ. Not only does Scott Frost need to return a king back to their throne he must do his best to transition the Nebraska football program into the future. He should Not fill the void left by Osborne but build a new Nebraska. One that does not rest on the shoulders of one man alone but one that is a large, successful program that knows how and expects to win as a program not just as one.

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So sit down, relax and wait for the good that comes to those who wait.

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