When it came to the Nebraska football team’s season, it was just over 24 hours ago that we told fans they should “choose optimism.” 24 hours later, there doesn’t seem to be much to be optimistic about. And if the loss to Northwestern wasn’t bad enough, one particular comment made by head coach Scott Frost stands out as a really bad sign for the rest of the season.
The entirety of Husker Nation is feeling more than a little nervous after blowing a game it had an 11-point lead in two different times. The fact that Frost is pointing fingers at his offensive assistant coaches is unlikely to make people find their calm.
To be clear, Frost is not a polished speaker in front of the media. This is the the same guy who claimed his offensive lineman were puking 15-20 times a game because his new offensive line coach was working them so hard. Those comments, which he later explained away as exaggeration, were correctly called “ignorant” by more than a handful of people.
The Nebraska football head coach has made other comments that raised eyebrows. Both before and after games. Usually, those comments tend to be overly optimistic to the point of some wondering if he’s able to see what the rest of the Cornhusker world is seeing. But when it comes to eyebrow-raising comments Saturday’s might have taken the cake, simply because they hint at strife in the staff … already.
While Frost was in front of the media walking them through what in the world had happened in the 31-28 loss, he didn’t seem content in getting all the blame. It’s worth noting that even if he doesn’t deserve all the blame – and there really is plenty to go around – he’s the head man. It’s his job to take the heat. He decided to make sure instead that others feel the heat as well.
"“I think our offensive staff has to learn you’ve got to be a little more creative in this league.”"
The head coach who’s own playcalling issues forced him to hand over those duties to someone else, is already expressing his displeasure at the job his new offensive coordinator is doing. After one game.
Frost postgame: "I think our offensive staff has to learn you've got to be a little more creative in this league."
— Dennis Dodd (@dennisdoddcbs) August 27, 2022
Make no mistake, Frost knows he’s on the hot seat. He knows that the seat got hotter today, and it appears at least in the moment, he tried to take the pressure off by immediately blaming someone else.
There are a couple of problems with that. The first is that one of the biggest complaints about the Nebraska football team’s offense when Frost was calling plays is that they got unimaginative and ultra-conservative in the red zone and when the game is on the line. The other is that Frost is on his third offensive coordinator in five seasons.
Sure, Mark Whipple is the first of the trio that is actually calling plays, but Frost hired all three men. If, somehow, his comment about the offensive coaches wasn’t aimed directly at Whipple and included the other offensive coaches too, well … he hired them this winter.
Maybe the weirdest part of the Nebraska football head coach blaming guys he hired about six months ago for what transpired against Northwestern is that he will need them to have his back. About the worst thing that could happen right now for the Huskers is for there to be infighting or hard feelings among the staff.
Yes, Mark Whipple has been around college football long enough that he’s able to let that kind of comment go. But the question becomes, if this is what Frost is saying after Game 1, what happens if the Huskers’ offense doesn’t look all that good against Oklahoma, or even Indiana? What if there’s jet lag or just a lack of fire against North Dakota and the offense looks sluggish?
Scott Frost is on the hot seat. There’s no doubt about that at this point. But he seems to think he can still blame other people for his failings. If he continues going to that move, things are going to get much, much worse for the Nebraska football team and his seat is only going to get hotter.