Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Ndamukong Suh (93) looks toward the sideline during the first half of a Nov. 29 game against the Kansas City Chiefs in Tampa, Fla.
It’s no surprise that an offensive-minded football coach like Nebraska’s Scott Frost would be drawn to the wizardry that the Kansas City Chiefs have put on display in recent years in the NFL.
When it comes to Sunday’s Super Bowl between the Chiefs and Tampa Bay, though, there are just too many Husker connections on the Buccaneers for Frost to root for Kansas City.
“Man, this one is tough for me,” Frost said Thursday. “I root for the Chiefs because they’re a Midwest team and they’re just fun to watch and I love their creativity on offense. It’s hard to not root for the Buccaneers right now with all the Nebraska ties that they have there.”
Tampa’s defense is led by a pair of former Husker greats in defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh and linebacker Lavonte David, and Frost had rookie defensive lineman Khalil Davis in the program for 2018-19 before Davis was drafted in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
The connections don’t stop there. Tampa’s general manager is Fremont native Jason Licht. They have Boys Town graduate and former UNO football player Shaq Barrett on defense, too, and assistant special teams coach Chad Wade is a Nebraska Wesleyan graduate, Weeping Water native and worked at NU from 1996-2013.
“Suh has meant so much to this program and has had such an unbelievable career that I’m really pulling for him to maybe be able to put a ring on,” Frost said. “Lavonte David, same thing. He’s one of the best in the business and has been and deserves more accolades than he gets. And having Khalil down there, too, as somebody that I coached. I’ve actually been on the phone with Jason Licht, a Nebraska guy, and congratulated him on getting to where he is, and we have a strength coach, Chad Wade, that worked here for a long time that works for the Bucs.
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