Scott Frost is Nebraska’s next head football coach

Call it a second homecoming. A new beginning. Redemption. Call it whatever you like. Scott Frost is Nebraska’s new head football coach, according to an official release from the University of Nebraska on Saturday.

Frost released the following statement on Saturday afternoon.

Statement from Scott Frost. #Huskers pic.twitter.com/3yIOPlFK5s

— Tommy Rezac (@Tommy_KLIN) December 2, 2017

More from Frost. #Huskers pic.twitter.com/Kau0H3ZWkZ

— Tommy Rezac (@Tommy_KLIN) December 2, 2017

Nebraska athletic director Bill Moos had this to say.

Statement from Bill Moos. #Huskers pic.twitter.com/oogsNO2r9S

— Tommy Rezac (@Tommy_KLIN) December 2, 2017

The official Twitter account for Nebraska Football tweeted out this video when the release came across at approximately 4:47 p.m. central time on Saturday. You can see more social media reactions here.

There is no place like home.

There is no place like Nebraska.

Welcome home, @Coach_Frost.
🗞️: https://t.co/yZAfHYxGns pic.twitter.com/nl7W0cBuT8

— ❄️❄️ Nebraska Football ❄️❄️ (@HuskerFBNation) December 2, 2017

Frost has agreed to a seven-year, 35-million dollar deal as first reported by Sports Illustrated on Saturday. That makes him the third highest paid coach in the Big Ten, behind only Jim Harbaugh and Urban Meyer.

There had been various reports for several weeks that Frost was the favorite to be Nebraska’s next head coach. Moos said Frost was a candidate he was considering when Riley was dismissed on Nov. 25.

A native of Wood River, NE, Frost spent the last two seasons as the head football coach at Central Florida, guiding the Golden Knights to a 12-0 record in 2017 and a 62-55 double overtime win over Memphis in the American Athletic Conference championship on Saturday.

UCF will play in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 1, 2018.

UCF athletic director Danny White said in a press conference on Saturday afternoon that offensive coordinator Troy Walters will serve as the interim head coach. However, he also said that Frost and the staff are committed to coaching the team for the bowl game.

Details of this have yet to be finalized.

Wow. Big news: Scott Frost and his staff have committed to coaching UCF in the Peach Bowl, Danny White confirmed. Frost will coach the Bowl game.

— Ryan Bass (@Ry_Bass) December 2, 2017

Frost finished his time in Orlando with an 18-7 record, becoming the first head coach in FBS history to take a team from an 0-12 record to an undefeated regular season in just two years.

Coaching Staff

Frosts’ UCF coaching staff had five coaches on it with ties to Nebraska.

• Barrett Ruud, Quality Control Administrator, played linebacker at Nebraska from 2001-2004.
• Greg Austin, Offensive Line Coach, was a Husker lineman from 2003-2006.
• Ryan Held, Running Backs Coach, was a Nebraska wide receiver and quarterback from 1993-1996.
• Zach Duval, Strength and Conditioning Coach, was on Nebraska’s strength staff from 1994-2002.
• Gerrod Lambrecht, Chief of Staff/Director of Operations, played offensive line at Concordia University in 1997.

Reports say that all five could follow Frost to Lincoln, along with defensive coordinator Eric Chinander, who also coached outside linebackers at Oregon from 2014-15. Frost’s last season as offensive coordinator at Oregon was 2015.

The Knights ranked 33rd nationally in scoring defense (22.5 ppg) in 2017.

A look back on Frost’s journey

Frost began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Nebraska under then-head coach Frank Solich in 2002. He did the same role at Kansas State in 2006.

Since then, his full-time coaching roles have been:

• Linebackers coach/Co-Defensive Coordinator – Northern Iowa, 2007-2008
• Wide Receivers Coach – Oregon, 2009-2012
• Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach – Oregon, 2013-2015
• Head coach – Central Florida, 2016-2017

Frost was Nebraska’s starting quarterback in both the 1996 and ’97 seasons after being a two-year letterman at Stanford in 1993 and ’94.

He guided the Huskers to a 24-2 record as a starter. He also helped the Huskers claim a share of the ’97 national title.

He passed for 1,237 yards and ran for 1,095 in 1997, becoming the first Husker quarterback in history to run and pass for over 1,000 yards in a single season.

Frost was a third-round pick (67th overall) in the 1998 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. He played safety and special teams there until 2000, and also had stops with the Cleveland Browns (2001), the Green Bay Packers (2001-02) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2003).

Frost’s parents, Larry and Carol, currently live in Lincoln. Frost and his wife Ashley gave birth to a son on Nov. 8.

Moos will introduce Frost as Nebraska’s head coach during a press conference at Memorial Stadium on Sunday. The press conference will begin at noon.

KLIN will carry the press conference live on 1400 AM and at Facebook.com/1400KLIN.

We’ll have more on this story as it becomes available.

Recruiting Impacts

KLIN’s live coverage

Meanwhile, at Memorial Stadium…

There’s a bit of a chill in the air tonight in Lincoln.

❄️🔴 #GBR pic.twitter.com/J0SNhoQmAl

— ❄️❄️ Nebraska Football ❄️❄️ (@HuskerFBNation) December 2, 2017

You can contact Tommy at 402-840-5226, or you can follow him on Twitter @Tommy _KLIN.