That was December 2017, when a sweeping Frost had completed two sweeps that seemed to strike him as a no-brainer: a turn as Oregon’s offensive coordinator that included tenured quarterback Marcus Mariota, who won the 2014 Heisman Trophy in his season; Oregon as the national runner-up? and a head coaching turn at Central Florida, which went 12-0 in 2017 in Frost’s second season, sparked chatter about a self-proclaimed national championship and made the Frost-Nebraska buzz unstoppable. That undeniable dynamic, as well as Frost’s background as a native of tiny Wood River, Neb., and as the quarterback of the last of Nebraska’s five national teams (the 1997-98 co-champions), led many Nebraska football officials. to gather in an in-person reception of Frost as an obvious bet to lead the Cornhuskers from very good comeback to ordinary great. Governor Pete Ricketts declared September 1, 2018 as a memorial “Scott Frost Day” and the fanfare led Frost to bring the beloved program back from winning percentages that were considered inadequate, such as .551 under Bill Callahan (27-22), the . 713 under Bo Pelini (67-27) and .500 under Mike Riley (19-19), trailing Bob Devaney’s .829 (101-20-2 from 1962-1972) or Tom Osborne’s .836 (255 ). -49-3 from 1973-1997). In contrast, the program with a decorated past never reached a bowl game under Frost, who went 4-8, 5-7, 3-5, 3-9 and 1-2, and developed a surprising penchant for shutouts games, hallmark of failed coaching. They opened with 2018 opening losses to Colorado 33-28 and Troy 24-19, unmistakable signs of things to come. The record in one-score games would go to an astounding 5-22 record in games decided by one score, 0-8 in Frost’s fourth season in 2021, a 3-9 slump that resulted in a pay cut. The grind ended in a 45-42 home loss Saturday to Georgia Southern, which drove 75 yards for the game-winning touchdown with 36 seconds left and whose new coach, Clay Helton, suffered the same fate in the second Last weekend in September. in Southern California. “Earlier today I met with Coach Frost and informed him that we have made a change in the leadership of our football program, effective immediately,” said Athletic Director Trev Alberts, also a former Cornhusker. “Scott put his heart and soul into the Nebraska football program as both a quarterback and coach, and I appreciate his work and dedication. “After our disappointing start to the season” – a 1-2 record that included a loss to Northwestern in Ireland and a win over North Dakota – “I decided the best path forward for our program was to make a coaching change us. Associate coach Mickey Joseph will be our interim coach for the remainder of the 2022 season.” Joseph, 54, a former Nebraska quarterback himself, has coached at 14 different high schools, colleges and one NFL team, including LSU from 2017-2021, which claimed its national championship in 2019. Joseph played quarterback for Osborne from 1988-1991, mostly as a backup, completing 55 of 124 passes for 909 yards and rushing 180 times for 1,091. Joseph becomes the first black head coach in any sport at Nebraska.
