Scott Frost Admits Taking Nebraska Job Wasn't a 'Good' Move For Him

Scott Frost Admits Taking Nebraska Job Wasn't a 'Good' Move For Him originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

In a move that seemed to spark fairytale-like aspirations from fans, Scott Frost's tenure as the Nebraska Cornhuskers' head coach did not have a happy ending by any means.

After starting his college career at Stanford, Frost transferred to Nebraska, where he quarterbacked the program to a 24-2 record across the 1996-97 seasons and led the team to a share of the national title in 1997. 

Coaching-wise, it didn't take long for Frost to find stardom. He led the UCF Knights to a 6-7 record in year one before leading the team to a 13-0 record in 2017 and claiming a national title. His two years in Orlando led to him getting a chance to turn around the program at Nebraska, but ultimately, things didn't work out.

Frost finished with a 16-31 record and was fired three games into his fifth season in 2022. He has since returned for a second stint at UCF, and at Tuesday's Big 12 Media Day, admitted to The Athletic's Chris Vannini he should have never left Orlando.

"I said I wouldn't leave (UCF) unless it was someplace you could win a national championship," Frost said. "I got tugged in a direction to try to help my alma mater and didn't really want to do it. It wasn't a good move. I'm lucky to get back to a place where I was a lot happier."

While UCF was able to put together 12- and 10-win seasons after Frost's departure, the program has since fallen off. The Knights are coming off back-to-back sub-.500 seasons and have seemingly struggled with the jump to the Big 12, posting a 5-13 record in conference play the last two years.

It won't be an easy rebuild by any means, but Frost seems to be content with his return.

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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 8, 2025, where it first appeared.