Scott Frost fired at Nebraska: Coaching candidates to lead Huskers

By Bryan Fischer
FOX Sports College Football Writer

College football is a sport built on controlled chaos. More often than not, the results follow the script dictated by which team has greater talent, coaching and resources.

But occasionally, often on weeks least expected, those governors are removed and disorder reigns supreme from noon until midnight. That’s what happened across the country on Saturday, from No. 1 ranked Alabama holding on for dear life in Austin all the way down to a whopping four FCS programs upending FBS teams

While it cannot be considered jaw-dropping at this point, the biggest reverberation of Week 2 came in Lincoln as Georgia Southern went to Nebraska to pull off a 45-42 upset in which the Eagles racked up the most yards ever by a visiting team at Memorial Stadium — not Ohio State, Michigan, Oklahoma or any of the storied programs that have rolled into town, but a Sun Belt program with a completely new coaching staff that is transitioning the roster away from the option.

A few hours later, Cornhuskers athletic director Trev Alberts pulled the trigger and showed head coach Scott Frost the door after the program’s 10th consecutive one-score loss and a 16-31 overall record.

Parting ways with a once-beloved alum did not come lightly, but the nature of the team’s performances in winnable games left Frost with dwindling support amid key figures and a locker room that was starting to show signs of tune out. Alberts’ decision to make a move now will cost the school a buyout in the region of $15 million — a figure that could have been cut by $7.5 million if he waited until October — but according to a high-ranking source in the athletic department, fan base apathy was starting to take hold, and the historic home sellout streak that dates back to 1962 was becoming more and more difficult to save (donors purchased several thousand tickets this year to give to local youth to keep it going).

“We needed to do something. We needed to inject something into this team,” Alberts said Sunday. “I can tell you that I really wanted this thing to work. Our donors wanted it to work. Everybody wanted it to work. In a way, it’s unfortunate and sad that we’re here today.”

Perhaps the Huskers’ opponent served as a final push in ways beyond just the score line. A year ago almost to the day, it was Clay Helton getting axed by USC that set the coaching carousel alight and opened up speculation surrounding the future of a blueblood program. A few weeks later, Georgia Southern AD Jared Benko fired coach Chad Lunsford, citing the old adage that if something must be done tomorrow, it may as well be done today to get a head start on the market. Benko told FOX Sports this summer that having months to run a search, instead of days or weeks, was a huge benefit and allowed for interviews with 17 different candidates before finally tapping Helton in early November.

That helped Helton quickly evaluate the entire operation, from coaching staff to roster. Extra time to recruit and scout the transfer portal paid off when the Eagles landed quarterback Kyle Vantrease from Buffalo. The sixth-year senior scampered into the end zone Saturday night to put the final nail in Frost’s tenure after throwing for 409 yards. 

Ultimately, Nebraska is in a good position moving forward despite Frost, widely considered to be a home-run hire, instead proving to be a bust. The Big Ten is flush with cash from new media deals, a $155 million football facility set to open in the summer and not much competition expected at the top of the coaching market as in years past. Crucially, the fan base understands a return to the glory runs of the 1990s isn’t in the cards, but consistently getting to bowl games and competing in conference play is a reasonable baseline that’s quite achievable.

“Resources won’t be an impediment in hiring the kind of coach we want to lead Husker program,” Alberts said. “We’re also not going to try to win the press conference. At the end of the day, we need to hire the right leader and the right fit.”

What does that fit look like? Here’s a look at some potential candidates to take over the Cornhuskers:

Matt Rhule, Carolina Panthers head coach

Rhule has several years left on his deal and wants to succeed in the NFL, but his seat is undeniably warm in Charlotte. If he gets fired, he’ll be a top candidate in college football after turning around both Temple and Baylor through terrific player evaluation, and instilling toughness on and off the field. Timing could be tricky, with the NFL season stretching on so long, but the Penn State alum would be perfect for reviving the Cornhuskers.

Matt Campbell, Iowa State head coach

The Cyclones picked a good weekend to finally get a victory over Big Ten rival Iowa, underscoring how Campbell has built the program into a consistent winner despite resources on the lower end of the Power Five. His development of players would be highly attractive at a place like Nebraska, but it remains to be seen if he’d depart for a job like this given how picky he’s been about his next move beyond Ames. Last year’s flirtation with USC is an indication he could be more open to a move, but it will be on the Huskers to show they have the right alignment to make sense over potential NFL jobs in the future.

Lance Leipold, Kansas head coach

Leipold fought an uphill battle to land bigger jobs but has proved a lot of people wrong the past few years, making the jump from Division III to successfully turning around two middling FBS programs in Buffalo and Kansas. It helps that he’s a former Huskers assistant and knows the state as well as pretty much any. He’s only been in Lawrence for two years but, at 58, won’t have many more opportunities to take a marquee job like this.

Mickey Joseph, interim head coach

A former Husker quarterback, Joseph is highly regarded as a recruiter and played a pivotal role in LSU’s 2019 national title run. He has limited previous head coaching experience (13-7 at Langston) but will have nearly a full season to prove he’s the man for the job in Lincoln, not unlike Dabo Swinney once did for Clemson.

Luke Fickell, Cincinnati head coach

It never hurts to ask, and Nebraska would be wise to at least see if a “Godfather” offer could lure Fickell out of Ohio. He took the Bearcats to the College Football Playoff last season, developed a host of NFL players and would be about as big a splash hire as one could make. He seems content enough with the program moving to the Big 12 next year, however, and may simply continue to wait it out until his alma mater Ohio State opens eventually. 

Chris Klieman, Kansas State head coach

Klieman brings a championship pedigree from his time at North Dakota State and has positioned the Wildcats to contend for the Big 12 this year and beyond. He’s coached all over the Midwest and his defensive background could be viewed as a big plus given the issues the Blackshirts have experienced lately. He’s working with a familiar AD in the Little Apple, though, and knows the path to success is going to be much easier in the newly constructed Big 12 than it would in the Big Ten despite increased resources.

Dave Doeren, N.C. State head coach 

Could Doeren trade in one shade of red for another? He’s developed NFL talent with the Wolfpack and lifted the program to a high level of consistency while contending with the likes of Clemson in the ACC Atlantic. He guided Northern Illinois to the Orange Bowl and knows the Big Ten from his time running Wisconsin’s defense, too. Doeren has flirted with openings like Tennessee in the past, and after nearly a decade in Raleigh, could develop into a hot name once again with a veteran, top-20 team in 2021.

Troy Calhoun, Air Force head coach

There are different challenges at the service academies that make life extra difficult for coaches, but Calhoun has still consistently overachieved across 16 seasons at his alma mater. His option-based offense has been an impediment to some when he’s interviewed for Power 5 gigs, but Nebraska might be more welcoming to a return to familiar ways. Calhoun does have a personality that benefits from being in Colorado Springs, so Nebraska would have to get comfortable with him being in the fishbowl that comes with the state’s highest profile position. 

Bill O’Brien, Alabama offensive coordinator

It’s a matter of if, not when, O’Brien gets another head coaching gig after a successful stint in the Nick Saban image rehab machine. He remains highly regarded for his work at Penn State following the school’s scandal (and resulting sanctions) along with four division titles with the Houston Texans. He developed the reigning Heisman Trophy winner last season and has the Tide primed to make it back to the national title game, too. 

Bronco Mendenhall, former BYU/Virginia head coach

Full disclosure, I host a podcast called “HeadCoachU” that has been chatting with Mendenhall about his philosophy of running a college football program. He is using this year away from coaching to be with family but is eager to return to coaching at the Power 5 level this cycle after turning the Cavaliers from a two-wins team into a New Year’s Six bowl team. The former Oregon State linebacker would mesh well with Alberts and has helped fix defenses everywhere he’s been while putting up points on the other end. Much like Helton at GSU, he could get to work early.

Josh Gattis, Miami offensive coordinator

Last season’s Broyles Award winner as the nation’s top assistant, Gattis has extensive Big Ten experience from stints at Penn State and Michigan. Leading the Wolverines to the league title and College Football Playoff in 2021 is a big line on the résumé, and he has the benefit of being a small branch from the Nick Saban coaching tree as well. 

Others who could get into the mix: Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck, Army’s Jeff Monken, Auburn’s Bryan Harsin, Coastal Carolina’s Jamey Chadwell, Tulane’s Willie Fritz, North Dakota State’s Matt Entz, Texas’ Gary Patterson, Wisconsin’s Jim Leonard, USC’s Alex Grinch and TV analyst Tom Herman.

Sun Belt reigns supreme 

Being a conference commissioner is a hectic job particularly at the inflection point at which college athletics currently finds itself. There’s NCAA transformation to sort out, an expanded College Football Playoff to plan and a dozen other hot topics to digest on a daily basis. 

Sun Belt commish Keith Gill was happy to put most of that aside for a few hours this weekend and just bask in the afterglow of what the league called “arguably the greatest day in the conference’s 22-year football history.” 

Appalachian State (at No. 6 Texas A&M) and Marshall (at No. 8 Notre Dame) allowed the Sun Belt to become the first Group of 5 league to knock off multiple top-10 teams for the first time in two decades. Georgia Southern taking down Nebraska added another Power 5 pelt to the wall, a week after Old Dominion beat Virginia Tech as well.

“We’ve been playing really good football for a long time. We’re just trying to let other people get the same kind of understanding that we have on the quality of Sun Belt football,” Gill told FOX Sports. “Our best days are ahead, and I do believe this is only the beginning. We’re going to continue to move our football forward and move our conference forward in really exciting ways.

“I think we have an expectation to win no matter who we’re playing. That’s an important mindset to have as a conference. We’re always going to play to win, and that is our expectation. It doesn’t happen all the time, but this weekend was a really good one for the conference.”

The satisfaction from Saturday was even sweeter knowing it was the result of years of thoughtful planning by the conference office in New Orleans and its now-14 members. It wasn’t long ago that the Sun Belt was ranked dead last among FBS conferences in most metrics and saw a number of schools depart for Conference USA. When looking to add to their ranks, however, both Gill and predecessor Karl Benson prioritized universities that were prepared to invest in football and valued prior success in the sport even if moving up from the FCS ranks, like GSU and App State.

Athletic directors around the Sun Belt have also been able to make shrewd hires to keep things rolling on campus after bigger programs pluck the latest rising stars from their ranks. The Mountaineers easily transitioned from Scott Satterfield (Louisville) to Eli Drinkwitz (Missouri) to Shawn Clark without skipping a beat, for instance. 

Leaning into regional ties at a time when others are spanning additional time zones has also been a hit for fans and administrators alike. New additions James Madison, Marshall and Old Dominion fortify a strong East Division that has more Power 5 non-conference wins this season than the Pac-12 did in all of 2021. Southern Miss, which played Miami close in the first half Saturday, is a terrific geographic fit in the West Division and looks to get back to its former glory under Jeff Bower, Larry Fedora and others. 

“We’re so excited about all four schools but, particularly with Marshall, that brand and that fan base and that tradition was a great addition for us,” said Gill. “To see them go on the road at one of the most storied places in college football and win was a feeling of great satisfaction and excitement rolled up in one.”

The commissioner remains hopeful that it won’t be long before such weekends mean even more in a world with expanded access to the College Football Playoff. Until then, he’ll have to settle for seeing the increased spotlight on the Sun Belt moving forward with pre-game shows arriving in the footprint and three more opportunities for wins over Power 5 opposition on national TV in Week 3. 

BYU makes Big 12 statement

Most head coaches tend to shy away from labeling games as measuring sticks, but BYU coach Kalani Sitake made it clear he was eager to see how his team would match up against reigning Big 12 champion Baylor, a year ahead of his own program joining the conference.

In the wake of a 26-20 double overtime home victory, it’s safe to say the Cougars measure up favorably. 

“I don’t know where this ranks,” Sitake said after the win. “Right now it feels the best because it’s the most recent. Last year’s game [at Baylor] I made statements of, ‘We have to learn from that.’ I wanted to see that as a team and as a program. And I saw it.”

While many teams transitioning into power conferences have encountered a difficult time as they beef up in the trenches through recruiting and development, BYU was more than Baylor’s equal along the lines. Every snap felt like a clash of wills, yet BYU limited the Bears to just 289 total yards and an impressive 2.9 yards/carry. 

“They’re so physical. You just can’t sit there and say we’re going to beat these guys up. That just doesn’t happen,” Sitake added. “I thought we matched their physicality on the field. We knew they had a great team, but I felt like we could compete against them.”

Even more impressive was the play of quarterback Jaren Hall, who carried the Cougars despite missing his top two receiving options due to injury. Though his numbers were pedestrian (261 yards, one TD) by pass-happy Big 12 standards, the arm strength he showed beyond the hash marks, as well as his impressive mobility both inside and beyond the pocket had several NFL scouts in attendance buzzing. 

Hall significantly outplayed counterpart Blake Shapen (134 yards on 18-for-28 passing) in all areas of the game, which is notable given that Baylor coach Dave Aranda and offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes moved on from title-winning starter Gerry Bohanon this offseason specifically to bring more of a passing threat to the offense.

For good measure, Hall even caught a touchdown pass on a 22-yard trick play that brought life to the sellout crowd, which later rushed the field.

It was also the first top-10 win at home for BYU since 1990 and gives the Cougars confidence going into a five-week stretch that includes games at Oregon and Notre Dame, as well as a home date vs. No. 10 Arkansas on Oct. 15. It’s still too early to start thinking about ambitions grander than a berth in the Hawaii Bowl, but the program looks more than equipped to be a competitive fixture in the Big 12 right away after dispatching the champions and sending a powerful message deep into the night. 

Make it make sense

Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura did not short anybody some entertainment on this play against Mississippi State:

Saturday superlatives

Best Player: Alabama QB Bryce Young

Team of the Week: Appalachian State

Goat of the Week: Scott Frost

Heisman Five: 1. Bryce Young (Alabama), 2. Caleb Williams (USC), 3. C.J. Stroud (Ohio State), 4. KJ Jefferson (Arkansas), 5. Jordan Addison (USC)

Projected Playoff: 1. Georgia, 2. Ohio State, 3. Alabama, 4. USC

Tweet of the Week: 

Super 16

Here’s how I voted in the FWAA/NFF Super 16 this week:

1. Georgia
2. Alabama
3. Ohio State
4. Michigan
5. USC
6. Arkansas
7. Kentucky
8. BYU
9. Oklahoma State
10. Penn State
11. Texas
12. Michigan State
13. Clemson
14. Oklahoma
15. Mississippi State
16. Tennessee

Just missed the cut: Kansas State

Best of the rest: Utah, Wake Forest, Baylor, Florida, Miami, Minnesota, Appalachian State, Washington State.

Pre-snap reads

Oklahoma at Nebraska (noon ET on FOX and the FOX Sports App)

How much will the coaching change impact the Cornhuskers as they host the Sooners in a matchup sure to evoke warm and fuzzy feeling about those old Big 8 days. OU struggled with Kent State for a half and don’t seem to be firing on all cylinders just yet so this could be a close one as the Huskers play a little lose without a black cloud hanging over Lincoln.

BYU at Oregon (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports App)

The Ducks got bullied by Georgia in the opener on both lines of scrimmage and could be in store for a similar affair with a stout BYU squad rolling into Eugene. Bo Nix’s escapability will help mitigate that somewhat but his decision-making remains suspect as he faces off against a defense that loves to throw different coverages at you. Being at Autzen will help keep it close before the Cougars sneak out with a win.

Penn State at Auburn (3:30 p.m. ET)

With Scott Frost gone, the hottest seat in the country now sits firmly under Bryan Harsin. One way to cool things off temporarily would be to knock off a ranked Penn State squad that’s overly dependent on youngsters making their first trip to an SEC atmosphere. The Tigers struggling to put away San Jose State doesn’t inspire confidence but strange things happen in this program and taking James Franklin down to the wire would surprise nobody. 

Miami at Texas A&M (9 p.m. ET)

Were the Aggies in look-ahead mode last week with the Hurricanes coming to town? We’ll find out shortly as Jimbo Fisher hopefully opens up the playbook a little more after running just 38 plays in that loss to Appalachian State. This has the potential to devolve into a bit of a track meet before A&M eventually finds the right side of the coin and we see just where Mario Cristobal’s rebuild sits.

Bryan Fischer is a college football writer for FOX Sports. He has been covering college athletics for nearly two decades at outlets such as NBC Sports, CBS Sports, Yahoo! Sports and NFL.com among others. Follow him on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.

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