FanPost

THE SOLUTION - Catch the Vision!/Make the Play!

Scott Frost is one of the hottest commodities in college football today. Trust me, he is going to go somewhere soon and as far as I’m concerned, IT DAMN WELL BETTER BE NU!

Imagine the difference between the two in recruiting. Mike (age 61) blew in from Corvallis with a mediocre record and absolutely no knowledge of Nebraska Tradition. Certainly he could take prospective players through the Nebraska Experience Room and show them what the tradition looks like, but he has no knowledge, no personal experience, and has played no part in any of it! And remember, these are 18 year-old young men. To them, Mike looks like their favorite grandpa!

On the other hand, Scott Frost (age 40) could take them through the same room and relate how he grew up watching the tradition grow until he became a part of it himself. He could describe to them what it’s like to play at Nebraska; what it’s like to run out onto that field in the presence of some of the most devoted fans in college football. He could describe what it was like to be coached by a Hall of Fame Legend and what it was like to play on a team that won a National Championship. He won’t have to explain that he was the OC at Oregon and coached and called plays for the 2014 Heisman Trophy Winner. He won’t even have to mention his roll in helping to put Oregon into the first playoff in the history of college football. Hell man…they’re already devoted to the sport and they already know that!

Prospective college football players are 18 year-olds who have a burning desire to excel and play on a national stage. They’re looking for a solid program to commit to and before them they’ll be able to see concrete evidence of a program that stretches back to 1890, to the very beginning of college football. They’ll see the faces and read the names of the young men who played at Nebraska, made their contributions to the Tradition, and left their mark forever on the Program.

They can spend their time looking at Heismans and Outlands and Lombardis and displays honoring Hall of Fame players and coaches and Academic All-Americans. And when they check out the National Championship Trophies and the teams that won them, right there in that photo of the 1997 Team they’ll see that blonde-headed QB. Yeah, he’s the same guy they’ve been talking to. Of course he’s not a player anymore, but he was a great one in his day. And while his position is different now, he is a part of that Big Tradition. He still has the same burning desire to excel that he had when he was a player. At age 40, Scott is still a young man, with the energy, drive, and determination to push the program back into national prominence.

Yes, it’s true that Bill Walsh lured Scott away from home to Stanford, but when Walsh moved on and the opportunity to play QB at Stanford faded, Scott returned to Lincoln to pay the price for leaving in the first place. Many of the defensive players who pounded Peyton Manning and the Number 3 Tennessee Volunteers 42 - 17 in the 1997 Orange Bowl on January 2, 1998 also pounded Scott Frost in practice at the beginning of the previous season, just for taking the California Detour. Some of them have stated in interviews that the more they knocked him down, the faster he got up. He went on to prove himself to his own teammates and became a team leader in the process. Remember too that Nebraska fans uncharacteristically booed him after a game, but again, he went on to demonstrate his leadership through the regular season, the Big 12 Championship, and the bowl game. I can still see him at the Orange Bowl post-game celebration, standing next to Tom Osborne, extending his arm toward his coach and announcing to a national television audience "This great man deserves a national championship, at least a part" and fortunately the football coaches of America agreed. It is obvious that the man is a proven competitor, a natural leader, and he’s young enough to have a wonderful FUTURE as a coach at Nebraska.

It’s an absolute certainty that as soon as Oregon is finished with the four-team playoff, ADs from every college team in America needing new blood will be at Scott Frost’s door. I have no idea how far Oregon will go in the playoff. They may win it all! But when their season is over, we will witness the human equivalent of the drama provided by a pack of wolves pursuing a bull elk through Yellowstone National Park. All that will be missing is the National Geographic film crew!

My greatest fear is that our AD, Mr. Eichorst , might just be sitting in his office in Lincoln, congratulating himself on his success in signing Mike Riley to a five-year deal and basking in the mistaken belief that he has provided for the FUTURE of Nebraska Football. Meanwhile, in Eugene, Oregon, Scott Frost could be signed to a multi-year contract with some other institution. It would be a huge mistake not to bring Scott back into Nebraska Football as soon as possible.

My hope is that Eichorst and Perlman have the vision to bring Scott Frost to Lincoln as Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator once his responsibilities at Oregon are concluded. If in fact Mike Riley is the teacher and mentor that he has been reported to be, he would have a few years to smoothly transition Scott into the head coaching job upon his retirement. A move like that would avoid an abrupt change in leadership in a few years when Mike retires and would ensure the consistency of the program for years to come. In the meantime, as Offensive Coordinator, Scott could have a free hand to focus on the development and implementation of the offense he wants to use and the time to recruit the players he wants to run it. That’s a win for all: Riley, Frost, Perlman, Eichorst, the Program, and all of the loyal members of the Husker Nation.

I’d like to think that Shawn Eichorst and Harvey Perlman have already thought of all of this. I’d like to think that hiring Mike Riley was Part 1 of a two-part plan to bring Husker Football into serious contention in the Big 10 and back onto the national stage. I’d really like to think that Shawn and Harvey have been working behind the scenes, under a level of secrecy not seen since the code breakers at Bletchley Park unlocked the mysteries of the Enigma machine. Perhaps all of the pieces are in place and all Mr. Eichrost is waiting for is for Oregon to play its final game of the 2014 season!

If that’s their plan, then boy do I owe them an apology for making them the objects of my sarcastic humor. The joke would certainly be on me if the previous decision, which I have characterized as comedic ineptitude, was really just the first move in a brilliant strategy. If that’s true and Part 2 of their plan is about to be implemented, they will go down in the annals of Husker History as Visionaries and Master Strategists. If, on the other hand, none of this has yet occurred to them, then it’s up to members of the Husker Nation to help them "catch the vision"!

It would be a dream come true if, in the high stakes poker game that’s played by the Athletic Directors of the colleges and universities around the country, Shawn has already planned his moves far ahead. The reality is that Shawn and the other ADs make decisions and offer contracts and do all they can to hire the coaches that will help their institutions compete and excel. Successful athletic programs bring revenue and players and notoriety, but they also attract students and professors and funding grants for research and support from donors, etc. It’s not all about athletics. A good decision and the resulting offer to a coach is essentially a bet on an as-yet-unknown future.

I’d like to think that Shawn will be "sitting at the table" when the other ADs ponder Scott Frost’s future. It would be interesting to watch the game play out, rather like a tournament on television. In my minds eye, I see Shawn just sitting there, holding his cards and doing nothing to reveal his hand. His eyes, hidden behind reflective sunglasses, track the activity around the table. His face expressionless, as the betting moves from one AD to another. Well Shawn, as far as I’m concerned, you’re holding a royal flush in your hand. Make the bet and bring Scott Frost to Lincoln!

Chancellor Perlman and AD Eichorst. Ponder the long-term benefits of this strategy!!!!

Catch the Vision!/Make the Play!

Richard Flower

Salt Lake City, UT

This FanPost created by a registered user of Corn Nation.

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