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Frost is back. I’m as happy as anyone about it. I believe he’s a terrific coach, a great person, a ferocious competitor, and has the chops to do what none of his predecessors have been able to do.
Much has been said the last couple of weeks about the turnaround that Frost orchestrated at UCF. They were 0-12 in 2015. They are 12-0 today. As far as I can tell, that’s the biggest 2-year swing in wins ever. That alone is remarkable. Still, every good story needs some context though, and I think the context of 0-12 has been missing.
Take a look at UCF’s record since 2004, when George O’Leary took over at UCF.
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After going 0-fer in 2004, UCF won 8 in 2005, had a setback in 2006, and won 10 in 2007. 2 setback years followed, but UCF won 11 in 2010. It won 10 in 2012 and 12 in 2013 and 9 in 2014.
I don’t know what happened in 2015, but the bottom fell out and UCF when 0-fer again...making an interesting right bookend to O’Leary’s coaching tenure in Orlando.
Consistency isn’t exactly a core competency at UCF, but rebuilding to double digit wins is. If O’Leary left any institutional memories at UCF, it was how to bounce back in impressive fashion.
None of this should take anything away from Frost’s accomplishment. He has succeeded at every level he has been at. UCF’s 12-0 record this year isn’t anything particularly surprising for Frost. But it isn’t all that out of the ordinary for UCF either.
What does this mean for Nebraska?
I don’t know. I think it means that Frost is a maestro at recognizing the residual talent on a team and maximizing that talent. It also means that he is able to inspire his teams to believe in themselves. Frost inherits a Huskers team with talent. Maybe not Ohio State or Alabama or Clemson talent, but we certainly have the athletes that Iowa, Northwestern, Purdue and Minnesota have...and probably Wisconsin too. The Huskers need to believe in themselves and they need a coach and staff who can squeeze everything out of them as a team.
It’s good to have Coach Frost back. He’s a terrific coach and a great fit. But he’s not a miracle worker. He’s just a very good coach. Let’s all remember that when NU is 7-5 next year.