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An open letter from Scott Frost

BigRedBeliever

Three-Star Recruit
Aug 24, 2004
90
68
18
It gives one real insight to know the heart of your coach...and ours!


Take a few moments to read this letter written by Scott Frost November of 2005. This is the heart of a man who is born and bred a Husker. There is not a better fit for the Nebraska football head coach.

10/05
Scott's Thoughts by Scott Frost

Sometimes I think that I care too much. I was in Lawrence on Saturday and I saw our guys go down in defeat at the hands of a team that we had beaten every year for almost four decades. I can’t tell you how hard it was to watch. Seeing Jayhawk fans yelling and jeering and storming the field made my stomach turn. Now in the wake of that loss I have been hearing all sorts of opinions about what is going wrong and what should be changed. Some of them make some sense and some are ridiculous. People everywhere I go are asking me for my views on the program. I certainly don’t have all of the answers, but I can offer you some of my feelings as a former player who has bled, sweat, thrown-up, cried, fought, been criticized, been vindicated, and been a part of a champion while wearing Husker red. I have concerns and a few problems with some of the things that have happened surrounding our beloved program. I have talked to a lot of other players and they have the same concerns. I cannot speak for any of them or for anyone else, but I think people would like to know how ex-players feel, and I think that my opinions probably reflect those of most of the guys who have been a part of Husker football.

Let me begin by reiterating that the reason so many of us are so frustrated is that we care so much. That concern is what sets Nebraska apart. I started my career at another institution where it is not nearly as rare to go five and six, and I’ve seen first hand how much more passion there is surrounding Husker football than almost every other program in the country. Sometimes I don’t think that some of the people in the program right now knew what they were getting themselves into when they signed up to come here. That leads me to my first major concern about what is happening at Memorial Stadium- the complete and intentional departure and detachment from anything that had to do with the way it was.

Let’s start with the people. We didn’t just get a new coaching staff two years ago, there was basically a house cleaning. So many of the people in South stadium who made Nebraska what it was either left or were forced to leave that many of us as former players do not even feel comfortable coming around the campus anymore. That’s a shame. It was commonplace when I was playing to have ex-players like Cory Schlessinger, Tyrone Williams, and Will Shields come to meetings or compete against us in passing league. Now, most guys don’t even know who to call if they want to watch a practice. I know they kept Coach Gill around when they brought in the new staff and he was a link to the past, but he moved on. Jimmy Williams and Marvin Sanders weren’t asked to return. Their excellent coaching abilities aside, it sure would be nice to have someone like them on the staff that is familiar with the traditions of Nebraska football.

It isn’t just university employees either, it’s also the players. When we won the national championship in 1997, nine out of our eleven starters on offense were from the state of Nebraska. We had a system in place that was able to organize and develop more athletes, therefore there were more players on a Nebraska practice field than most schools normally have. A great number of those players were walk-ons from the state of Nebraska who would give their heart and soul for the football team. Not only did that create a team that cared more about winning, it also made for a huge amount of caring and involvement throughout the state. When you live in a town like Funk, Nebraska, and you know Kyle Larson personally, it generates a sense of pride in our state for a program that could take boys from our own hometowns and develop them into players who could compete with and beat anyone. I’m all for going to California and Florida to recruit great players. Heaven knows we need guys like Marlon Lucky and Harrison Beck to make us better, but I also wish we wouldn’t stop making the effort to bring home-grown athletes along as Huskers.

If you want more proof about the complete overhaul of Nebraska football, look at some of the small things. Why after so many years did “Husker Power” fail to be a worthy slogan for our team? Now it’s “the power of red”. Why did the program where the coaches went to Lincoln, Omaha, and a town out west to show loyal fans the game film end? Talk about a way to help keep fans interested and loyal (fundraising!). Even Herbie Husker got an overhaul from blonde to brunette. It almost feels like anything that symbolizes or relates to the Huskers of Devaney, Osborne, and Solich was simply not good enough anymore.

That leads me to the next major concern that I have right now-its character. I’m not making this point to attack or demean anyone. I just know the kind of character that people throughout the program used to have. It all started with Tom Osborne. The man simply has more honor and integrity than anyone I have ever known. When he knew something was right, he did it. When he knew something was wrong, he always stayed away. I never once got cursed at by a Nebraska coach on the football field. Our coaches had a biblical devotional every morning before they started their meetings. Tom would never promise a recruit playing time, he would simply tell them that they would get a fair opportunity to show what they could do. The best complement that you could get from him is that you were “a pretty good player”. He’s the kind of guy that could lead a group of people to accomplish the absolute most that they were capable of accomplishing.

The character didn’t just end with Tom either. Ron Brown and Turner Gill are two of the best people I know. Milt Tenopir was like a father to most of the guys who played for him. The relationship that Charlie had with most of his guys, while slightly different, was wonderful. It was like a big family, and that environment made us all want to work harder and succeed that much more. We simply did things better and cleaner at the University of Nebraska than they did it anywhere else. There was an element of class about the program that was the envy of every other college football team.

I want to become a college football coach, and I plan on looking for a place to start a career in that field after this season is over. A few months ago I told Ron Brown that I wanted to coach. His advice to me was that if I was getting into coaching just to try to win games and be around football, then it wasn’t worth it. It would drive me crazy and the hours wouldn’t be justified. If I was going to coach on the other hand, with my primary goal being to try and impact the lives of the guys that you work with than the job could be more rewarding than almost anything else I could do. I’m paraphrasing a little bit, but you get the point. I really think that for most of the staff, winning was a goal that was secondary to shaping us as players into good men. I’m not saying things are different now, I don’t know. I would just hate to see us become like everybody else in college football. We have always been special, and I hope we always will be.

Building on that point, I would like to add this. It is not fair to be calling for the firing of any of our coaches right now. Everyone is entitled to their opinions about how things are going on the field, but we owe these guys a fair chance to get things turned around. If I was a coach that took over a program like Nebraska I would feel like I deserved at least three or four years to fully integrate my philosophies and tactics as a coach and leader. Granted there probably needs to be signs of improvement along the way, but it’s not fair to be talking about a change right now. It also doesn’t make sense to be firing so many arrows at the staff in the middle of the season. These guys have a job to do, and the fewer distractions they have, the better they will perform. On top of that, we don’t want the players feeling like they are in the midst of a firestorm. We don’t want them worried that they might have a new coach in a year or two or three. I have heard rumors that some of our vaunted freshmen are kicking around the idea of transferring. We can’t lose these kids. Whoever is coaching needs talented players. There is a time and a place for everything. If things haven’t improved by the end of the ’06 season then maybe people should voice their opinions on who is the right person to lead our program, but not right now. Now is the time that we should be supporting our team and our players so that they understand that they are a part of something special.

People always ask me what I think about the West Coast Offense. I simply say this. They are going to have to prove to me that it is the best way to win in Lincoln, Nebraska before I believe it. I’m not saying it can’t work. There are all sorts of different kinds of offensive systems that work in college football; everything from Utah’s spread offense to USC’s west coast, to Air Force’s option attack. If you have the right players and you coach your system well, most offenses can be successful. You can’t argue with the success that the WCO has had at both the collegiate and professional levels. It can work, but the jury is still out as to whether it will work here. On the other hand, I hear people arguing that a running and or option attack like the one we used to run is outdated and won’t work anymore. Let me tell you something- not that much has changed since the mid-nineties. The athletes are not that much bigger and stronger. Einstein didn’t come back to life and invent a defense that can stop a properly run belly option. Like I said, any system can work if you teach the right players the right way. That being said, there were reasons why Tom Osborne ran the system that he did (reference my blog from 9/14). You don’t have to throw the ball every down to win. You don’t have to run it every down either, but some kind of running game sure would help.


Finally, my biggest frustration as a former player is the way in which some decisions have been made by the administration as well as the way some things have been handled. It is hard for me to comment on some of these situations because I have heard most of the stories second and third hand, but there are a few things I feel alright talking about. The first is the dismissal of the old coaching staff. I’m not sure exactly what happened, but I know that some of those people were not treated very well and not given a fair chance. There were a lot of Nebraskans who wanted to see a change in the coaching staff when Frank was in charge. Whether you wanted a change or not, you have to agree that those guys deserved to be treated with respect and they deserved to have the administration be up front with them. From letters slipped under doors to pointless and insincere interviews, the whole process seemed to be devious and harmful to a lot of people that many of us as former players are loyal to.

After the firing of these people, the search for a new coach began. It was this process that left many of us confused and agitated, because it was done solely and completely by one man. Most major programs, when they hire a new coach, will put together a search committee. There are people who are loyal to our program who would have been tremendous resources in the selection process. I would have loved to have seen a committee made up of gentlemen such as Tom Osborne, Charlie McBride, Monte Kiffin, Ahman Green, Grant Wistrom, Mike Minter, Barry Alvarez, and Al Papik help identify the best candidate to take over our program. I guarantee that when Notre Dame picked a new head coach last year, more than one person was in on the decision. It’s just hard for me to believe that someone who probably couldn’t draw up an over front or and under front is the best person to pick a football coach. I actually think that things could have ended up worse, especially when you consider some of the other coaches that were rumored to have planes waiting at their local airports.

The decision was made; our program is headed in a completely new direction. Now we all have to deal with it. All of us, including the administration. If those guys get things turned around and we start winning games and championships than everyone will look like a genius. If things don’t turn around, then we all know where the majority of the criticism will be directed. I know as a quarterback that when the team did well, I got a lot more praise than I deserved. When the team didn’t do well, far more than my rightful share of the blame fell on my shoulders. It goes with the territory. Steve Pedersen brought that on himself when he was so cavalier in making these tough decisions. Right or wrong, hero or villain, he took a big risk and painted himself into a tight corner. Time will tell how everyone is viewed in the history of our program.

I know I am not the only one who feels this way about all of these issues. Most of the guys that I played with are more vocal than I am about many of these things. It isn’t just former players either. I know the stadium project hasn’t raised all of the money that they need yet. There are several people, and most of us know who they are, who could write a check tomorrow to have the whole facility finished. They’re not doing it because they are not happy with the state of affairs at South Stadium. I love Nebraska football. I love the state of Nebraska. I long for the days when the characteristics of the team we put on the field on Saturdays exemplified the characteristics of the hard working people of our state. We used to have the Taj mahal of college football programs. Now it feels like someone took 40 tons of dynamite to our proud and noble masterpiece and built a three bedroom ranch in its place. I’m not saying all of these things to be malicious or overly critical of anyone, but when it comes to a state institution, people have the right to be judgmental. I just want to share my opinions with all of the Husker fans out there who care as much about the program as I do.
 
A perhaps even more powerful and telling open letter is this one to Santa Claus ... please read

Dear Santa,

It has been some time since I have written to you, I hope all is well. You see, a lot has changed since the last time I wrote. People around me have come and gone, I learned to love, I grew physically, mentally and emotionally, and I for sure want very different things this Christmas. Although all these changes have taken place, I feel as though some have stayed the same. So I write to you today to ask, one last time, for something for Christmas...

When I was just a kid I questioned how real you really were, I mean all the presents from you were wrapped in the most marvelous gold and white glimmering paper with perfectly placed white bows plastered across the top in bold red letter, "Dearest Elizabeth From: Santa". So clearly it was hard to not believe. The pictures of you were everywhere I turned. There were even years I was sure I heard you downstairs rustling through your sack to leave me all my presents that I thought I "deserved". But now, looking back on it I can't help but think of all the times that I definitely did not deserve all that I was given. When I would see donation boxes for less fortunate children so they would have presents to wake up to in the morning I questioned you most. "Why can't Santa just bring them presents?"

It wasn't until later when the sad news was broken to me, that there is no one singular Santa, but millions of "Santas". At first I felt let down. What was real anymore? This charade put on by adults to make money and crush dreams? Classic marketing stunts. But in reality, even though there may not be only one Santa, that idea of just one stood for so much more than presents and a big jolly man with a white beard. Because, yes, that version of Santa is a marketing stunt. But the Santa I'm talking about is the one who's job is to bring joy to the hearts of young children who wake up Christmas morning with hope that this big jolly man didn't miss them last night. That no matter what walk of life you may be from, he loves and takes care of us all the same. The Santa that truly is the heart and soul of the Christmas spirit. Because that's exactly what he is and stands for, "the spirit of Christmas".


So Santa to seven-year-old me is a lot different than Santa to the nineteen years old me. Santa then was gift-giving and mysterious. Santa now is the joy in the hearts of the ones I love, the gleam in my little cousin's eyes, the hint of magic that is in the air, the unusual kindness that everyone seems to spread around the season.

So this year, all I can really ask for is that the spirit doesn't disappear. That among all of the busyness and hectic days leading up to and including Christmas, that we all can have a moment where we stop and remember what it was like when we once believed. When the wonder and awe this "Santa" used to bring us, the innocence of the jolly old man. That for, if only a moment, we look at the world around us through the eyes of a small child, beaming with joy and the miracle that one was and forever will be Santa Claus.


Love,

the child within me who will never stop believing
 
Honestly if Nebraska is going to offer Scott Frost a salary that would rank him in the top 10 in all of college football, and commit to it for 7 years, then I would be surprised if he doesn't take it. UCF would welcome him back in a few years as an OC once Nebraska fires him for not winning a national championship. As long as Nebraska pays the buyout.
 
So Nebraska actually offered 5 million x 7 to a coach who lost to Arky State in the only bowl game he’s been HBC in? That’s either just stupid, false or naive AF. The reason this story is nonsense is no major news organizations have verified it. Just a tweet from a Nebraska fan who earns a living as a sports writer.*
 
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It gives one real insight to know the heart of your coach...and ours!


Take a few moments to read this letter written by Scott Frost November of 2005. This is the heart of a man who is born and bred a Husker. There is not a better fit for the Nebraska football head coach.

10/05
Scott's Thoughts by Scott Frost

Sometimes I think that I care too much. I was in Lawrence on Saturday and I saw our guys go down in defeat at the hands of a team that we had beaten every year for almost four decades. I can’t tell you how hard it was to watch. Seeing Jayhawk fans yelling and jeering and storming the field made my stomach turn. Now in the wake of that loss I have been hearing all sorts of opinions about what is going wrong and what should be changed. Some of them make some sense and some are ridiculous. People everywhere I go are asking me for my views on the program. I certainly don’t have all of the answers, but I can offer you some of my feelings as a former player who has bled, sweat, thrown-up, cried, fought, been criticized, been vindicated, and been a part of a champion while wearing Husker red. I have concerns and a few problems with some of the things that have happened surrounding our beloved program. I have talked to a lot of other players and they have the same concerns. I cannot speak for any of them or for anyone else, but I think people would like to know how ex-players feel, and I think that my opinions probably reflect those of most of the guys who have been a part of Husker football.

Let me begin by reiterating that the reason so many of us are so frustrated is that we care so much. That concern is what sets Nebraska apart. I started my career at another institution where it is not nearly as rare to go five and six, and I’ve seen first hand how much more passion there is surrounding Husker football than almost every other program in the country. Sometimes I don’t think that some of the people in the program right now knew what they were getting themselves into when they signed up to come here. That leads me to my first major concern about what is happening at Memorial Stadium- the complete and intentional departure and detachment from anything that had to do with the way it was.

Let’s start with the people. We didn’t just get a new coaching staff two years ago, there was basically a house cleaning. So many of the people in South stadium who made Nebraska what it was either left or were forced to leave that many of us as former players do not even feel comfortable coming around the campus anymore. That’s a shame. It was commonplace when I was playing to have ex-players like Cory Schlessinger, Tyrone Williams, and Will Shields come to meetings or compete against us in passing league. Now, most guys don’t even know who to call if they want to watch a practice. I know they kept Coach Gill around when they brought in the new staff and he was a link to the past, but he moved on. Jimmy Williams and Marvin Sanders weren’t asked to return. Their excellent coaching abilities aside, it sure would be nice to have someone like them on the staff that is familiar with the traditions of Nebraska football.

It isn’t just university employees either, it’s also the players. When we won the national championship in 1997, nine out of our eleven starters on offense were from the state of Nebraska. We had a system in place that was able to organize and develop more athletes, therefore there were more players on a Nebraska practice field than most schools normally have. A great number of those players were walk-ons from the state of Nebraska who would give their heart and soul for the football team. Not only did that create a team that cared more about winning, it also made for a huge amount of caring and involvement throughout the state. When you live in a town like Funk, Nebraska, and you know Kyle Larson personally, it generates a sense of pride in our state for a program that could take boys from our own hometowns and develop them into players who could compete with and beat anyone. I’m all for going to California and Florida to recruit great players. Heaven knows we need guys like Marlon Lucky and Harrison Beck to make us better, but I also wish we wouldn’t stop making the effort to bring home-grown athletes along as Huskers.

If you want more proof about the complete overhaul of Nebraska football, look at some of the small things. Why after so many years did “Husker Power” fail to be a worthy slogan for our team? Now it’s “the power of red”. Why did the program where the coaches went to Lincoln, Omaha, and a town out west to show loyal fans the game film end? Talk about a way to help keep fans interested and loyal (fundraising!). Even Herbie Husker got an overhaul from blonde to brunette. It almost feels like anything that symbolizes or relates to the Huskers of Devaney, Osborne, and Solich was simply not good enough anymore.

That leads me to the next major concern that I have right now-its character. I’m not making this point to attack or demean anyone. I just know the kind of character that people throughout the program used to have. It all started with Tom Osborne. The man simply has more honor and integrity than anyone I have ever known. When he knew something was right, he did it. When he knew something was wrong, he always stayed away. I never once got cursed at by a Nebraska coach on the football field. Our coaches had a biblical devotional every morning before they started their meetings. Tom would never promise a recruit playing time, he would simply tell them that they would get a fair opportunity to show what they could do. The best complement that you could get from him is that you were “a pretty good player”. He’s the kind of guy that could lead a group of people to accomplish the absolute most that they were capable of accomplishing.

The character didn’t just end with Tom either. Ron Brown and Turner Gill are two of the best people I know. Milt Tenopir was like a father to most of the guys who played for him. The relationship that Charlie had with most of his guys, while slightly different, was wonderful. It was like a big family, and that environment made us all want to work harder and succeed that much more. We simply did things better and cleaner at the University of Nebraska than they did it anywhere else. There was an element of class about the program that was the envy of every other college football team.

I want to become a college football coach, and I plan on looking for a place to start a career in that field after this season is over. A few months ago I told Ron Brown that I wanted to coach. His advice to me was that if I was getting into coaching just to try to win games and be around football, then it wasn’t worth it. It would drive me crazy and the hours wouldn’t be justified. If I was going to coach on the other hand, with my primary goal being to try and impact the lives of the guys that you work with than the job could be more rewarding than almost anything else I could do. I’m paraphrasing a little bit, but you get the point. I really think that for most of the staff, winning was a goal that was secondary to shaping us as players into good men. I’m not saying things are different now, I don’t know. I would just hate to see us become like everybody else in college football. We have always been special, and I hope we always will be.

Building on that point, I would like to add this. It is not fair to be calling for the firing of any of our coaches right now. Everyone is entitled to their opinions about how things are going on the field, but we owe these guys a fair chance to get things turned around. If I was a coach that took over a program like Nebraska I would feel like I deserved at least three or four years to fully integrate my philosophies and tactics as a coach and leader. Granted there probably needs to be signs of improvement along the way, but it’s not fair to be talking about a change right now. It also doesn’t make sense to be firing so many arrows at the staff in the middle of the season. These guys have a job to do, and the fewer distractions they have, the better they will perform. On top of that, we don’t want the players feeling like they are in the midst of a firestorm. We don’t want them worried that they might have a new coach in a year or two or three. I have heard rumors that some of our vaunted freshmen are kicking around the idea of transferring. We can’t lose these kids. Whoever is coaching needs talented players. There is a time and a place for everything. If things haven’t improved by the end of the ’06 season then maybe people should voice their opinions on who is the right person to lead our program, but not right now. Now is the time that we should be supporting our team and our players so that they understand that they are a part of something special.

People always ask me what I think about the West Coast Offense. I simply say this. They are going to have to prove to me that it is the best way to win in Lincoln, Nebraska before I believe it. I’m not saying it can’t work. There are all sorts of different kinds of offensive systems that work in college football; everything from Utah’s spread offense to USC’s west coast, to Air Force’s option attack. If you have the right players and you coach your system well, most offenses can be successful. You can’t argue with the success that the WCO has had at both the collegiate and professional levels. It can work, but the jury is still out as to whether it will work here. On the other hand, I hear people arguing that a running and or option attack like the one we used to run is outdated and won’t work anymore. Let me tell you something- not that much has changed since the mid-nineties. The athletes are not that much bigger and stronger. Einstein didn’t come back to life and invent a defense that can stop a properly run belly option. Like I said, any system can work if you teach the right players the right way. That being said, there were reasons why Tom Osborne ran the system that he did (reference my blog from 9/14). You don’t have to throw the ball every down to win. You don’t have to run it every down either, but some kind of running game sure would help.


Finally, my biggest frustration as a former player is the way in which some decisions have been made by the administration as well as the way some things have been handled. It is hard for me to comment on some of these situations because I have heard most of the stories second and third hand, but there are a few things I feel alright talking about. The first is the dismissal of the old coaching staff. I’m not sure exactly what happened, but I know that some of those people were not treated very well and not given a fair chance. There were a lot of Nebraskans who wanted to see a change in the coaching staff when Frank was in charge. Whether you wanted a change or not, you have to agree that those guys deserved to be treated with respect and they deserved to have the administration be up front with them. From letters slipped under doors to pointless and insincere interviews, the whole process seemed to be devious and harmful to a lot of people that many of us as former players are loyal to.

After the firing of these people, the search for a new coach began. It was this process that left many of us confused and agitated, because it was done solely and completely by one man. Most major programs, when they hire a new coach, will put together a search committee. There are people who are loyal to our program who would have been tremendous resources in the selection process. I would have loved to have seen a committee made up of gentlemen such as Tom Osborne, Charlie McBride, Monte Kiffin, Ahman Green, Grant Wistrom, Mike Minter, Barry Alvarez, and Al Papik help identify the best candidate to take over our program. I guarantee that when Notre Dame picked a new head coach last year, more than one person was in on the decision. It’s just hard for me to believe that someone who probably couldn’t draw up an over front or and under front is the best person to pick a football coach. I actually think that things could have ended up worse, especially when you consider some of the other coaches that were rumored to have planes waiting at their local airports.

The decision was made; our program is headed in a completely new direction. Now we all have to deal with it. All of us, including the administration. If those guys get things turned around and we start winning games and championships than everyone will look like a genius. If things don’t turn around, then we all know where the majority of the criticism will be directed. I know as a quarterback that when the team did well, I got a lot more praise than I deserved. When the team didn’t do well, far more than my rightful share of the blame fell on my shoulders. It goes with the territory. Steve Pedersen brought that on himself when he was so cavalier in making these tough decisions. Right or wrong, hero or villain, he took a big risk and painted himself into a tight corner. Time will tell how everyone is viewed in the history of our program.

I know I am not the only one who feels this way about all of these issues. Most of the guys that I played with are more vocal than I am about many of these things. It isn’t just former players either. I know the stadium project hasn’t raised all of the money that they need yet. There are several people, and most of us know who they are, who could write a check tomorrow to have the whole facility finished. They’re not doing it because they are not happy with the state of affairs at South Stadium. I love Nebraska football. I love the state of Nebraska. I long for the days when the characteristics of the team we put on the field on Saturdays exemplified the characteristics of the hard working people of our state. We used to have the Taj mahal of college football programs. Now it feels like someone took 40 tons of dynamite to our proud and noble masterpiece and built a three bedroom ranch in its place. I’m not saying all of these things to be malicious or overly critical of anyone, but when it comes to a state institution, people have the right to be judgmental. I just want to share my opinions with all of the Husker fans out there who care as much about the program as I do.
No one cares
 
That was written from a fan's "frustrated with losing" perspective. It denotes the same love and frustration a message board troll expresses while sitting in his basement in his underwear hoping for a reason a good coach will come fix their train wreck of a program. He's basically saying, " I can't believe the program I played for sucks this bad. Make sure the coach is fired at the end of the season and put Osborne on the hiring committee. We're terrible and I'm embarrassed"
 
So Nebraska actually offered 5 million x 7 to a coach who lost to Arky State in the only bowl game he’s been HBC in? That’s either just stupid, false or naive AF. The reason this story is nonsense is no major news organizations have verified it. Just a tweet from a Nebraska fan who earns a living as a sports writer.*
This is spot on
 
It's 2017....just letting you know. He's experiencing everything positive he talks about in his letter right now. UCF's culture and administration have been pretty top-notch since we hired O'Leary. It was in place before Frost showed up, and will still be here whenever he leaves. When they made one critical mis-calculation and extended O'Leary after the 2013 season....when he wanted to retire...they rectified that when they hired Frost.

Quit living in by-gone days. College attendance, pretty much all sports in general, is down. Technology and higher prices have supplanted a lot of butts in seats. Don't confuse butts in seats and money, either. Last year a major stadium change was made so the pretty much everything betwwen the 20's is club seating...where they can sell beer. Look no further than the Texas for real world effects. In 2016 they made 1.8 million. The move pushed out some more casual fans but that could be easily offset by beer sales. Honestly, we haven't seen any numbers yet but they wouldn't have done it on a whim.

You guys don't seem to understand that we really only started a football program (and not just fielding a team) in 2004. We've had all our tangible success in a short 13 seasons (14 including this season). Our hardcore fanbase is ~20K. Yeah, we have to work on that but my guess is back in 1920 or whenever you guys were at the same place, you didn't have the fanbase you have now. Most of our fanbase is first generation UCF.

Too add to that you can't live in the past. It's what you are now, and what you can be that matters. We graduate about 15K students/yr, and our school has over 60K students now. Our TV market isn't much less than the entire state of Nebraska. College football isn't about the past. It's about $. Why do you think the Big Ten took Maryland and Rutgers. It obviously wasn't for the product on the field. It was for the TV markets. We also live smack dab in the middle of probably the most fertile recruiting grounds in the nation. Frost says he loves that he can go visit recruits and be home for dinner, instead of gone for days or even whole weeks.

The only thing the P5 cartel has going for it is $ and keeping out anybody that isn't in your club. That doesn't buy guaranteed success, though. Good programs are good programs and bad ones are just that. Look at a school like Kansas. What are they doing with 25-30 million/yr? We operate on like 1-2 million/yr. The difference is we care. Can you imagine what we could be like if you start pouring in 4-5 star talent here.....forget about it!

Nobody knows what is really going on except a handful of people and we'll likely no little or nothing prior to some announcement (like when we hired Frost).
 
So Nebraska actually offered 5 million x 7 to a coach who lost to Arky State in the only bowl game he’s been HBC in? That’s either just stupid, false or naive AF. The reason this story is nonsense is no major news organizations have verified it. Just a tweet from a Nebraska fan who earns a living as a sports writer.*

I want SF to have a great career but I don't think that he's ready to go coach Nebraska, he hasn't shown good in-game management.
 
Great!!!!!!!!!

Why don't you post it on your board, so you can get pumped for your next game, Northwestern State College for the Deaf, Mute & Blind


It gives one real insight to know the heart of your coach...and ours!


Take a few moments to read this letter written by Scott Frost November of 2005. This is the heart of a man who is born and bred a Husker. There is not a better fit for the Nebraska football head coach.

10/05
Scott's Thoughts by Scott Frost

Sometimes I think that I care too much. I was in Lawrence on Saturday and I saw our guys go down in defeat at the hands of a team that we had beaten every year for almost four decades. I can’t tell you how hard it was to watch. Seeing Jayhawk fans yelling and jeering and storming the field made my stomach turn. Now in the wake of that loss I have been hearing all sorts of opinions about what is going wrong and what should be changed. Some of them make some sense and some are ridiculous. People everywhere I go are asking me for my views on the program. I certainly don’t have all of the answers, but I can offer you some of my feelings as a former player who has bled, sweat, thrown-up, cried, fought, been criticized, been vindicated, and been a part of a champion while wearing Husker red. I have concerns and a few problems with some of the things that have happened surrounding our beloved program. I have talked to a lot of other players and they have the same concerns. I cannot speak for any of them or for anyone else, but I think people would like to know how ex-players feel, and I think that my opinions probably reflect those of most of the guys who have been a part of Husker football.

Let me begin by reiterating that the reason so many of us are so frustrated is that we care so much. That concern is what sets Nebraska apart. I started my career at another institution where it is not nearly as rare to go five and six, and I’ve seen first hand how much more passion there is surrounding Husker football than almost every other program in the country. Sometimes I don’t think that some of the people in the program right now knew what they were getting themselves into when they signed up to come here. That leads me to my first major concern about what is happening at Memorial Stadium- the complete and intentional departure and detachment from anything that had to do with the way it was.

Let’s start with the people. We didn’t just get a new coaching staff two years ago, there was basically a house cleaning. So many of the people in South stadium who made Nebraska what it was either left or were forced to leave that many of us as former players do not even feel comfortable coming around the campus anymore. That’s a shame. It was commonplace when I was playing to have ex-players like Cory Schlessinger, Tyrone Williams, and Will Shields come to meetings or compete against us in passing league. Now, most guys don’t even know who to call if they want to watch a practice. I know they kept Coach Gill around when they brought in the new staff and he was a link to the past, but he moved on. Jimmy Williams and Marvin Sanders weren’t asked to return. Their excellent coaching abilities aside, it sure would be nice to have someone like them on the staff that is familiar with the traditions of Nebraska football.

It isn’t just university employees either, it’s also the players. When we won the national championship in 1997, nine out of our eleven starters on offense were from the state of Nebraska. We had a system in place that was able to organize and develop more athletes, therefore there were more players on a Nebraska practice field than most schools normally have. A great number of those players were walk-ons from the state of Nebraska who would give their heart and soul for the football team. Not only did that create a team that cared more about winning, it also made for a huge amount of caring and involvement throughout the state. When you live in a town like Funk, Nebraska, and you know Kyle Larson personally, it generates a sense of pride in our state for a program that could take boys from our own hometowns and develop them into players who could compete with and beat anyone. I’m all for going to California and Florida to recruit great players. Heaven knows we need guys like Marlon Lucky and Harrison Beck to make us better, but I also wish we wouldn’t stop making the effort to bring home-grown athletes along as Huskers.

If you want more proof about the complete overhaul of Nebraska football, look at some of the small things. Why after so many years did “Husker Power” fail to be a worthy slogan for our team? Now it’s “the power of red”. Why did the program where the coaches went to Lincoln, Omaha, and a town out west to show loyal fans the game film end? Talk about a way to help keep fans interested and loyal (fundraising!). Even Herbie Husker got an overhaul from blonde to brunette. It almost feels like anything that symbolizes or relates to the Huskers of Devaney, Osborne, and Solich was simply not good enough anymore.

That leads me to the next major concern that I have right now-its character. I’m not making this point to attack or demean anyone. I just know the kind of character that people throughout the program used to have. It all started with Tom Osborne. The man simply has more honor and integrity than anyone I have ever known. When he knew something was right, he did it. When he knew something was wrong, he always stayed away. I never once got cursed at by a Nebraska coach on the football field. Our coaches had a biblical devotional every morning before they started their meetings. Tom would never promise a recruit playing time, he would simply tell them that they would get a fair opportunity to show what they could do. The best complement that you could get from him is that you were “a pretty good player”. He’s the kind of guy that could lead a group of people to accomplish the absolute most that they were capable of accomplishing.

The character didn’t just end with Tom either. Ron Brown and Turner Gill are two of the best people I know. Milt Tenopir was like a father to most of the guys who played for him. The relationship that Charlie had with most of his guys, while slightly different, was wonderful. It was like a big family, and that environment made us all want to work harder and succeed that much more. We simply did things better and cleaner at the University of Nebraska than they did it anywhere else. There was an element of class about the program that was the envy of every other college football team.

I want to become a college football coach, and I plan on looking for a place to start a career in that field after this season is over. A few months ago I told Ron Brown that I wanted to coach. His advice to me was that if I was getting into coaching just to try to win games and be around football, then it wasn’t worth it. It would drive me crazy and the hours wouldn’t be justified. If I was going to coach on the other hand, with my primary goal being to try and impact the lives of the guys that you work with than the job could be more rewarding than almost anything else I could do. I’m paraphrasing a little bit, but you get the point. I really think that for most of the staff, winning was a goal that was secondary to shaping us as players into good men. I’m not saying things are different now, I don’t know. I would just hate to see us become like everybody else in college football. We have always been special, and I hope we always will be.

Building on that point, I would like to add this. It is not fair to be calling for the firing of any of our coaches right now. Everyone is entitled to their opinions about how things are going on the field, but we owe these guys a fair chance to get things turned around. If I was a coach that took over a program like Nebraska I would feel like I deserved at least three or four years to fully integrate my philosophies and tactics as a coach and leader. Granted there probably needs to be signs of improvement along the way, but it’s not fair to be talking about a change right now. It also doesn’t make sense to be firing so many arrows at the staff in the middle of the season. These guys have a job to do, and the fewer distractions they have, the better they will perform. On top of that, we don’t want the players feeling like they are in the midst of a firestorm. We don’t want them worried that they might have a new coach in a year or two or three. I have heard rumors that some of our vaunted freshmen are kicking around the idea of transferring. We can’t lose these kids. Whoever is coaching needs talented players. There is a time and a place for everything. If things haven’t improved by the end of the ’06 season then maybe people should voice their opinions on who is the right person to lead our program, but not right now. Now is the time that we should be supporting our team and our players so that they understand that they are a part of something special.

People always ask me what I think about the West Coast Offense. I simply say this. They are going to have to prove to me that it is the best way to win in Lincoln, Nebraska before I believe it. I’m not saying it can’t work. There are all sorts of different kinds of offensive systems that work in college football; everything from Utah’s spread offense to USC’s west coast, to Air Force’s option attack. If you have the right players and you coach your system well, most offenses can be successful. You can’t argue with the success that the WCO has had at both the collegiate and professional levels. It can work, but the jury is still out as to whether it will work here. On the other hand, I hear people arguing that a running and or option attack like the one we used to run is outdated and won’t work anymore. Let me tell you something- not that much has changed since the mid-nineties. The athletes are not that much bigger and stronger. Einstein didn’t come back to life and invent a defense that can stop a properly run belly option. Like I said, any system can work if you teach the right players the right way. That being said, there were reasons why Tom Osborne ran the system that he did (reference my blog from 9/14). You don’t have to throw the ball every down to win. You don’t have to run it every down either, but some kind of running game sure would help.


Finally, my biggest frustration as a former player is the way in which some decisions have been made by the administration as well as the way some things have been handled. It is hard for me to comment on some of these situations because I have heard most of the stories second and third hand, but there are a few things I feel alright talking about. The first is the dismissal of the old coaching staff. I’m not sure exactly what happened, but I know that some of those people were not treated very well and not given a fair chance. There were a lot of Nebraskans who wanted to see a change in the coaching staff when Frank was in charge. Whether you wanted a change or not, you have to agree that those guys deserved to be treated with respect and they deserved to have the administration be up front with them. From letters slipped under doors to pointless and insincere interviews, the whole process seemed to be devious and harmful to a lot of people that many of us as former players are loyal to.

After the firing of these people, the search for a new coach began. It was this process that left many of us confused and agitated, because it was done solely and completely by one man. Most major programs, when they hire a new coach, will put together a search committee. There are people who are loyal to our program who would have been tremendous resources in the selection process. I would have loved to have seen a committee made up of gentlemen such as Tom Osborne, Charlie McBride, Monte Kiffin, Ahman Green, Grant Wistrom, Mike Minter, Barry Alvarez, and Al Papik help identify the best candidate to take over our program. I guarantee that when Notre Dame picked a new head coach last year, more than one person was in on the decision. It’s just hard for me to believe that someone who probably couldn’t draw up an over front or and under front is the best person to pick a football coach. I actually think that things could have ended up worse, especially when you consider some of the other coaches that were rumored to have planes waiting at their local airports.

The decision was made; our program is headed in a completely new direction. Now we all have to deal with it. All of us, including the administration. If those guys get things turned around and we start winning games and championships than everyone will look like a genius. If things don’t turn around, then we all know where the majority of the criticism will be directed. I know as a quarterback that when the team did well, I got a lot more praise than I deserved. When the team didn’t do well, far more than my rightful share of the blame fell on my shoulders. It goes with the territory. Steve Pedersen brought that on himself when he was so cavalier in making these tough decisions. Right or wrong, hero or villain, he took a big risk and painted himself into a tight corner. Time will tell how everyone is viewed in the history of our program.

I know I am not the only one who feels this way about all of these issues. Most of the guys that I played with are more vocal than I am about many of these things. It isn’t just former players either. I know the stadium project hasn’t raised all of the money that they need yet. There are several people, and most of us know who they are, who could write a check tomorrow to have the whole facility finished. They’re not doing it because they are not happy with the state of affairs at South Stadium. I love Nebraska football. I love the state of Nebraska. I long for the days when the characteristics of the team we put on the field on Saturdays exemplified the characteristics of the hard working people of our state. We used to have the Taj mahal of college football programs. Now it feels like someone took 40 tons of dynamite to our proud and noble masterpiece and built a three bedroom ranch in its place. I’m not saying all of these things to be malicious or overly critical of anyone, but when it comes to a state institution, people have the right to be judgmental. I just want to share my opinions with all of the Husker fans out there who care as much about the program as I do.
 
OMG!!! This 12 year old letter again. Nebraska fans are getting more pathetic and desperate by the second. [jumpingsmile]
 
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OMG!!! This 12 year old letter again. Nebraska fans are getting more pathetic and desperate by the second. [jumpingsmile]
I'm so tired of seeing crap from 2005

It's been posted literally like 10 times

It's like the Bible or Holy Grail in Nebraska. A hard copy is on every nightstand
 
Wow, this time I actually went back and read/skimmed about 3/4th of that. You actually think that letter has a good outcome for Nebraska? Paraphrased- 1. We suck because we changed everything. Nothing in Nebraska is like where I played. (that sounds positive). 2. We don't bring in Nebraska players anymore (His views on that have changed COMPLETELY) 3 I want to be a coach, and I have to go somewhere else in order to achieve my dream (hence Oregon and UCF who have given him his big breaks mean more to him than you think) 4 Nebraska fires coaches way too quickly. the fans are idiots I remember why I hated them (I'm sure Frost loves how your current man in a dress AD is dealing with his current HC by dealing behind his back- Get some balls fire the guy already. Is he too chicken to do it?) 5 I want to coach like I played (well you must be a complete moron if you think he coaches like that anymore) 6 Those who make the decisions are not people I like or want to have in control of my career. (I guess being a chicken-shit is the way things are handled at Nebraska- "sliding letters under doors" Damn even the men in Nebraska are scared little girls) 7 No one in Nebraska has any respect for coaches. (that sounds great) 8 Again, I don't like the way decisions are made at Nebraska 9 THE NEBRASKA HERE TODAY 2006 IS NOTHING LIKE THE NEBRASKA I PLAYED AT. I HATE IT.


You actually think that letter means good news? Yah, he said he cares, but it looks like a "Its not me, it's you" good bye forever, letter.


PS It's called a divorce.
 
Last edited:
That's the funny thing. He wrote a letter about Nebraska football because he cares about the program. Somehow, that is supposed to equal "Being the Head Coach at Nebraska is the sole purpose of my life and I will go there the first second I can in the future regardless of my life situation or experiences in the coaching field I haven't even gotten into yet over the next 12 years"

And then they didn't really really read it.
 
It gives one real insight to know the heart of your coach...and ours!


Take a few moments to read this letter written by Scott Frost November of 2005. This is the heart of a man who is born and bred a Husker. There is not a better fit for the Nebraska football head coach.

10/05
Scott's Thoughts by Scott Frost

Sometimes I think that I care too much. I was in Lawrence on Saturday and I saw our guys go down in defeat at the hands of a team that we had beaten every year for almost four decades. I can’t tell you how hard it was to watch. Seeing Jayhawk fans yelling and jeering and storming the field made my stomach turn. Now in the wake of that loss I have been hearing all sorts of opinions about what is going wrong and what should be changed. Some of them make some sense and some are ridiculous. People everywhere I go are asking me for my views on the program. I certainly don’t have all of the answers, but I can offer you some of my feelings as a former player who has bled, sweat, thrown-up, cried, fought, been criticized, been vindicated, and been a part of a champion while wearing Husker red. I have concerns and a few problems with some of the things that have happened surrounding our beloved program. I have talked to a lot of other players and they have the same concerns. I cannot speak for any of them or for anyone else, but I think people would like to know how ex-players feel, and I think that my opinions probably reflect those of most of the guys who have been a part of Husker football.

Let me begin by reiterating that the reason so many of us are so frustrated is that we care so much. That concern is what sets Nebraska apart. I started my career at another institution where it is not nearly as rare to go five and six, and I’ve seen first hand how much more passion there is surrounding Husker football than almost every other program in the country. Sometimes I don’t think that some of the people in the program right now knew what they were getting themselves into when they signed up to come here. That leads me to my first major concern about what is happening at Memorial Stadium- the complete and intentional departure and detachment from anything that had to do with the way it was.

Let’s start with the people. We didn’t just get a new coaching staff two years ago, there was basically a house cleaning. So many of the people in South stadium who made Nebraska what it was either left or were forced to leave that many of us as former players do not even feel comfortable coming around the campus anymore. That’s a shame. It was commonplace when I was playing to have ex-players like Cory Schlessinger, Tyrone Williams, and Will Shields come to meetings or compete against us in passing league. Now, most guys don’t even know who to call if they want to watch a practice. I know they kept Coach Gill around when they brought in the new staff and he was a link to the past, but he moved on. Jimmy Williams and Marvin Sanders weren’t asked to return. Their excellent coaching abilities aside, it sure would be nice to have someone like them on the staff that is familiar with the traditions of Nebraska football.

It isn’t just university employees either, it’s also the players. When we won the national championship in 1997, nine out of our eleven starters on offense were from the state of Nebraska. We had a system in place that was able to organize and develop more athletes, therefore there were more players on a Nebraska practice field than most schools normally have. A great number of those players were walk-ons from the state of Nebraska who would give their heart and soul for the football team. Not only did that create a team that cared more about winning, it also made for a huge amount of caring and involvement throughout the state. When you live in a town like Funk, Nebraska, and you know Kyle Larson personally, it generates a sense of pride in our state for a program that could take boys from our own hometowns and develop them into players who could compete with and beat anyone. I’m all for going to California and Florida to recruit great players. Heaven knows we need guys like Marlon Lucky and Harrison Beck to make us better, but I also wish we wouldn’t stop making the effort to bring home-grown athletes along as Huskers.

If you want more proof about the complete overhaul of Nebraska football, look at some of the small things. Why after so many years did “Husker Power” fail to be a worthy slogan for our team? Now it’s “the power of red”. Why did the program where the coaches went to Lincoln, Omaha, and a town out west to show loyal fans the game film end? Talk about a way to help keep fans interested and loyal (fundraising!). Even Herbie Husker got an overhaul from blonde to brunette. It almost feels like anything that symbolizes or relates to the Huskers of Devaney, Osborne, and Solich was simply not good enough anymore.

That leads me to the next major concern that I have right now-its character. I’m not making this point to attack or demean anyone. I just know the kind of character that people throughout the program used to have. It all started with Tom Osborne. The man simply has more honor and integrity than anyone I have ever known. When he knew something was right, he did it. When he knew something was wrong, he always stayed away. I never once got cursed at by a Nebraska coach on the football field. Our coaches had a biblical devotional every morning before they started their meetings. Tom would never promise a recruit playing time, he would simply tell them that they would get a fair opportunity to show what they could do. The best complement that you could get from him is that you were “a pretty good player”. He’s the kind of guy that could lead a group of people to accomplish the absolute most that they were capable of accomplishing.

The character didn’t just end with Tom either. Ron Brown and Turner Gill are two of the best people I know. Milt Tenopir was like a father to most of the guys who played for him. The relationship that Charlie had with most of his guys, while slightly different, was wonderful. It was like a big family, and that environment made us all want to work harder and succeed that much more. We simply did things better and cleaner at the University of Nebraska than they did it anywhere else. There was an element of class about the program that was the envy of every other college football team.

I want to become a college football coach, and I plan on looking for a place to start a career in that field after this season is over. A few months ago I told Ron Brown that I wanted to coach. His advice to me was that if I was getting into coaching just to try to win games and be around football, then it wasn’t worth it. It would drive me crazy and the hours wouldn’t be justified. If I was going to coach on the other hand, with my primary goal being to try and impact the lives of the guys that you work with than the job could be more rewarding than almost anything else I could do. I’m paraphrasing a little bit, but you get the point. I really think that for most of the staff, winning was a goal that was secondary to shaping us as players into good men. I’m not saying things are different now, I don’t know. I would just hate to see us become like everybody else in college football. We have always been special, and I hope we always will be.

Building on that point, I would like to add this. It is not fair to be calling for the firing of any of our coaches right now. Everyone is entitled to their opinions about how things are going on the field, but we owe these guys a fair chance to get things turned around. If I was a coach that took over a program like Nebraska I would feel like I deserved at least three or four years to fully integrate my philosophies and tactics as a coach and leader. Granted there probably needs to be signs of improvement along the way, but it’s not fair to be talking about a change right now. It also doesn’t make sense to be firing so many arrows at the staff in the middle of the season. These guys have a job to do, and the fewer distractions they have, the better they will perform. On top of that, we don’t want the players feeling like they are in the midst of a firestorm. We don’t want them worried that they might have a new coach in a year or two or three. I have heard rumors that some of our vaunted freshmen are kicking around the idea of transferring. We can’t lose these kids. Whoever is coaching needs talented players. There is a time and a place for everything. If things haven’t improved by the end of the ’06 season then maybe people should voice their opinions on who is the right person to lead our program, but not right now. Now is the time that we should be supporting our team and our players so that they understand that they are a part of something special.

People always ask me what I think about the West Coast Offense. I simply say this. They are going to have to prove to me that it is the best way to win in Lincoln, Nebraska before I believe it. I’m not saying it can’t work. There are all sorts of different kinds of offensive systems that work in college football; everything from Utah’s spread offense to USC’s west coast, to Air Force’s option attack. If you have the right players and you coach your system well, most offenses can be successful. You can’t argue with the success that the WCO has had at both the collegiate and professional levels. It can work, but the jury is still out as to whether it will work here. On the other hand, I hear people arguing that a running and or option attack like the one we used to run is outdated and won’t work anymore. Let me tell you something- not that much has changed since the mid-nineties. The athletes are not that much bigger and stronger. Einstein didn’t come back to life and invent a defense that can stop a properly run belly option. Like I said, any system can work if you teach the right players the right way. That being said, there were reasons why Tom Osborne ran the system that he did (reference my blog from 9/14). You don’t have to throw the ball every down to win. You don’t have to run it every down either, but some kind of running game sure would help.


Finally, my biggest frustration as a former player is the way in which some decisions have been made by the administration as well as the way some things have been handled. It is hard for me to comment on some of these situations because I have heard most of the stories second and third hand, but there are a few things I feel alright talking about. The first is the dismissal of the old coaching staff. I’m not sure exactly what happened, but I know that some of those people were not treated very well and not given a fair chance. There were a lot of Nebraskans who wanted to see a change in the coaching staff when Frank was in charge. Whether you wanted a change or not, you have to agree that those guys deserved to be treated with respect and they deserved to have the administration be up front with them. From letters slipped under doors to pointless and insincere interviews, the whole process seemed to be devious and harmful to a lot of people that many of us as former players are loyal to.

After the firing of these people, the search for a new coach began. It was this process that left many of us confused and agitated, because it was done solely and completely by one man. Most major programs, when they hire a new coach, will put together a search committee. There are people who are loyal to our program who would have been tremendous resources in the selection process. I would have loved to have seen a committee made up of gentlemen such as Tom Osborne, Charlie McBride, Monte Kiffin, Ahman Green, Grant Wistrom, Mike Minter, Barry Alvarez, and Al Papik help identify the best candidate to take over our program. I guarantee that when Notre Dame picked a new head coach last year, more than one person was in on the decision. It’s just hard for me to believe that someone who probably couldn’t draw up an over front or and under front is the best person to pick a football coach. I actually think that things could have ended up worse, especially when you consider some of the other coaches that were rumored to have planes waiting at their local airports.

The decision was made; our program is headed in a completely new direction. Now we all have to deal with it. All of us, including the administration. If those guys get things turned around and we start winning games and championships than everyone will look like a genius. If things don’t turn around, then we all know where the majority of the criticism will be directed. I know as a quarterback that when the team did well, I got a lot more praise than I deserved. When the team didn’t do well, far more than my rightful share of the blame fell on my shoulders. It goes with the territory. Steve Pedersen brought that on himself when he was so cavalier in making these tough decisions. Right or wrong, hero or villain, he took a big risk and painted himself into a tight corner. Time will tell how everyone is viewed in the history of our program.

I know I am not the only one who feels this way about all of these issues. Most of the guys that I played with are more vocal than I am about many of these things. It isn’t just former players either. I know the stadium project hasn’t raised all of the money that they need yet. There are several people, and most of us know who they are, who could write a check tomorrow to have the whole facility finished. They’re not doing it because they are not happy with the state of affairs at South Stadium. I love Nebraska football. I love the state of Nebraska. I long for the days when the characteristics of the team we put on the field on Saturdays exemplified the characteristics of the hard working people of our state. We used to have the Taj mahal of college football programs. Now it feels like someone took 40 tons of dynamite to our proud and noble masterpiece and built a three bedroom ranch in its place. I’m not saying all of these things to be malicious or overly critical of anyone, but when it comes to a state institution, people have the right to be judgmental. I just want to share my opinions with all of the Husker fans out there who care as much about the program as I do.
You know internet porn is free right? You don’t have to keep wacking it to this letter.
 
Honestly if Nebraska is going to offer Scott Frost a salary that would rank him in the top 10 in all of college football, and commit to it for 7 years, then I would be surprised if he doesn't take it. UCF would welcome him back in a few years as an OC once Nebraska fires him for not winning a national championship. As long as Nebraska pays the buyout.
So…what did you know back then and what do you know now???
 
So…what did you know back then and what do you know now???
I assumed he would be fired like Pelini for winning 9 games a year with losses to Michigan and Ohio State or something. Not that he would have 1 winning season in 7 years as a head coach and would rather go out drinking than recruit. Wouldn’t take him back now.
 
It gives one real insight to know the heart of your coach...and ours!


Take a few moments to read this letter written by Scott Frost November of 2005. This is the heart of a man who is born and bred a Husker. There is not a better fit for the Nebraska football head coach.

10/05
Scott's Thoughts by Scott Frost

Sometimes I think that I care too much. I was in Lawrence on Saturday and I saw our guys go down in defeat at the hands of a team that we had beaten every year for almost four decades. I can’t tell you how hard it was to watch. Seeing Jayhawk fans yelling and jeering and storming the field made my stomach turn. Now in the wake of that loss I have been hearing all sorts of opinions about what is going wrong and what should be changed. Some of them make some sense and some are ridiculous. People everywhere I go are asking me for my views on the program. I certainly don’t have all of the answers, but I can offer you some of my feelings as a former player who has bled, sweat, thrown-up, cried, fought, been criticized, been vindicated, and been a part of a champion while wearing Husker red. I have concerns and a few problems with some of the things that have happened surrounding our beloved program. I have talked to a lot of other players and they have the same concerns. I cannot speak for any of them or for anyone else, but I think people would like to know how ex-players feel, and I think that my opinions probably reflect those of most of the guys who have been a part of Husker football.

Let me begin by reiterating that the reason so many of us are so frustrated is that we care so much. That concern is what sets Nebraska apart. I started my career at another institution where it is not nearly as rare to go five and six, and I’ve seen first hand how much more passion there is surrounding Husker football than almost every other program in the country. Sometimes I don’t think that some of the people in the program right now knew what they were getting themselves into when they signed up to come here. That leads me to my first major concern about what is happening at Memorial Stadium- the complete and intentional departure and detachment from anything that had to do with the way it was.

Let’s start with the people. We didn’t just get a new coaching staff two years ago, there was basically a house cleaning. So many of the people in South stadium who made Nebraska what it was either left or were forced to leave that many of us as former players do not even feel comfortable coming around the campus anymore. That’s a shame. It was commonplace when I was playing to have ex-players like Cory Schlessinger, Tyrone Williams, and Will Shields come to meetings or compete against us in passing league. Now, most guys don’t even know who to call if they want to watch a practice. I know they kept Coach Gill around when they brought in the new staff and he was a link to the past, but he moved on. Jimmy Williams and Marvin Sanders weren’t asked to return. Their excellent coaching abilities aside, it sure would be nice to have someone like them on the staff that is familiar with the traditions of Nebraska football.

It isn’t just university employees either, it’s also the players. When we won the national championship in 1997, nine out of our eleven starters on offense were from the state of Nebraska. We had a system in place that was able to organize and develop more athletes, therefore there were more players on a Nebraska practice field than most schools normally have. A great number of those players were walk-ons from the state of Nebraska who would give their heart and soul for the football team. Not only did that create a team that cared more about winning, it also made for a huge amount of caring and involvement throughout the state. When you live in a town like Funk, Nebraska, and you know Kyle Larson personally, it generates a sense of pride in our state for a program that could take boys from our own hometowns and develop them into players who could compete with and beat anyone. I’m all for going to California and Florida to recruit great players. Heaven knows we need guys like Marlon Lucky and Harrison Beck to make us better, but I also wish we wouldn’t stop making the effort to bring home-grown athletes along as Huskers.

If you want more proof about the complete overhaul of Nebraska football, look at some of the small things. Why after so many years did “Husker Power” fail to be a worthy slogan for our team? Now it’s “the power of red”. Why did the program where the coaches went to Lincoln, Omaha, and a town out west to show loyal fans the game film end? Talk about a way to help keep fans interested and loyal (fundraising!). Even Herbie Husker got an overhaul from blonde to brunette. It almost feels like anything that symbolizes or relates to the Huskers of Devaney, Osborne, and Solich was simply not good enough anymore.

That leads me to the next major concern that I have right now-its character. I’m not making this point to attack or demean anyone. I just know the kind of character that people throughout the program used to have. It all started with Tom Osborne. The man simply has more honor and integrity than anyone I have ever known. When he knew something was right, he did it. When he knew something was wrong, he always stayed away. I never once got cursed at by a Nebraska coach on the football field. Our coaches had a biblical devotional every morning before they started their meetings. Tom would never promise a recruit playing time, he would simply tell them that they would get a fair opportunity to show what they could do. The best complement that you could get from him is that you were “a pretty good player”. He’s the kind of guy that could lead a group of people to accomplish the absolute most that they were capable of accomplishing.

The character didn’t just end with Tom either. Ron Brown and Turner Gill are two of the best people I know. Milt Tenopir was like a father to most of the guys who played for him. The relationship that Charlie had with most of his guys, while slightly different, was wonderful. It was like a big family, and that environment made us all want to work harder and succeed that much more. We simply did things better and cleaner at the University of Nebraska than they did it anywhere else. There was an element of class about the program that was the envy of every other college football team.

I want to become a college football coach, and I plan on looking for a place to start a career in that field after this season is over. A few months ago I told Ron Brown that I wanted to coach. His advice to me was that if I was getting into coaching just to try to win games and be around football, then it wasn’t worth it. It would drive me crazy and the hours wouldn’t be justified. If I was going to coach on the other hand, with my primary goal being to try and impact the lives of the guys that you work with than the job could be more rewarding than almost anything else I could do. I’m paraphrasing a little bit, but you get the point. I really think that for most of the staff, winning was a goal that was secondary to shaping us as players into good men. I’m not saying things are different now, I don’t know. I would just hate to see us become like everybody else in college football. We have always been special, and I hope we always will be.

Building on that point, I would like to add this. It is not fair to be calling for the firing of any of our coaches right now. Everyone is entitled to their opinions about how things are going on the field, but we owe these guys a fair chance to get things turned around. If I was a coach that took over a program like Nebraska I would feel like I deserved at least three or four years to fully integrate my philosophies and tactics as a coach and leader. Granted there probably needs to be signs of improvement along the way, but it’s not fair to be talking about a change right now. It also doesn’t make sense to be firing so many arrows at the staff in the middle of the season. These guys have a job to do, and the fewer distractions they have, the better they will perform. On top of that, we don’t want the players feeling like they are in the midst of a firestorm. We don’t want them worried that they might have a new coach in a year or two or three. I have heard rumors that some of our vaunted freshmen are kicking around the idea of transferring. We can’t lose these kids. Whoever is coaching needs talented players. There is a time and a place for everything. If things haven’t improved by the end of the ’06 season then maybe people should voice their opinions on who is the right person to lead our program, but not right now. Now is the time that we should be supporting our team and our players so that they understand that they are a part of something special.

People always ask me what I think about the West Coast Offense. I simply say this. They are going to have to prove to me that it is the best way to win in Lincoln, Nebraska before I believe it. I’m not saying it can’t work. There are all sorts of different kinds of offensive systems that work in college football; everything from Utah’s spread offense to USC’s west coast, to Air Force’s option attack. If you have the right players and you coach your system well, most offenses can be successful. You can’t argue with the success that the WCO has had at both the collegiate and professional levels. It can work, but the jury is still out as to whether it will work here. On the other hand, I hear people arguing that a running and or option attack like the one we used to run is outdated and won’t work anymore. Let me tell you something- not that much has changed since the mid-nineties. The athletes are not that much bigger and stronger. Einstein didn’t come back to life and invent a defense that can stop a properly run belly option. Like I said, any system can work if you teach the right players the right way. That being said, there were reasons why Tom Osborne ran the system that he did (reference my blog from 9/14). You don’t have to throw the ball every down to win. You don’t have to run it every down either, but some kind of running game sure would help.


Finally, my biggest frustration as a former player is the way in which some decisions have been made by the administration as well as the way some things have been handled. It is hard for me to comment on some of these situations because I have heard most of the stories second and third hand, but there are a few things I feel alright talking about. The first is the dismissal of the old coaching staff. I’m not sure exactly what happened, but I know that some of those people were not treated very well and not given a fair chance. There were a lot of Nebraskans who wanted to see a change in the coaching staff when Frank was in charge. Whether you wanted a change or not, you have to agree that those guys deserved to be treated with respect and they deserved to have the administration be up front with them. From letters slipped under doors to pointless and insincere interviews, the whole process seemed to be devious and harmful to a lot of people that many of us as former players are loyal to.

After the firing of these people, the search for a new coach began. It was this process that left many of us confused and agitated, because it was done solely and completely by one man. Most major programs, when they hire a new coach, will put together a search committee. There are people who are loyal to our program who would have been tremendous resources in the selection process. I would have loved to have seen a committee made up of gentlemen such as Tom Osborne, Charlie McBride, Monte Kiffin, Ahman Green, Grant Wistrom, Mike Minter, Barry Alvarez, and Al Papik help identify the best candidate to take over our program. I guarantee that when Notre Dame picked a new head coach last year, more than one person was in on the decision. It’s just hard for me to believe that someone who probably couldn’t draw up an over front or and under front is the best person to pick a football coach. I actually think that things could have ended up worse, especially when you consider some of the other coaches that were rumored to have planes waiting at their local airports.

The decision was made; our program is headed in a completely new direction. Now we all have to deal with it. All of us, including the administration. If those guys get things turned around and we start winning games and championships than everyone will look like a genius. If things don’t turn around, then we all know where the majority of the criticism will be directed. I know as a quarterback that when the team did well, I got a lot more praise than I deserved. When the team didn’t do well, far more than my rightful share of the blame fell on my shoulders. It goes with the territory. Steve Pedersen brought that on himself when he was so cavalier in making these tough decisions. Right or wrong, hero or villain, he took a big risk and painted himself into a tight corner. Time will tell how everyone is viewed in the history of our program.

I know I am not the only one who feels this way about all of these issues. Most of the guys that I played with are more vocal than I am about many of these things. It isn’t just former players either. I know the stadium project hasn’t raised all of the money that they need yet. There are several people, and most of us know who they are, who could write a check tomorrow to have the whole facility finished. They’re not doing it because they are not happy with the state of affairs at South Stadium. I love Nebraska football. I love the state of Nebraska. I long for the days when the characteristics of the team we put on the field on Saturdays exemplified the characteristics of the hard working people of our state. We used to have the Taj mahal of college football programs. Now it feels like someone took 40 tons of dynamite to our proud and noble masterpiece and built a three bedroom ranch in its place. I’m not saying all of these things to be malicious or overly critical of anyone, but when it comes to a state institution, people have the right to be judgmental. I just want to share my opinions with all of the Husker fans out there who care as much about the program as I do.
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