ORLANDO, Fla. -- Scott Frost has been both offensive and defensive coordinator, a national champion and coached Heisman Trophy winning quarterback. But above all those labels, there is one Frost wants more than anything: winner.
So he was not about to take just any head coaching job that came his way during his tenure as offensive coordinator at Oregon. Opportunities had come at him in the past, including one last season that would have required him to take the job before the Ducks played in the College Football Playoff semifinal against Florida State.
Not worth it.
He had other opportunities this year, too, but only one truly got him excited. Because he knew he could win.
So after UCF contacted him about interviewing for its head coach job, Frost agreed. He had admired UCF from afar (and also played them once at Nebraska). The interview was done at an undisclosed location between Orlando, Florida, and Eugene, Oregon. Frost did not come armed with binders or PowerPoint presentations about a grand plan and vision for UCF. He was simply himself: genuine, honest and confident. Afterward, UCF president John Hitt turned to incoming athletic director Danny White and said, “Danny, I think you found your guy.”
Frost holed himself in a room after the interviews and made phone calls to trusted friends and advisers about what UCF had to offer. The decision was a no-brainer. Between the time Frost was contacted and the time he accepted the job wasn’t a matter of weeks. It was a matter of days.
And the fact that UCF is not in a Power 5 conference? No matter.
“I came to Oregon from Northern Iowa. That’s FCS and I loved my time there,” Frost said. “I love to win and I would rather have an FCS job where you can win than an FBS job where you can’t. I’d rather have a job in the AAC, where I think we’re set up to win, than a job in a Big Ten or Big 12 where I don’t think you do. I’m not so proud that I’m worried about what conference this team is in. I know there are a lot of things in place here that can make it a winner. That’s what attracted me to it.”
Scott Frost, who helped coach Marcus Mariota to a Heisman Trophy at Oregon, waited for a head coach job where he knew he could win. And he thinks he found one in UCF. AP Images/Steve Dykes
In Frost and White, UCF rebooted its athletic program over a two-week span, turning the Knights into a younger, hipper version set on hyper drive. Frost, at 40, is four years older than his boss. But what the two bring is a vision to get the Knights’ football program to a sustained level of success that has yet to be achieved. Yes, UCF went to the Fiesta Bowl just two short years ago and beat Baylor, but the success the football program has had has been cyclical. George O’Leary ended his UCF career with bookend winless seasons, and losing records sprinkled between the winning ones.
They plan on doing it with an Oregon-type blueprint. UCF has traditionally featured a pro-style offense with a powerful run game, a scheme that feels more outdated by the year. Frost plans on installing the hurry-up spread he ran for six years at Oregon not only because that is what he has grown accustomed to doing, but because he can run that offense with players he can easily recruit.
During his interview with Hitt, White and other UCF representatives, he mentioned Oregon’s Charles Nelson, who has been a special-teams standout while also playing receiver and safety for the Ducks. Oregon got him out of Daytona Beach, Florida, just an hour away from UCF.
“At Oregon, we’re jealous of people with a recruiting base right around their school,” Frost said. “We have to go a long way to get the kids at Oregon that we knew we needed to make that place go. This place has it right here. It’s right around here. We don’t’ have to drive more than two or three hours to get the kids that we need to run this system. This place has been successful before, so I know it can be successful. Coach O’Leary took them to a BCS game, so you can see that it can be done. This place has inherent advantages over a lot of teams it plays year in and year out in this conference. If the coaching staff can do a really good job and get the players to buy in, there’s a really high probability you can be successful.”
That is all Frost wants, even though there are already those out there wondering whether UCF is a stepping stone to get him back to Nebraska. Frost signed a five-year deal worth $1.7 million annually, with an $850,000 buyout. UCF just went 0-12. This might not be an easy, or quick, fix.
“My job is going to be to get UCF back to where it belongs and that’s the top of this conference,” Frost said. “That’s what I’m going to set my sights on, that’s what I’m going to focus on and I’m not going to leave here until we get that done.”
In other words, he needs to be a winner.
http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/p...f-scott-frost-sees-the-opportunity-to-win-big
So he was not about to take just any head coaching job that came his way during his tenure as offensive coordinator at Oregon. Opportunities had come at him in the past, including one last season that would have required him to take the job before the Ducks played in the College Football Playoff semifinal against Florida State.
Not worth it.
He had other opportunities this year, too, but only one truly got him excited. Because he knew he could win.
So after UCF contacted him about interviewing for its head coach job, Frost agreed. He had admired UCF from afar (and also played them once at Nebraska). The interview was done at an undisclosed location between Orlando, Florida, and Eugene, Oregon. Frost did not come armed with binders or PowerPoint presentations about a grand plan and vision for UCF. He was simply himself: genuine, honest and confident. Afterward, UCF president John Hitt turned to incoming athletic director Danny White and said, “Danny, I think you found your guy.”
Frost holed himself in a room after the interviews and made phone calls to trusted friends and advisers about what UCF had to offer. The decision was a no-brainer. Between the time Frost was contacted and the time he accepted the job wasn’t a matter of weeks. It was a matter of days.
And the fact that UCF is not in a Power 5 conference? No matter.
“I came to Oregon from Northern Iowa. That’s FCS and I loved my time there,” Frost said. “I love to win and I would rather have an FCS job where you can win than an FBS job where you can’t. I’d rather have a job in the AAC, where I think we’re set up to win, than a job in a Big Ten or Big 12 where I don’t think you do. I’m not so proud that I’m worried about what conference this team is in. I know there are a lot of things in place here that can make it a winner. That’s what attracted me to it.”
Scott Frost, who helped coach Marcus Mariota to a Heisman Trophy at Oregon, waited for a head coach job where he knew he could win. And he thinks he found one in UCF. AP Images/Steve Dykes
In Frost and White, UCF rebooted its athletic program over a two-week span, turning the Knights into a younger, hipper version set on hyper drive. Frost, at 40, is four years older than his boss. But what the two bring is a vision to get the Knights’ football program to a sustained level of success that has yet to be achieved. Yes, UCF went to the Fiesta Bowl just two short years ago and beat Baylor, but the success the football program has had has been cyclical. George O’Leary ended his UCF career with bookend winless seasons, and losing records sprinkled between the winning ones.
They plan on doing it with an Oregon-type blueprint. UCF has traditionally featured a pro-style offense with a powerful run game, a scheme that feels more outdated by the year. Frost plans on installing the hurry-up spread he ran for six years at Oregon not only because that is what he has grown accustomed to doing, but because he can run that offense with players he can easily recruit.
During his interview with Hitt, White and other UCF representatives, he mentioned Oregon’s Charles Nelson, who has been a special-teams standout while also playing receiver and safety for the Ducks. Oregon got him out of Daytona Beach, Florida, just an hour away from UCF.
“At Oregon, we’re jealous of people with a recruiting base right around their school,” Frost said. “We have to go a long way to get the kids at Oregon that we knew we needed to make that place go. This place has it right here. It’s right around here. We don’t’ have to drive more than two or three hours to get the kids that we need to run this system. This place has been successful before, so I know it can be successful. Coach O’Leary took them to a BCS game, so you can see that it can be done. This place has inherent advantages over a lot of teams it plays year in and year out in this conference. If the coaching staff can do a really good job and get the players to buy in, there’s a really high probability you can be successful.”
That is all Frost wants, even though there are already those out there wondering whether UCF is a stepping stone to get him back to Nebraska. Frost signed a five-year deal worth $1.7 million annually, with an $850,000 buyout. UCF just went 0-12. This might not be an easy, or quick, fix.
“My job is going to be to get UCF back to where it belongs and that’s the top of this conference,” Frost said. “That’s what I’m going to set my sights on, that’s what I’m going to focus on and I’m not going to leave here until we get that done.”
In other words, he needs to be a winner.
http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/p...f-scott-frost-sees-the-opportunity-to-win-big
