On September 11, 2022 Nebraska football head coach Scott Frost was fired. He was terminated three games into his fifth season after a 45-42 loss against Georgia Southern University. The university athletic director, Trev Alberts, met with Frost prior to the start of the 2022 season and outlined the expectations moving forward for the program. Unfortunately, these expectations were not met which led to Frost’s termination.

“[It’s] difficult but I think it was the right decision,” lifelong Husker fan, Drew Willis said. “Especially in comparison to [previous coaches] Mike Riley and Bill Callahan he did receive more time and resources.”

Frost has had his contract restructured three times. After his first two seasons [2018-2019], with a record of 9 wins and 15 losses, his contract was reevaluated. According to the Sporting News, Nebraska decided to extend his contract another two years [2020-2021] but without the typical performance buyout and annual raise. Following his fourth season as coach, Frost was in a tough spot. He had a losing record and had not made it to a single bowl game. Additionally, 22 of the 27 losses were one-score games meaning the Huskers were less than seven points away from the win each of those times.

“The culture has dramatically changed and unfortunately for the worse,” Willis said. “Not that the culture was perfect in the 90s or early 2000s but I think fans were a lot more patient [and] slower to judge the coach.”

While there are many ideas circulating of why Frost was fired, there is not a specific incident that led to his termination. With this being said, it is arguable that his firing came as a surprise, considering the fact that his buyout would have been half the amount ($7.5 million vs 11 million) on October 1. When addressed Alberts mentioned that the school owed it to the players to give them a slightly different voice and vision, thus leading to the decision not to wait until Oct 1.

“I would just love to see this team continue to grow and compete and make progress,” Alberts said. “I have always believed great coaches are people of character. They are culture builders. I think they are grinders. A lot of the great ones don’t have a whole lot of hobbies. It is all they know.”

There are two sides to every story, and the firing of Frost should be viewed from both. Nebraska football has had an unfortunate pattern for the past two decades. In the past 22 years, Nebraska has gone through five head coaches and had staff changes every year. It is apparent that Nebraska fans want to get their team back to the 1990s, the era where the Huskers won three national championships. Because of this, the coach is an easy target for judgment and blame for failed expectations.

“We will stop talking about championships,” Alberts said. “We will stop talking about things we used to do. We will get really process oriented and detail oriented [and] ultimately when you start doing those fundamental championship type things those types of wins follow.”