Scott Frost had yet another letdown to open Nebraska football’s 2022 season and the program may choose to move on from him.
It has happened again. Just one year after going 3-9 and disappointing every Nebraska football fan in existence, Scott Frost opened the 2022 season with a shocking 31-28 loss to Northwestern.
Credit deserves to be handed over to Pat Fitzgerald for piecing together a solid win over the Cornhuskers despite not being as talented on paper, but there’s also some blame that needs to go the way of Frost. He had a win in his grasp and handed it right to the Wildcats.
In fact, Nebraska was up 28-17 in the second half and after building that two-score lead, Frost decided to try and sneak one by Fitzgerald and Northwestern with an onside kick — for no reason.
Why? Actually, why would he even consider doing this with all the momentum already on his side? He forfeited field position which ultimately led to a Northwestern touchdown, halting any momentum the Cornhuskers had. This ultimately led to the shocking loss by Nebraska and you have to wonder if things would have been different if he didn’t make this grave mistake.
Frost is now 15-30 as Nebraska’s head coach in four-plus seasons and he falls to 3-21 when trailing at halftime. Simply put, he’s not making this program any better.
It may be time to move on, and if that does happen, who should Nebraska replace him with?
Honorable mention: Jim Leonhard, Wisconsin DC
3. Luke Fickell, Cincinnati head coach
To me, this would make a lot of sense because Luke Fickell has the feel of a Big Ten guy.
Fickell was born in Columbus, Ohio, and played at Ohio State before becoming a grad assistant, and then a full-time assistant, and then he took over as interim head coach for the Buckeyes in 2011 when Jim Tressel was let go. He had a disappointing season as interim head coach and the program decided to hire Urban Meyer.
The hire of Meyer ended up being a great move as he led the Buckeyes to a national title, but when he left and gave the keys to Ryan Day, many hoped that Fickell would be the next guy in line.
Day has had success with the Buckeyes but Fickell, too, has had his own success at Cincinnati, going 48-15 in five years with the Bearcats, including leading the program to the College Football Playoff as the Group of Five’s first selection ever.
Fickell would thrive in Nebraska, but trying to convince him to leave Cincinnati for a job that isn’t Ohio State in the Big Ten would be tough — just ask Michigan State.
2. Matt Campbell, Iowa State head coach
Another guy who I believe would be a glove-like fit with Nebraska is Matt Campbell.
The Iowa State head coach took over a program in the cellar of the Big 12 and turned the Cyclones into annual contenders. He went 3-9 in his first season with Iowa State before immediately flipping the script and going 8-5 over his next two seasons. He has two seven-win seasons and a nine-win campaign since, but making five straight bowls at Iowa State is no easy feat.
Does Campbell want to leave Iowa State to start a rebuild elsewhere? That’s the big question here.
There’s no doubt that Nebraska fans would love to have Campbell in Lincoln because he’s an intense guy who breathes football but also cares about his players. He has turned down other interviews with top programs looking for coaches and seems to be happy in Ames, but would it be worth turning down the potential gold mine in Lincoln?
Nebraska is a storied program rich with history and Campbell could be the guy that turns it back around into a national title contender.
Campbell is a Midwest guy with Ohio roots and the Big 12 looks like a league that may be in danger of losing some key programs in the near future. There are selling points here.
1. Mark Stoops, Kentucky head coach
The third coach on this list with roots in Ohio, Mark Stoops would be a dream-like hire for Nebraska.
The Cornhuskers need a coach with stability and a proven track record. Stoops has both. He surrounds himself with great coaches and has done something that not many people thought was possible: he’s won at Kentucky.
Known as a basketball school, for the most part, Stoops has struggled to get respect even from his own peers at Kentucky. John Calipari came out and said that Kentucky is a basketball school which was a slap in the face to Stoops who has built the football program into a winner which should have shed that distinction.
Will he try to get respect elsewhere and maybe join a program that values football above all else? Nebraska would be that place.
Not many schools are as football-centric as Nebraska and he could be the top dog immediately. He’s also only 55 so he’d have plenty of time to turn things around and build the program in his vision to get the Cornhuskers back on top.
Plus, he’d have a better chance at winning Big Ten titles playing in the West compared to SEC titles in the same division as Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee.