Scott Frost's Coaching Journey: From Undefeated Heights to Nebraska Struggles and a UCF Return
Scott Andrew Frost (born January 4, 1975) is an American football coach and former player. After an unforgettable two-year run that saw the UCF football program rise to national prominence, Scott Frost is coming back home. Known for sparking the “Charge On” spirit and guiding UCF to its first perfect season, Frost has been named the next head football coach at UCF by Vice President and Director of Athletics Terry Mohajir.
Early Career and UCF Rise (2016-2017)
Frost began his coaching career at Northern Iowa in 2007 as a linebackers coach and was promoted to co-defensive coordinator in 2008. That season, his defense excelled, tying for third in the FCS with 40 takeaways and ranking ninth in scoring defense, allowing just 17.7 points per game. In 2009, Frost joined the Oregon coaching staff as the wide receivers coach under head coach Chip Kelly and offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich. Oregon never ranked lower than eighth nationally in scoring offense during Frost’s seven seasons on staff, and the Ducks led the nation in scoring in 2010. Frost was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2013, and Oregon ranked in the top five nationally in both scoring and total offense each of his three seasons calling plays. The Ducks scored 681 points in 2014, the second-highest total in NCAA history. Oregon made it to the College Football Playoff Championship Game that year, when Frost was one of five finalists for the Broyles Award, presented annually to the nation’s top assistant. Frost's quarterback, Marcus Mariota, won the Heisman Trophy and was the No.
Frost took his first head coaching job at UCF after spending seven seasons as an offensive assistant at Oregon from 2009 to 2015, including serving as the Ducks' offensive coordinator in his final three seasons. Oregon never ranked lower than eighth nationally in scoring offense during Frost's seven seasons on staff, and the Ducks led the nation in scoring in 2010. Frost was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2013, and Oregon ranked in the top five nationally in both scoring and total offense each of his three seasons calling plays. The Ducks scored 681 points in 2014, the second-highest total in NCAA history. Oregon made it to the College Football Playoff Championship Game that year, when Frost was one of five finalists for the Broyles Award, presented annually to the nation's top assistant. Frost's quarterback, Marcus Mariota, won the Heisman Trophy and was the No.
On December 1, 2015, Frost was hired as the head football coach at the University of Central Florida. Frost replaced long time UCF head coach George O'Leary and interim head coach Danny Barrett, who took over the Knights when O'Leary resigned following an 0-8 start. The Knights went on to finish 0-12 that year. Frost immediately turned UCF around. He won six games in 2016, taking the Knights to the 2016 Cure Bowl, where they lost to Arkansas State. In Frost’s first season, he took the Knights to a bowl game and finished with a 6-7 record. The turnaround was historic, as Frost became the only first-year coach in FBS history to make a bowl game with a team that was winless the previous season. UCF led the nation with a six-win improvement in 2016.
Frost led the Knights to a 13-0 record during the 2017 season, which concluded with a 34-27 win over No. 7 Auburn in the Peach Bowl. The perfect 12-0 regular season for the Knights came just two years after a 0-12 season. UCF led the nation in scoring at 48.2 points per game and were the only FBS team to score at least 30 points in every game.
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The 2017 National Championship Claim
Despite having the only perfect record during the regular season, UCF was left out of the 2017 College Football Playoff field in favor of Clemson, Georgia, Oklahoma and Alabama, the last of which won the CFP national title. Following the snub, Frost said that UCF "deserved more credit from the committee than what they got.""It wasn't right," Frost said at the time.
"I was watching every week, the committee sitting in a room and (deciding) this two-loss team must be better than UCF because UCF is in the American. Or this three-loss team must be better than UCF."It looked like a conscious effort to me to make sure that they didn't have a problem if they put us too high and a couple teams ahead of us lost. And oh, no, now we have to put them in a playoff. But we just beat a team that beat two Playoff teams and lost to another one by six points and we beat them by seven." The team Scott referred to was Auburn, which beat both No. 3 seed Georgia and No. 4 seed Alabama - the participants in the 2018 CFP championship game - in the regular season.
While Alabama beat Georgia in the national championship game, the Knights claimed a national title after the Colley Matrix determined they were the No. 1 team following the CFP championship game on Jan. 9, 2018. UCF exceeded that mark in 2017 with a win over No. 7 Auburn in the Peach Bowl to complete a 13-0 season as the nation's only undefeated team.
In addition to being the unanimous choice as the 2017 AAC Coach of the Year, Frost was honored as the national coach of the year by the Associated Press, American Football Coaches Association, the Touchdown Club of Columbus, the Lombardi Award and FCA in addition to winning the Home Depot, Paul "Bear" Bryant and Eddie Robinson coach-of-the-year awards.
Disappointing Tenure at Nebraska (2018-2022)
Following the firing of Mike Riley at Nebraska, the Cornhuskers hired Frost as their head coach on Dec. 2, 2017. It seemed a perfect fit with even better timing: Frost was quarterback of the team's last national championship in 1997, and had just led the only undefeated season for the 2017 college football season.
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His homecoming did not go well, however, as the Cornhuskers' best season under Frost was a 5-7 campaign in 2019. The program bottomed out with a 3-9 record in 2021 and, three games into the 2022 season, Frost was fired on Sept. 11, 2022 following an upset loss to Georgia Southern. Frost concluded his Nebraska tenure with a 16-31 record and 10-26 mark in the Big Ten.
Frost served as the head football coach at the University of Nebraska for four-plus seasons from 2018 to 2022, coaching the first three games of the 2022 season. Frost posted a 16-31 record with the Cornhuskers. His tenure was defined by close losses, as 23 of his 31 losses were by single digits, including each of his final 13.
Frost led Nebraska to wins in four of its final six games in his first year in 2018, with the team improving by nearly 28 points per game in the second half of the season. The Huskers finished with a 4-8 record, but Nebraska faced eight opponents who were ranked during the 2018 season. Five of Nebraska’s losses were by five or fewer points, with the Huskers’ final three losses coming in a three-point overtime loss at Northwestern, which finished with a No. 21 ranking, a five-point setback at No. 3 Ohio State and a three-point loss at No. Frost also lived up to his reputation as one of the best offensive play-callers in the country in 2018. Frost inherited an offensive unit that ranked 87th nationally in total offense in 2017.
In his second season in 2019, Nebraska improved its win total with one of the youngest teams in the country, as the Huskers had more freshmen on their roster than any team in the country. Nebraska went 5-7, with five of those losses coming to ranked teams, including four losses to teams that finished in the top 15 of the final Associated Press poll. Frost’s leadership guided the Huskers through the COVID-19 pandemic and an abbreviated 2020 campaign. In the 2021 season, the Huskers were competitive in every game despite posting a 3-9 record. All nine of Nebraska’s losses were by single digits - including eight losses by one score or less - while facing eight teams that won at least nine games, and six opponents who were nationally ranked at game time.
In his first four seasons as Nebraska's head coach, Frost's teams never played in a bowl game and failed to compete in the West Division of the Big Ten, never rising higher than fifth. Frost posted a record of 5-20 in games decided by 8 points or less, a 10-25 record in Big Ten Conference games, and an 0-14 record against ranked opponents.
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Nebraska fired Frost on September 11, 2022, the day after Georgia Southern upset the Cornhuskers at home 45-42. Frost was owed a $16.4 million buyout. Due to a clause that came from restructuring his contract, Nebraska would have only owed Frost about $8.7 million if he was fired after October 1, 2022. It was the first time in 215 home games that Nebraska lost while scoring over 35 points.
Return to UCF (2025)
After four seasons plus three games at his alma mater, Nebraska, Frost is back to guide the Knights. He has a dramatically overhauled roster to work with. Frost and UCF have wins over Jacksonville State (17-10) and North Carolina A&T (68-7) to begin the 2025 season. Ignoring his stint at his alma mater, Nebraska, Scott has won 15 games in a row as the Knights' coach, including a 2-0 start to the 2025 season.
“Today marks an exciting reunion for UCF Football as we welcome back Scott Frost, a coach who ignites the spirit and passion of Knight Nation,” Mohajir said. “Scott’s love for his players along with his leadership, enthusiasm and vision were pivotal in making the decision to bring him back to UCF. Throughout this national search, his passion for UCF was clear. Frost originally served as UCF’s head coach from 2016 to 2017, culminating in a historic 13-0 season, an AAC championship and a national championship that captured the nation’s attention. In his final game, Frost guided UCF to a victory over No. “I’m deeply honored to return to UCF, a school that has always held a special place in my heart,” Frost said. “The foundation we built here has only grown stronger, and I am thrilled to continue shaping this program’s legacy.
Redshirt senior Cam Fancher is expected to start at quarterback. Jacksonville State begins the season where the program’s season ended last year. The Gamecocks played in the Cure Bowl in Orlando. Jacksonville State has a new coach as well. There are major questions about UCF’s roster due to several new additions.
Coaching Record Overview
Here's a look at Frost's career record:
- 2016 (UCF): 6-7
- 2017 (UCF): 13-0
- 2018 (Nebraska): 4-8
- 2019 (Nebraska): 5-7
- 2020 (Nebraska): 3-5
- 2021 (Nebraska): 3-9
- 2022 (Nebraska): 1-2
- 2025 (UCF): 2-0
Career record: 37-38
tags: #ucf #football #scott #frost #record
