Frost accepts new job UCF coach emotionally announces his departure
UCF coach Scott Frost’s tenure was fast, fierce and fleeting.
Frost, 42, is leaving the Knights after two seasons to become Nebraska’s sixth head coach since his idol and former head coach Tom Osborne retired in 1997. Former ESPN reporter Brett McMurphy was the first to report Frost’s departure, releasing it as the No. 14 Knights were battling No. 20 Memphis in overtime of the American Athletic Conference Championship Game.
The Knights held on for a wild 62-55 win in double overtime.
Frost’s players celebrated with him on the field and later pulled him up to crowd surf in the locker room.
He wanted his players to enjoy their moment in the championship spotlight and waited until 30 minutes after his postgame press conference to tell the Knights he accepted the Nebraska job.
He fought back tears during the postgame press conference as they described what he meant to them.
“They should give you time off after the season to make a decision, but they don’t,” Frost said when asked about the reports he had accepted the job.
Frost later added, “I’m going to talk to the team first. They’re hard decisions and they don’t give you enough time to make them. I love Orlando and no matter what I do, I’m going to retire here. UCF, Orlando is an unbelievable place with unlimited potential.”
Offensive coordinator Troy Walters will take over as interim coach, but Frost will coach the Knights in their bowl game. They are expected to be invited to the prestigious Peach Bowl.
The confirmation of Frost’s departure ended weeks of speculation Frost would return to coach his alma mater pending the termination of previous head coach Mike Riley.
UCF athletics director Danny White will look to move quickly on the search for UCF’s fourth head coach since 2004. Two sources close to the program told the Orlando Sentinel White hired Parker Executive Search, the same company the school used to identify Frost as a candidate, as early as last week when it was clear Frost would accept Nebraska’s offer.
White is facing a tight window to hire a new coach, with the first college football early signing period starting Dec. 20. UCF will be competing with numerous other schools trying to land a coach, but the Knights are confident they’ve demonstrated it is a prestigious job.
Frost’s relationship with UCF was brief, but he made a big impact.
He inherited an 0-12 football team at the end of the 2015 season and quickly turned the program around, helping the Knights earn their first 11-0 regular season record in school history and a No. 14 ranking by the College Football Playoff committee — the highest mark by any Group of 5 school since the playoff system started in 2014.
Frost was unanimously voted the conference’s coach of the year Wednesday for his efforts.
During just two seasons, Frost amassed a 17-7 record, qualified for two bowl appearances and hauled in the No. 2 and No. 1 recruiting classes in the American Athletic Conference in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
His zone-read offense helped make Hawaii native McKenzie Milton one of the most productive quarterbacks in the country. UCF finished the regular season as the No. 1 scoring offense in the country. The sophomore quarterback was named the conference’s offensive player of the year.
And Frost assembled an impressive assistant coaching and support staff that allowed senior linebacker Shaquem Griffin to become a national college football star. Griffin, whose left hand was amputated during his childhood, was buried low on the depth chart as a safety under previous coach George O’Leary. Under Frost and new defensive coordinator Erik Chinander, Griffin was moved from safety to outside linebacker and become the AAC’s 2016 defensive player of the year.