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Here is every Husker game coached by Scott Frost.

LINCOLN — The Oct. 1 discount couldn’t save Scott Frost’s job for two more weeks. Not when Georgia Southern came into Memorial Stadium, dropped 45 points, and gave Frost a second loss to a Sun Belt team. Not when Frost said, once again, that he didn’t expect his team to play like it did. Not when he had few answers — and even less confidence at the postgame podium.

Nebraska will pay the full buyout to Frost. But he’s out and it’s time. He tried to get out of the first matchup with Oklahoma last season; he won’t have to endure a second game against the Sooners. That’ll fall to Mickey Joseph, whose relationship with OU is best seen in the massive injury he suffered in Norman in 1990. Joseph, a no-nonsense, tough-minded guy, will get a chance to earn the job. I’m not sure he’ll be able to pull it off — or, for that matter, I’m not sure the team will pull it off.

But that’s for tomorrow.

Today, Nebraska is back to square one. Back to where it was five years ago, Sept. 16, 2017, when NU lost to Northern Illinois, and then-Husker Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst stood before a disbelieving media trying to take accountability. He was fired the following week. His coach, Mike Riley, was fired after the 2017 season, paving the way for Frost, the native son whose rocket trajectory seemed perfectly fit for Nebraska football. The national media universally praised the decision. The World-Herald published two books — including a comic — about Frost’s return. He was the guy, he had the aura, he knew the way.

He was disorganized and haphazard.

He was overconfident about how his spread offense would take over the Big Ten.

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He never really seemed comfortable with the spotlight, telling media, on the day of his introductory press conference, that he’d be furious if anyone bothered his parents. Carol and Larry Frost did not attend that event. Neither did Frost’s wife or son. We didn’t know them, and to say one knew Frost, well, meant you knew he was uncomfortable with being too known.

Frost kept a tight circle of friends, some of whom almost wanted to draw a line in the sand. He brought his entire staff from Central Florida, which was a mistake; those guys, as a group, weren’t good enough for the Big Ten. He kept too many of them too long. He perhaps entertained, also, too many concerns about ex-player this and ex-player that, and some of folks gossiped more than their share about Frost. So many false rumors about Frost floated around that they often contradicted one another.  At the 2021 Big Ten media days, Frost even mentioned a few to reporters. That kind of spotlight would wear on anyone.

The Nebraska job is big, tough and needs the very best staff and administration around it. Frost wasn’t up to the task — and neither were some of the folks he assembled around him.

Whoever gets this job next — whether Joseph earns it or Nebraska picks someone after a national search — will have to have strong organization, a sharp, professional staff, and the kind of around-the-clock focus Frost, for whatever reason, lacked in key moments. Great coaches at Nebraska don’t mismanage special teams for years. Great coaches at Nebraska don’t offload the Maurice Washington mess into the lap of a friend and lawyer who seemingly did nothing to help Washington or the situation. Great coaches don’t, in the offseason, decline to significantly reach out to Tim Cassidy, as good of a football guy as there is, when arrangements are made for a conversation. Cassidy went to Colorado State to work with Jay Norvell instead.

What could a great coach do at Nebraska? Plenty.

» He’ll get to recruit to an elite football facility that Frost stumped for and got. It has not yet been opened.

» He’ll get a lot of financial support from boosters, fans, and former players. He’ll also get the massive Big Ten payouts, too, that help buy staffs and recruiting personnel. Obviously the Huskers have money if they can buy Frost all the way out right now.  

» He’ll get a fan base that still cares, a lot, about Husker football. He’ll get a network of high school football coaches, too, who generally want to do everything to help Nebraska. This isn’t Michigan, where some schools in Detroit might be loyal to Michigan State, with others preferring Michigan. This is one state, still unified.

» With Frost gone, it’s reasonable to consider a revamp in Nebraska’s NIL approach, which right now is a collection of collectives, all kind of working on their own with certain athletes. Do NU football players really have to create media content to get paid, or can they show up to school-approved nonprofit events that keep the amount of work to a minimum?

Nebraska is back to square one. This is still a good job. It’s a hard job, but a good one. And great coaches will want it. The trick for Trev Alberts is finding that man. Organized. Laser focused. Detail oriented. Able to think through how to win in the Big Ten, which means winning close game. And able to get a team up for a key moment.

Frost failed all those tests in one way or another. And so he’s out. Native sons only get so much special treatment.  

Scott Frost poses for a portrait in his hometown of Wood River, Nebraska, in 1992.

Scott Frost competing in the Junior Olympics in 1993.

Nebraska quarterback Scott Frost, center, with Matt Turman, during Brook Berringer's funeral in Goodland. Frost said Berringer's death had a lot to do with his recommitment to his faith. 

Scott Frost celebrates scoring a touchdown in the third quarter of the Huskers' 63-7 win over Kansas in 1996.

Nebraska's Sean Wieting consoles quarterback Scott Frost after losing to Texas 37-27 in the 1996 Big 12 championship game.

Scott Frost leans in for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against Virginia Tech in NU's 41-21 Orange Bowl win in 1996.

Scott Frost shakes hands with Shevin Wiggins after winning the Orange Bowl against Virginia Tech to end the 1996 season.

Scott Frost leaps into the end zone to score against Akron in 1997.

Nebraska quarterback Scott Frost walks off the field at Husky Stadium while celebrating the Huskers' 27-14 victory over then-No. 2 Washington in 1997, while Huskies quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo leaves with his head down.

Scott Frost congratulates coach Tom Osborne after Nebraska's 69-7 win over Oklahoma in 1997. The victory gave Osborne 250 career victories in 25 years.

Scott Frost holds onto the football as he dives into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown in overtime against Missouri in 1997.

Nebraska's Eric Warfield congratulates quarterback Scott Frost after the overtime win against Missouri in 1997. Frost had 316 total yards, 3 yards short of Jerry Tagge's then-single-game school record.

Nebraska coach Tom Osborne congratulates Scott Frost before the Iowa State game on Nov. 15, 1997 — the last for each at Memorial Stadium.

Scott Frost is congratulated by Aaron Taylor, No. 67, Eric Anderson, No. 70 and Josh Heskew, No. 59, after scoring the first touchdown of 1997 Big 12 championship game against Texas A&M. The Huskers won 54-15.

Scott Frost holds up the game ball after Nebraska's 42-17 Orange Bowl win against Tennessee. The win helped the Huskers claim a share of the national championship in coach Tom Osborne's final season.

Scott Frost jokes with some of the players attending the 2002 summer football camp at Nebraska's Memorial Stadium. The camp was a huge draw for high school football players aspiring to become Huskers. 

Scott Frost is officially introduced as the Nebraska new head football coach during a press conference in 2017.

Scott Frost leads the Huskers on the field for the first time as coach. The game was canceled after kickoff due to heavy rain and lightning.

Scott Frost joins Husker A.D. Bill Moos, University of Nebraska Chancellor Ronnie Green and Jane Green at Fred Hoiberg's introductory press conference. 

Scott Frost watches quarterback Adrian Martinez take a snap during spring football practice in 2019.

Nebraska coach Scott Frost watches his team during the spring game at Memorial Stadium on April 13, 2019.

Nebraska men's basketball coach Fred Hoiberg hands the microphone to football coach Scott Frost during the Big Red Blitz in 2019.

Nebraska football coach Scott Frost addresses the prospects who participated in the Friday Night Lights event in 2019.

Scott Frost arrives at Kinnick Stadium before the Huskers take on Iowa in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic forced a shortened and conference-only season for Big Ten teams.

Athletic Director Bill Moos, President Ted Carter, Chancellor Ronnie Green and Scott Frost break ground on Nebraska's new $155 million athletics facility.

Scott Frost bumps fists with Adrian Martinez before leaving the tunnel before the 2021 spring game.

Nebraska head coach Scott Frost walks off the field following a timeout in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic between Northwestern and Nebraska at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland on Saturday. Northwestern won 31-28.

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Sam covers Nebraska football, recruiting, women's basketball and more for The World-Herald. Follow him on Twitter @swmckewonOWH. Email: SMcKewon@owh.com

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