
Position: | Head Coach |
City/State: | Wood River, Neb. |
High School: | Wood River |
Alma Mater: | Nebraska |
Graduating Year: | 1997 |
Email: | jduff@huskers.com |
SCOTT FROST INFOGRAPHIC
SCOTT FROST BIOGRAPHY
CAREER COACHING ACCOLADES
Scott Frost's rapid rise up the coaching ranks culminated with the former Husker returning to his alma mater in December of 2017. Frost enters his second season as Nebraska's head coach in 2019 and his third season overall as a head coach.
It took Frost little more than a decade to rise from a first-year FCS assistant to head coach of the sixth-winningest program in college football history. It also took Frost just two years to post his first undefeated season as a head coach, as Frost guided UCF to the greatest two-year turnaround in NCAA history. He inherited an 0-12 team, made a bowl game in his first season and then led the Knights to a 13-0 record in his second and final season in 2017.
In addition to his impressive success as a head coach - Frost was the consensus national coach of the year in 2017 - Frost was successful at every stop along his journey to becoming a head coach. His teams posted a 103-18 record in his 10 seasons as an assistant coach, with Frost coordinating both a top-10 defense and multiple top-10 offenses. Frost served as defensive coordinator for an FCS semifinalist, was Oregon's offensive coordinator in the inaugural College Football Playoff Championship Game and called the plays for Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota.
The 44-year old Frost is a proven winner familiar with the Nebraska culture and tradition. He was a part of two national championship teams as a Husker player, coached in two national championship games as an assistant at Oregon and led UCF to a 13-0 record in 2017, when the Knights were the nation's only undefeated team.
Frost has been a winner throughout his coaching career, winning seven conference championships in his 12 seasons as a full-time coach. Frost's teams have won 126 games in his dozen years, averaging nearly 11 wins per season. In addition to coaching in two national championship games, Frost has coached in five other New Year's Six bowl games in the last decade. His winning reputation dates back to his playing days, when he helped Nebraska to a 36-2 record in his three-year career, including a 24-2 record in two seasons as the Huskers' starting quarterback.
Nebraska showed tremendous improvement throughout Frost's first season in Lincoln. Nebraska won four of its final six games and improved by nearly 28 points per game in the second half of the season compared to the first half. 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. 25 Iowa as time expired.
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. Led by true freshman quarterback Adrian Martinez, Nebraska ranked 25th nationally in total offense in 2018, the program’s first top-25 finish in the category since 2008.
Frost went 19-7 in two seasons at UCF, helping turn an 0-12 team into a 13-0 squad in just two years. 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 and 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. The Knights put together the first undefeated regular season in UCF and AAC history in 2017, posted the longest winning streak in school history (13 games), achieved the highest in-season ranking in program history (10th), highest final ranking (6th) and set an AAC record with 16 all-conference selections.
UCF was led by its high-powered offense and improved defense under Frost. The Knights 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. Defensively, UCF improved its scoring defense by 65 spots in Frost's two seasons.
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. He was also a semifinalist for the George Munger Coach of the Year Award in each of his two seasons at UCF, making Frost one of three coaches to be a semifinalist for the award in both 2016 and 2017.
OREGON: 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. Frost helped Oregon post a 79-14 record in his seven seasons, during which time the Ducks won four conference titles and twice played for the national championship.
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. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.
NORTHERN IOWA: Frost's first full-time coaching job came in the FCS ranks at Northern Iowa, where he spent two seasons on the Panthers' defensive staff. He coached the Panther linebackers in 2007 and helped UNI to the No. 1 seed in the FCS playoffs and a quarterfinals appearance. Frost was promoted to co-defensive coordinator the next season, when UNI ranked ninth nationally in scoring defense and advanced to the FCS Semifinals. The Panthers finished with a 24-4 record in Frost's two seasons, winning two Missouri Valley Conference titles and earning a No. 4 final ranking both years.
KANSAS STATE: Frost began his coaching career as a defensive graduate assistant at Kansas State in 2006, helping the Wildcats to a bowl game.
NEBRASKA: Frost's first coaching experience came during a brief stint on Nebraska's staff as a defensive graduate assistant in 2002, coaching the Huskers in the Independence Bowl.
Frost spent two seasons at Stanford - where he was a two-way starter at safety and quarterback - before returning home to Nebraska for the Huskers' 1995 national championship season. He took over as NU's starting quarterback the next season and was the 1996 Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year. In 1997, he was a Johnny Unitas Award finalist and an Academic All-American as Nebraska went 13-0 and captured the program's fifth national title. Frost was then selected in the third round of the 1998 NFL Draft and played six seasons as an NFL safety.
Frost earned his degree in finance from Nebraska in 1997. Scott and his wife Ashley have one son, Ryan James (RJ).
NEBRASKA
-Head Coach (2018-present)
UCF (2 SEASONS)
-Head Coach (2016-17)
OREGON (7 SEASONS)
-Offensive Coordinator (2013-15)
-Assistant Coach, Wide Receivers (2009-12)
NORTHERN IOWA (2 SEASONS)
-Co-Defensive Coordinator (2008)
-Assistant Coach, Linebackers (2007)
KANSAS STATE (1 SEASON)
-Defensive Graduate Assistant (2006)
NEBRASKA (1 SEASON)
-Defensive Graduate Assistant (2002)
YEAR | SCHOOL | ROLE | RECORD | CONFERENCE TITLE | RANK |
2007 | Northern Iowa | Assistant Coach | 12-1 | Gateway | 4th |
2008 | Northern Iowa | Co-Def. Coord. | 12-3 | Missouri Valley | 4th |
2009 | Oregon | Assistant Coach | 10-3 | Pac-10 | 11th |
2010 | Oregon | Assistant Coach | 12-1 | Pac-10 | 3rd |
2011 | Oregon | Assistant Coach | 12-2 | Pac-12 | 4th |
2012 | Oregon | Assistant Coach | 12-1 | 2nd | |
2013 | Oregon | Offensive Coord. | 11-2 | 9th | |
2014 | Oregon | Offensive Coord. | 13-2 | Pac-12 | 2nd |
2015 | Oregon | Offensive Coord. | 9-3 | 14th | |
2016 | UCF | Head Coach | 6-7 | ||
2017 | UCF | Head Coach | 13-0 | American Athletic | 6th |
2018 | Nebraska | Head Coach | 4-8 |
Note: Oregon's 2015 record reflects its regular-season record and ranking, as Frost did not coach in the bowl game after accepting the UCF head job