Scott Frost in year three is no Hayden Fry, or Kirk Ferentz for that matter
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – As Scott Frost continues to struggle to rebuild the Nebraska football program, his woes make you appreciate even more what Hayden Fry accomplished at Iowa, and Kirk Ferentz for that matter.
Frost was considered the savior when he returned to coach his alma mater in 2018, and it seemed like a good fit in so many ways, on and off the field.
Frost had climbed the coaching ladder and then flourished in his first head coaching job, leading Central Florida to a 13-0 record in his second season in 2017.
Frost was a hot commodity following the 2017 season, and if Nebraska hadn’t hired him, some other Power 5 program almost certainly would have.
And to say that Nebraska fans were excited about hiring Frost would be an understatement because they practically worshiped Frost due to him being a former Nebraska quarterback from the glory days of the 1990s.
Frost was also from Nebraska, which made Cornhusker fans love him even more.
They were convinced that Frost would make Nebraska elite again, but now in year three, it still hasn’t come close to happening.
Nebraska is 1-3 heading into Friday’s game against Iowa at Kinnick Stadium, and coming off a discouraging 41-23 loss to Illinois at home.
Illinois, which entered the game 1-3, dominated the line of scrimmage and had two players rush for over 100 yards.
“I didn’t see this coming,” Frost said. “I was embarrassed by our level of execution in all three phases. I didn’t think we had the juice we had last week. It’s almost like our team thought you win one game, you’re good. That’s not how it works.”
Frost was referring to Nebraska’s 30-23 victory over Penn State a week earlier in Lincoln, Neb. His team started fast, but then had to hang on to win against a Penn State team that is winless this season.
One of the biggest problems when you watch Nebraska is trying to figure its identity on offense because there doesn’t seem to be one at this stage.
Most coaches want to be balanced on offense, but with the 45-year old Frost, he seems determined to want to make Nebraska what it was under Tom Osborne, which is a power running team built around a running quarterback.
That’s great if you have the personnel to be successful, which Nebraska clearly doesn’t have at this stage on offense or defense.
It almost seems that Frost is trying to fit square pegs into round holes.
Nebraska’s problems, go way beyond offense, however, as shown by the Illinois loss.
Nebraska’s once-renowned defense is now a sieve that routinely gets dominated at the line of scrimmage.
There isn’t a more devoted fan base than Nebraska football fans, but even some of them are now getting restless and wondering if Frost is in over his head.
But many would also say that Frost still needs more time to clean up the mess that he inherited from previous head coach Mike Riley.
Okay, maybe so.
But when will it be enough time?
Hayden Fry led Iowa to the Rose Bowl in his third season as head coach in 1981, while Kirk Ferentz led Iowa to a 7-5 record, and to a victory in the Alamo Bowl, in his third season as head coach in 2001.
Fry and Ferentz also inherited bigger messes at Iowa than Frost did at Nebraska, especially Fry.
Iowa hadn’t had a winning record since finishing 5-4 in 1961 when Fry was hired shortly after the 1978 season. Attendance was down, morale was down and there was a growing concern that Iowa would never be competitive in football again.
Frost, on the other hand, took over a Nebraska program that had won nine games under Mike Riley just two years earlier in 2016.
Bo Pelini also won at least nine games in each of his seven seasons as the Nebraska head coach from 2008 to 2014, and three times he won 10 games.
So to say that Frost faced a massive rebuilding job just isn’t accurate. He might be facing that right now, but he is largely to blame for that.
Nebraska is also the only Division I football program in the state, while Iowa has two Power 5 programs.
One of the first things Fry and Ferentz both established at Iowa was an identity.
Much has been written and said about Fry’s use of exotics, and about how he changed the perception of the Big Ten by emphasizing the pass at a time when most Big Ten teams were three yards and a cloud of dust.
And while there is some truth to Fry being sort of a trailblazer on offense, his first Rose Bowl team was built around a rock-solid defense and legendary punter Reggie Roby.
Fry, more than anything, wanted to be balanced on offense, and now it’s the same with Kirk Ferentz.
Chuck Long became the first Big Ten quarterback to pass for 10,000 yards, but he also had a reliable running game that made his job much easier, and a top-notch defense.
The current Iowa team has won three games in a row, largely because its rushing attack has helped to set the tone with its productivity.
Iowa has also won five games in a row against Nebraska, and is heavily favored to make it six straight on Friday.
The two games with Frost as head coach have been very competitive, with Iowa making late field goals in both games to win by three points.
So there is absolutely no reason for the Iowa players to take Nebraska lightly.
As for the Nebraska players, which now includes former Iowa receiver Oliver Martin, it’s hard to know where they are from a motivational standpoint.
Frost seemed to be blame his players for the Illinois loss by saying he was embarrassed by his team’s level of execution.
Penn State coach James Franklin also pointed to a lack of execution following Saturday’s 41-21 loss to Iowa.
But what about the game plan, and the play calling?
To say that it came down to poor execution gives the impression that a head coach can only do so much.
Sound familiar Iowa fans?
Steve Alford as the Iowa men’s basketball coach often blamed his players after losses.
And he eventually wore out his welcome in Iowa City.
It hasn’t reached that point with Frost in Lincoln, but it will if he doesn’t start winning in a hurry.