When Scott Frost returned to Nebraska in 2018, it felt like a storybook homecoming - the native son, national champion quarterback, and rising coaching star was coming back to restore the program’s glory. But as we now know, that script didn’t play out the way many hoped. And in a newly released memoir, former Nebraska athletic director Bill Moos gives us a candid look behind the curtain at how that decision unfolded - and the doubts that surfaced even before Frost signed on the dotted line.
Moos, himself a former Nebraska football standout, reflects on the pivotal moment he brought Frost back to Lincoln. According to Moos, the initial interview with Frost didn’t exactly inspire confidence. He and his wife, Kendra, walked away from that meeting with serious reservations - not about Frost’s football résumé, but about whether he was ready for the immense pressure that came with leading Nebraska’s storied program.
“As pissed off as I was that (Associate AD) Matt Davison unexpectedly sat in on that meeting, I was glad he did, as it prompted me to tell Kendra to stay in the room,” Moos wrote. What followed was a moment of quiet honesty between husband and wife.
“‘He’s not ready,’” Kendra said. “‘Too immature.’”
Moos agreed - but felt boxed in. The fear wasn’t just about making the wrong hire.
It was about what would happen if they didn’t land Frost and he turned around another powerhouse like Tennessee or Florida instead. “If I don’t pursue him with everything I’ve got and he ends up at Tennessee or Florida, I’m screwed,” Moos recalled saying.
Kendra’s response? “Yeah, but if you bring Nebraska’s golden boy home and he falls flat on his face, you are really screwed.”
That last line turned out to be prophetic.
Frost’s tenure at Nebraska was, in a word, disappointing. After a dominant run at UCF, where he went 13-0 in 2017, expectations were sky-high.
But over four full seasons in Lincoln, the Huskers went just 15-29 under Frost. Against Big Ten opponents, they posted a 10-26 record.
The program never found its footing, and Frost was fired early in the 2022 season after a 1-2 start.
For a program that once defined college football excellence, the fall was hard to watch - especially with a beloved figure like Frost at the helm. He had led Nebraska to two national championships as a player in the 1990s and went 24-2 as a starter under Tom Osborne.
But nostalgia only carries so much weight when the wins aren’t coming. And in Lincoln, where tradition runs deep and expectations are sky-high, patience can wear thin quickly.
Since Frost’s departure, Nebraska has started to turn the corner under head coach Matt Rhule. In the two seasons since he took over, the Huskers have posted a 14-12 record and capped off the 2024 campaign with a win in the Pinstripe Bowl - a tangible sign of progress in a program that’s been desperate for stability.
Frost, meanwhile, returned to familiar territory in 2025, taking over at UCF once again. The results were mixed - a 5-7 record in his first season back - but there’s optimism that 2026 could bring a step forward.
Looking back, the Frost era at Nebraska is a reminder of how tricky coaching hires can be, especially when emotion and legacy are involved. The allure of bringing home a program legend is powerful - but as Moos and his wife sensed from the very beginning, it’s not always the right move.