All Hail Herbie

This was nothing more than a strategic decision by the athletic director. While he is rightly evaluating job performance based on metrics, he recognizes the political aspect at play here; namely the sentimental place that this coach holds with loyalists (boosters and fans alike). To sack him this season would mean his own undoing. In effectively removing Coach Frost "piecemeal", he removes half the existing staff in one fell swoop, limits the University's buyout exposure next season, and comes out looking like a fair-minded and reasonable administrator. Almost Machiavellian the way this was handled....

Save the talk of legitimate / serious coaching hires until after the separation next November. Let's be honest, this was a stay of execution today, not an effort at rehabilitation. Trev is very artfully and diplomatically navigating his way through a shark tank right now. He could not sack the current beloved Head Coach (sentimentally) 3 months into his tenure, otherwise it might be his head. I give him credit for being tactful, and strategic. He is telling himself, one more year...

Lubick was merely on "loan" to us from the credit union so technically he was never our "asset". Struggling to part with the puns tonight...

With this fanbase, the situation is turning into a bad game of limbo, "how low can the old expectations go?" Planning for a Year 6 with a 5-7 record. I love it. Let's game this out... Year 7 - 6-7 with bowl loss (contract extension) Year 8 - 7-6 with Idaho Bowl Championship (another extension, raise, and parade in Lincoln) Year 9 - 4-8 (rebuilding year - need more time) and on...

With every program, high school, college and professional all running variations of essentially the same offense these days, I am not sure that it will be that "radical". "Radical" would be transitioning to the veer or run and shoot. Honestly, I am so fatigued by inside zone runs and perimeter passes. Watching the 2nd half Rams offense last night was exciting. Play action passing, moving the pocket, etc. They were buried on the scoreboard and had to innovate due to the Titans great front four play. Stafford actually had to execute a quarterback / center exchange!

Great idea. With the buyout negotiated down, the athletic department should be open to giving every fan a "red carpet" experience next season. Complete with a complimentary ticket and beer. I knew we could all embrace and enjoy the 2022 farewell tour... This means we can all get along for the next year as the serious conversations about the program's future are deferred until November, 2022.

I thought bringing in Lubick would resolve these fundamental issues, loan issues I mean. For years, players were struggling with their FICO scores. Credit ratings have steadily improved during his time here...

Has Frost ever worked with Bill Callahan? That seems like a homerun hire for a one year assignment. Pay him $2 million to return as OC, fail, and then return to the NFL as an offensive line coach. The other possibility given that this will be a one year assignment is Bobby Petrino. Both have resumes a mile long and are always looking to add another unique assignment. They both are also allergic to staying in one place too long. The best part is that neither needs to buy a home in Lincoln. Extended Stay or Marriott Bonvoy should cover their time here.

But for the Frost loyalists that is far too much to expect. Keep in mind, we have a new offensive coordinator and scheme now. That should require at least 3 years of runway.... Joking aside, the buyout was just negotiated down as a sacrifice for continued failure. The dye has been cast and we know what is coming in November, 2022...

As I have said all along, I think making staff level changes of this magnitude in Year 4 makes little sense. What is failing now, was failing before. The only thing that has changed between Year 2 and now is the sense of urgency the Head Coach feels to preserve his own job. This was negotiated and is not supported by the Head Coach. That is concerning to me as it also means he does not know how to diagnose and solve the problems plaguing the program. Moreover, and as a result of these terminations today, we now have the scenario I have painted many times; a built-in rationale for failure in 2022. Offensive scheme transition will now be the culprit for our struggles next year. As they will say, it takes time to implement a new system and one cannot expect results immediately. Make no mistake, I think the staff changes will not alter our present course and we will ultimately be confronted with the same decision 1 year from now. Coach Frost is right about one thing, we are close....to a new coaching staff coming aboard in 12 months.

Your message is focused entirely at the tactical level when the issues are strategic in nature. Bringing in a new position coach or two, or a position transfer is not going to alter our current course. Case in point, Toure has been an outstanding transfer addition and yet, his stats will be completely lost as part of a 3-9 season. On the other hand, and for those who now watch Kentucky football, Wandale is a significant contributor to a team that is 6-3. He had 13 catches last night alone!!! I kept wondering when Coach Stoops might put him in the backfield and run him between the tackles. Unfortunately, he failed to follow the successful Frost model.

Great question... Pros - Grew up in the State of Nebraska, Played for and won a National Championship at Nebraska, Played for Coach Osborne, Served as an Assistant Coach at Oregon, Coached an undefeated UCF team Cons - Aside from the introductory press conference, his tenure as head coach at Nebraska.... Notice that all of the pros are prior to his time coaching Nebraska. Based on those, we will retain him for another year. As we all know, we are so close...

Good discussion this afternoon, however I think it is a pre-mature one by a season. This coach will be retained for one more season not based on meeting performance metrics, but rather based on his connection to the fans and boosters. Even after 4 poor seasons, many fans are still thinking how great it is to have our favorite son and National Champion back. They know without question that his background will translate into success at some point.... Purely a sentimental decision at this stage. Thanks Coach for all of your contributions to the University of Nebraska. We hope that your transition back to an assistant coaching position in November, 2022 is a productive one.

I give you credit Hedley for maintaining interest that long. The meltdown at CU in 2019 was the last time I was invested in a game. In terms of player recruitment, there is no question that the word is out with potential targets that our situation is shaky at best. You see the on-field results and combine those with messages from competitors and it is only natural that a player would be hesitant to commit. The UCF file has long been closed and no longer has any relevance or utility...

Agree in total. These days, a program gets what it pays for. For the 17th best salary overall, we rightfully should expect a consistent Top 25 program. I can tell you that despite all of the success that Clemson has had in recent years, including 2 National Championships, Coach Swinney is coming under significant fire for just 1 tough season. His compensation package is 4th overall at $8.3 million. These jobs come with big salaries and commensurate expectations. Take the money, but accept the high expectations and pressure that comes with it...

A dizzying set of circumstances and conditions, but nonetheless, a hypothetical record which shows tangible progress. The one element that stood out in your scenario was the bullet identifying "convincing" wins against Minnesota, Illinois, and Purdue. As I have said for months, those three (and Northwestern) are the foundation for a return to relevancy. And frankly, those are games a program like ours should consistently defeat. However, with 4 years of history as my guide, I am pessimistic about our chances of beating all 4 of those teams in a single season, let alone scoring convincing wins on all of them. We shall see in Year 5...

Let me begin by saying that I sincerely respect your opinion. That said, use of the term "fluke" is what gives folks such as myself pause when discussing the future with Coach Frost's supporters. If using this approach as an overlay, one could argue that OU (blocked kick / return) was a fluke, MSU (wrong directional kick) was a fluke, MU (QB fumble) was a fluke, MN (safety) was a fluke, and Purdue (Pick Six) was a fluke. A fluke is a rare, unexpected one time occurrence. Avoiding use of that term might be helpful in deciding the fate of this staff...

If this were transition for transition sake alone, I would tend to agree with you. Doing so can be disruptive. However, football coaching is an unkind, unemotional, results-oriented business. Coach Lombardi once said that "while winning isn't everything, it is the only thing" when it comes to football. You may find that statement stark, direct, and lacking in compassion, but that is the reality. When you accept this assignment, and the $5 million annual salary, folks rightly expect results. To date, given all the resources provided (monetary, facilities, recruiting, academic support, fan support, etc.), I would give this staff a failing grade in terms of results. What concerns me most about your argument is your last passage. You are already laying the groundwork, perhaps unknowingly, for a SIXTH Year! If the body of work remains the same, 0.500 or worse, than you should not be 99% behind removal, but 100%. Performance in individual games in Year 5 matter little to me next to the body of work. Let's not play that game...

The fans that wish to see a 5th year under this Coach are loyal to Scott Frost the player, the ambassador and the native son. Performance metrics have little to do with their reasoning. In the end, I think it is for this reason that we end up with a 5th year. To me the better question is whether these loyalists are prepared to accept and even embrace transition following a similar 2022. For the compensation being offered, it is unreasonable to continue pushing back the horizon of success any further. People quickly forget, but Alabama under Dennis Franchione and later Mike Shula underperformed as a program for years. Shula (a former Tide Quarterback and son of legendary coach Don Shula) had the coaching pedigree and university ties necessary to achieve great success (sound familiar?). What resulted were 3 poor seasons and 1 bowl appearance under Shula. Absent the bowl appearance, this story feels very familiar. My point is, Alabama was prepared to go all in for a return to success and we should do no less.

I agree that assistant coaching changes should have been initiated much earlier in his tenure if there was belief that problems existed. At this stage, it is merely a means to rationalizing continued poor performance in 2022 (as a result of "transition"). That said, I think you would be hard pressed to get Coach Frost to even admit that there is a problem (strategic or tactical). He believes that his system is working, that his assistants are performing at a high level and that he has the talent necessary to succeed. His continued reference to "a movie we have seen before" is a method of disassociating the results and events from his work. Again, it is as if the team is merely a victim of circumstance and has no capacity to change their fortunes. We know this not to be true...

The fans will win on Saturday. Enjoy the gameday experience, time with family and friends, and hopefully great weather. Rather than watch the game from inside the stadium, perhaps the fans should just remain outside the stadium or in the parking lot for an all-day tailgate. We know how this one will go...

For starters, let's not attempt to rationalize this Coach's lack of success to date. All coaches are presented with similar challenges and either rise to the task, or fall short. It is evident that this staff in all likelihood will fall short. Separately, let's be honest about why this Coach will remain for one more season; sentimentality. If job performance were the metric, this engagement would be over. That said, and following 5 losing seasons in a row, I am comfortable with the fans holding on to their sentimentality for this Coach for one more season. Next season we can respectfully show the Coach our appreciation for his contributions to the University and gracefully allow him to exit in November.

Absolutely. The good news is that while the keyboard has diminished value, my contributions to this board are an ascending asset. As an investor, you are welcome. In all seriousness though, let's have fun with this as we likely have another year to wander in the football wilderness. Coach Frost did have one thing right yesterday; I too am excited for next year as it will present an opportunity to turn the page as a program. Repeat after me...."November, 2022".

The author may have been eluding to yet another contract extension or perhaps a raise in salary. A 3-9 finish demonstrates real progress after 4 years. As we all know, we are so close....