All Hail Herbie

2 hours ago, BoNeyard said:

We will have to agree to disagree on that one. I think keeping him one more year and see if he can put together a competent staff which results in improvements was the smarter and more financially responsible decision.

 

If he can’t? Well he made his own fate, then we can search for a new coach letting them know we gave a guy 5 years to try and obtain a winning season. As we have the reputation of firing coaches after 9 win seasons.

 

Also it’ll be way cheaper which may be needed in the middle of building a brand new football facility.

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....

26 minutes ago, lo country said:

He is in and "from" SEC country.  His OC Rob Sale (doesn't call plays) played at Georgia as an OL....Knows the SEC as well.  Unsure how you could judge his success as Napier calls the plays.

 

Chadwell might also bite at a chance to prove his O can go against the big boys.....IIRC he's had 4 or 6 AA while at Coastal.....

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...

35 minutes ago, M.A. said:

All four needed to go. With Lubick, I just don't think he meshed well with the Big 10

 

I applaud these changes. The offensive side of the ball needed a shakeup and not nibbling, marginal ones. 

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...  

17 minutes ago, Dogs In A Pile said:

Depends on who returns but with the much less demanding schedule I'm hoping for 5-7 next. Should be enough to ensure HCSF returns for year six.

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...

1 hour ago, The Duke said:

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!

1 hour ago, not me said:

BOGO season tickets

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.  

2 minutes ago, gossamorharpy said:

I don't see these staff changes representing any kind of scheme change.  Its about improving via fundamental, sound football, and we haven't done this in years. 

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.  

Just now, ColoradoHusk said:

My biggest questions with this new offensive coaching staff are:

 

1) Will Frost hire a true OC and let that coach run the offense, meaning Frost becomes a more, CEO-type head coach?  No, he will recruit from within the credit union community again for this position.  QB's can be replaced, but a good loan officer can last a lifetime.

 

2) Will they be able to structure the staff and position groups to enable a dedicated Special Teams coach?  For example, will Beckton take on the WR coaching role, and have the Tight Ends go with the WR's for some practice time and the O-line with other practice time.  Again, the answer is no.  In fact, the Head Coach is not even sure what those guys (on special teams) do.  His apathy towards special teams is legendary.  

 

3) Will fans accept assistant coaches who don't have Nebraska ties (I sure hope so)?

Yes, but will it matter.  The stage is set for a November, 2022 transition.  The real story today is the re-negotiated buyout.  Everyone knows how this story will end and NU just wanted to limit how much they would owe in the final chapter. 

18 minutes ago, Lorewarn said:

Pretend that you had 6-7 wins in 2021 and then expect improvement from there. 

 

If we go 6-6 in year 5 against next year's schedule that's beyond unacceptable.

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.

On 11/5/2021 at 6:31 PM, Decoy73 said:

You’ve previously stated that it won’t necessarily matter, and I get the reasoning for that, but with that being said.  Do you see significant changes on the offensive side of the ball occurring this off-season?  
 

Whether it be coaching and/or transfers, especially at QB?

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.

3 hours ago, Hedley Lamarr said:

I havent been emotionally invested since the Illinois loss. It told me we hadnt made the progress I was anticipating or expecting. Now looking at the possibility of only beating 1 P5 team in 10 tries this year is a very possible likelihood. For the first time in a long time I didnt really dive to deep into recruiting etc because we had no interest from high caliber high school players. I imagine this will continue if we continue with Frost. So not only will I be losing interest and investment in the games on Saturdays I am also realizing I am tuning out of the offseason stuff. 

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...

16 hours ago, UniversalMartin said:

Agree 100% with your take on why coaching is and rightfully so is the result based way it is...you are getting paid millions to coach a sport. If you don't want the heat/expectations than negotiate a salary of $100k and then I will support the "give em time" idea

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...

18 hours ago, Born N Bled Red said:

 

Ok, what say you. Frost goes 7-5,

 

Blows out Northwestern, North Dakota, Georgia Southern, Rutgers

Wins Convincingly against Minnesota, Illinois, Purdue

Loses to Iowa by last minute Hail Mary/ Kick and loses to Wisconsin by less than 7 

Loses to Indiana in Overtime, to Oklahoma and Michigan by less than 7

 

- Iowa and Wisconsin slip up elsewhere and Nebraska ends up winning the division with that record. 

- So we got 7-5 Nebraska with its first division winning season in what feels like forever 

- Lose the CCG to probably Ohio State -by 7-14 points and end up in a bowl game against Texas that just for sh!ts and giggles we win on a last minute kick.

 

We finish the season 8-6. 

 

At that point- I'd be on the fence about whether to keep him or not. I'd be on the fence if we went 7-5 and win the bowl game to go 8-5. Make a bowl game and lose at 7-6 I'd probably be back to the 100% 

 

Those are the only scenarios that less than 8-4 would make me not 100% certain a change should be made. 

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...

1 hour ago, Born N Bled Red said:

 

Fair enough, I could have said 100% at .500 or better. I said 99% at anything below 8-4 because flukes could happen where a 7-5 record could win the division. That would put me on the fence. 

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...

3 hours ago, Born N Bled Red said:

 

Loyalty to Frost has very little to do with my current support. My support comes from the absolute fact that constant coaching turnover has done nothing for our program but drive us further into the abyss for 20 freaking years. The only thing we haven't tried is giving someone the time to rebuild and grow. 

 

Thought about this last night. What if Callahan had kept Pelini on instead of bringing Cosgrove? Probably would have rocked it.

 

What if instead of replacing Callahan, Pelini was brought on as Co-headcoach/ d coordinator. - 

 

Pelini had his time. Some of us think he should have gotten more. 

 

Riley was too damn old to grow.

 

Each time we jettisoned the coach though, Nebraska paid out contracts to get WORSE. 

 

I've already said, the storms Frost has weathered, the schedules he faced, that statistically we are one of the top 5 teams performance wise - and did this against the hardest schedule in the land, gets him another year.

 

Next year, Northwestern is the first test. WIN and we are undefeated heading into Oklahoma. Lose, and we better have a dang good showing against OK, and got 8-4 or better, or else I'll 99% agree Frost has earned his pink slip.

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.

3 minutes ago, TGHusker said:

I think that should have been done prior to this year.   The covid year was a big fail and changes could have, would have, should have been made then. 

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... 

9 hours ago, Born N Bled Red said:

 

It builds confidence. Confidence builds success. Success builds on success. Its the same thing you guys argue to get a new coach started on the right foot. - I argue Frost deserves the opportunity to take a cracking at next years schedule and build from there. If he fails next year, even as an ardent supporter, I'll probably agree its never going to work. But the monumental task he took on, taking over the sh!t show Riley left, Covid, cancelled games, injured first year qb, etc, has more than earned him the right to coach next season. 

 

This in addition to the fact, that there is not one active coach out there that I think is worth hitting the reset for. Campbell, Fickel and the rest ya'll dream about ain't coming. Prolly end up with Paul Rhodes or something....

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.  

18 hours ago, Savage Husker said:

Not sure, it’s simply speculation as to maybe why Alberts would keep him - maybe he is fixing the athletic department who surprisingly forced an old AD into retirement

 

Hey look at me, I have a keyboard!

-All Hail Herbie. 

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".

8 minutes ago, EngineeringHusker said:

What does Frost need that he doesn't already have? Just curious.

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....