So here is a thought or two on the whole Riley / Frost thing. I'm sure I'll get blasted by many but I don't care. Other than this I'm not going to talk about what Riley inherited, as we all know it was a dumpster fire.
Riley has in many ways righted the ship of Husker Football. We may not see it on the field in W's and L's just yet but he's built an infrastructure for the future. He's made it cool to play at Nebraska for kids all across the nation. The past 3 coaches would not have been able to step foot on IMG's campus let alone pull a recruit from there. From recruiting, the professional relationships, to social media. The professional relationships are nothing to take lightly. If you fire Riley before his due time in their eyes, Husker football will lose even more credibility nationally, from which it may never recover fully.
The recruiting and talent evaluation portion is key. Developing the Friday night lights camp is huge and the coaches dedication to get in front and make relationships is a strong point of this staff. With the top recruits it’s paramount for Nebraska to keep this momentum to have any shot and getting them on the team. Being able to bring in the kids of other coaches or hall of fame players is a level this program has never seen. From Keshawn Johnson Sr, Kurt Warner, Les Miles, and Rick Spielman. this staff has done an outstanding job of taking relationships and turned them into recruits and relationships that can be huge for this program. These endorsements of Mike Riley and what he’s done for the football program and the University of Nebraska should not be overlooked. We seen how this created a chance for Tanner Lee to transfer to Nebraska. TL is a legit NFL QB Draft prospect. Mix that in with a couple WR's (Morgan & Spielman) and RB's (Bryant & Ozigbo) being drafted, this program will be at the top in a few short years with some patients. When you get talented skilled positions it will be much easier to get talented OL to block, as NFL QB's need NFL OL to block for them. Welcome back Husker Pipeline.
The relationship and openness with the media and the fans. Let's be honest, you couldn't go anywhere but up from where it was. This is a very big bright spot in terms of being a fan. These coaches are open and honest about their evaluations with media and the fans. There's no fuming and tantrums being thrown. This is repairing the brand of Husker Football in many people's eyes. This creates a team that people can cheer for on Saturday's because you know there is integrity behind the brand.
Stability, Riley is a rock that coaches like to learn from. He is known and well respected in coaching circles. He is a guy who doesn't peak or crash. He's seen it all and gives a lot of wisdom, which he is happy to share. That is not common among head coaches. Stability creates a platform you can build anything. We've seen that he's not afraid to make changes to his staff if called for. Have we seen that in the past 10 years? When he’s looking for staff replacements he’s getting professionals who are the best at what they do and fit this program.
He has vision and has the ability for others around him to see that vision. From coaches to players to recruits they all see the vision of what it supposed to happen. This is a guy who can build a platform for any coach behind him to succeed using Nebraska's resources. He's creating a template to succeed here.
As for Frost, I think he's enjoying his role at UCF. That is good. He's able to learn to recruit as a HC and create a plan for the future. It would be smart for him not to rush into a Power 5 program. This is a great platform for him to learn to succeed as a HC. Let him create his relationships, his systems, and his schemes like he likes to run them. Let him take a kid to the NFL draft and watch him succeed at the next level. Cause if and when he gets to Power 5 school 4 &5* recruits are going to ask you for proof of your success and you can't say " I've won some games in the American Athletic Conference." Even if you've taken a team from 0-12 to undefeated doesn't mean you can get a kid into the NFL. In order to succeed in the Power 5 he needs proof of concept to get top recruits. Let Frost learn how to build recruiting classes that win championships. Let him learn in a good learning environment. I don't think Nebraska is a good learning environment for a new Head Coaches, ie. Solich, and Pelini even Callahan (found out college and NFL are very different). Let SF learn how to play and beat ranked teams without pressure of his job on the line.
When all is said and done as Riley steps aside after rebuilding Husker football to a respectable level and talent rich, Scott Frost can step right in with confidence and program designed to succeed. This will give any fan the ability so see a talented Husker grown Head Coach come in with prior success and a program ready for him to succeed on all levels.
This would be Husker utopia in my eyes. And yes, given the right AD and patients from those at top I think this is a possibility.
Riley has in many ways righted the ship of Husker Football. We may not see it on the field in W's and L's just yet but he's built an infrastructure for the future. He's made it cool to play at Nebraska for kids all across the nation. The past 3 coaches would not have been able to step foot on IMG's campus let alone pull a recruit from there. From recruiting, the professional relationships, to social media. The professional relationships are nothing to take lightly. If you fire Riley before his due time in their eyes, Husker football will lose even more credibility nationally, from which it may never recover fully.
The recruiting and talent evaluation portion is key. Developing the Friday night lights camp is huge and the coaches dedication to get in front and make relationships is a strong point of this staff. With the top recruits it’s paramount for Nebraska to keep this momentum to have any shot and getting them on the team. Being able to bring in the kids of other coaches or hall of fame players is a level this program has never seen. From Keshawn Johnson Sr, Kurt Warner, Les Miles, and Rick Spielman. this staff has done an outstanding job of taking relationships and turned them into recruits and relationships that can be huge for this program. These endorsements of Mike Riley and what he’s done for the football program and the University of Nebraska should not be overlooked. We seen how this created a chance for Tanner Lee to transfer to Nebraska. TL is a legit NFL QB Draft prospect. Mix that in with a couple WR's (Morgan & Spielman) and RB's (Bryant & Ozigbo) being drafted, this program will be at the top in a few short years with some patients. When you get talented skilled positions it will be much easier to get talented OL to block, as NFL QB's need NFL OL to block for them. Welcome back Husker Pipeline.
The relationship and openness with the media and the fans. Let's be honest, you couldn't go anywhere but up from where it was. This is a very big bright spot in terms of being a fan. These coaches are open and honest about their evaluations with media and the fans. There's no fuming and tantrums being thrown. This is repairing the brand of Husker Football in many people's eyes. This creates a team that people can cheer for on Saturday's because you know there is integrity behind the brand.
Stability, Riley is a rock that coaches like to learn from. He is known and well respected in coaching circles. He is a guy who doesn't peak or crash. He's seen it all and gives a lot of wisdom, which he is happy to share. That is not common among head coaches. Stability creates a platform you can build anything. We've seen that he's not afraid to make changes to his staff if called for. Have we seen that in the past 10 years? When he’s looking for staff replacements he’s getting professionals who are the best at what they do and fit this program.
He has vision and has the ability for others around him to see that vision. From coaches to players to recruits they all see the vision of what it supposed to happen. This is a guy who can build a platform for any coach behind him to succeed using Nebraska's resources. He's creating a template to succeed here.
As for Frost, I think he's enjoying his role at UCF. That is good. He's able to learn to recruit as a HC and create a plan for the future. It would be smart for him not to rush into a Power 5 program. This is a great platform for him to learn to succeed as a HC. Let him create his relationships, his systems, and his schemes like he likes to run them. Let him take a kid to the NFL draft and watch him succeed at the next level. Cause if and when he gets to Power 5 school 4 &5* recruits are going to ask you for proof of your success and you can't say " I've won some games in the American Athletic Conference." Even if you've taken a team from 0-12 to undefeated doesn't mean you can get a kid into the NFL. In order to succeed in the Power 5 he needs proof of concept to get top recruits. Let Frost learn how to build recruiting classes that win championships. Let him learn in a good learning environment. I don't think Nebraska is a good learning environment for a new Head Coaches, ie. Solich, and Pelini even Callahan (found out college and NFL are very different). Let SF learn how to play and beat ranked teams without pressure of his job on the line.
When all is said and done as Riley steps aside after rebuilding Husker football to a respectable level and talent rich, Scott Frost can step right in with confidence and program designed to succeed. This will give any fan the ability so see a talented Husker grown Head Coach come in with prior success and a program ready for him to succeed on all levels.
This would be Husker utopia in my eyes. And yes, given the right AD and patients from those at top I think this is a possibility.
