New NU coach Scott Frost is expected to receive a 7-year, $35-million contract, which would rank third in the Big Ten.
Nebraska was expected to open its checkbook for the next football coach. It did.
New Husker coach Scott Frost has agreed to a seven-year, $35 million contract, which would make him the highest-paid coach in Nebraska history.
The annual salary would rank third in the Big Ten behind Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh and Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, according to USA Today. Frost’s deal also would place him No. 10 nationally, behind Texas’ Tom Herman at $5.48 million and TCU’s Gary Patterson at $5.1 million. Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz has a 2017 base salary of $4.55 million, 13th-highest.
Harbaugh’s contract pays him $7 million and Meyer’s deal pays $6.43 million a year. Former Husker coach Mike Riley received $2.9 million in 2017, ranking 41st among collegiate coaches.
Alabama coach Nick Saban, a winner of five national championships, earns a base salary of $11.13 million. Dabo Swinney, the Clemson coach who beat Saban in the national title game last January, makes $8.53 million, the second-highest salary in the country, according to USA Today. It’s been reported that new Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher will receive a 10-year, fully-guaranteed deal worth $75 million, which would place him near the top of the salary rankings.
Frost’s seven-year contract matches the longest in Nebraska history. Men’s basketball coach Tim Miles also received a seven-year deal in 2012.
NU Athletic Director Bill Moos said after Riley was fired that he would examine the market and see whether Nebraska’s compensation package is competitive.
“I can remember not that long ago — probably about 20 years ago — there were only three or four college football coaches making $1 million per year. That has changed quite dramatically since then,” Moos said in a recent interview.
Timeline: Scott Frost's journey to becoming Nebraska's football coach
Scott Frost is coming home. Follow his journey from Wood River, Nebraska to Husker coach.
Jan. 4, 1975: Scott Frost was born to parents Larry and Carol. Larry, pictured back left, played football at Nebraska under Bob Devaney. Carol, back center, was the first female Olympian from Nebraska and competed in the discus at the 1968 Mexico City Games. Older brother Steve, back right, played football at Colorado State and Stanford.
1989-93: Scott Frost was a multi-sport athlete at Wood River High School. He was a Parade All-American in football and broke several records that still stand today, including career yardage (11,095) and touchdowns (146). He was also a state champion in the shot put as a senior, winning the all-class gold medal.
1993-94: Despite being recruited by Tom Osborne and Nebraska, Scott Frost chose to go to Stanford and play for former San Francisco 49ers coach Bill Walsh. He spent two seasons there before transferring back to Nebraska.
Sept. 21, 1996: In Scott Frost’s second game as the starting quarterback, Nebraska saw its 26-game winning streak come to an end with a 19-0 loss at Arizona State. Frost completed 6 of 21 passes for 66 yards and was sacked for a safety on his final play of the night.
Dec. 7, 1996: Nebraska was back in the national title discussion after winning its next nine games following the Arizona State loss. The Huskers would fall in the Big 12 championship game to Texas, though, before Scott Frost capped his first season as a Husker with an 11-2 record and a victory over Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl.
Sept. 20, 1997: Scott Frost ran for 97 yards and two touchdowns to defeat No. 2 Washington. The Huskers would reenter the top three of the national rankings and beat another ranked opponent, No. 17 Kansas State, the following week.
Nov. 8, 1997: Scott Frost and the Huskers salvaged their undefeated season at Missouri thanks to the “Flea Kicker.” Matt Davison made a diving catch off a tipped and kicked pass thrown by Frost as time expired to force overtime. NU won the game 45-38.
Jan. 2, 1998: Scott Frost outdueled Peyton Manning as Nebraska dominated Tennessee to win the Orange Bowl and stake its claim for a national championship. Frost is still remembered for his impassioned plea to voters in the coaches poll: “If you can look yourself in the mirror and say if your job depended on playing either Michigan or Nebraska, who would you rather play?” The coaches listened and voted Nebraska No. 1, making the Huskers co-national champs.
Dec. 27, 2002: Scott Frost got his first taste of coaching when he served as a Nebraska graduate assistant for the Independence Bowl against Ole Miss. Frost was on injured reserve with the Green Bay Packers at the time and would return to the NFL the following season before retiring in 2004.
March 2006: Scott Frost landed his first coaching gig when Ron Prince hired him to be a defensive graduate assistant at Kansas State, working with the defensive backs under coordinator Raheem Morris, who coached Frost with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
February 2007: Scott Frost got his first full-time coaching job as linebackers coach at Northern Iowa. He spent three seasons there and was promoted to co-defensive coordinator in 2008.
Nov. 24, 2017: Scott Frost clinched a spot in the American Athletic Conference championship game by defeating South Florida. The win capped off an undefeated regular season for a team that went 0-12 the season before he arrived.
Dec. 2, 2017: Scott Frost leads UCF to a 62-55 double overtime win against Memphis in the AAC championship.
How would you grade Nebraska's hiring of Scott Frost?
The Huskers announced Saturday that Scott Frost would be the program's next football coach. How do you grade the hire?
