Tag: Scott Frost

Former USC defensive coordinator gets new job

Wisconsin’s defense wasn’t great with Alex Grinch on staff in 2024. Now UCF and Scott Frost are taking a chance on Grinch in Orlando. This will be a wild ride.

A little over a year after getting fired by USC football, Alex Grinch is a defensive coordinator once again.

On Tuesday morning, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that Grinch will be the new defensive coordinator at UCF. He will serve under new head coach Scott Frost, who returns to Orlando after leading the Knights to an undefeated season in 2017 before departing for Nebraska.

Grinch was hired by Lincoln Riley as Oklahoma’s defensive coordinator prior to the 2019 season. When Riley left Norman for Los Angeles in November 2021, Grinch was one of the first assistant coaches to follow him.

However, Grinch’s USC tenure was a disaster. His 2023 defensive was the worst statistical unit in school history, with the Trojans allowing 28 or more points in all but two games. Following a 52-42 loss to Washington last season, in which the Huskies racked up 572 yards of total offense, Grinch was fired by USC.

This past season, Grinch served as the safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator at Wisconsin. He returned to the Coliseum with the Badgers on September 28. Against Grinch’s unit, USC quarterback Miller Moss threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-21 Trojans victory.

Now, he is in charge of a defense once again.

Wisconsin safeties coach leaves for Big 12 defensive coordinator position

Wisconsin safeties coach leaves for Big 12 defensive coordinator position

Wisconsin safeties coach Alex Grinch was named the new defensive coordinator at UCF on Tuesday.

Grinch departs after one season with the Badgers. He was the defensive coordinator at USC (2022-2023) and Oklahoma (2019-2021) under coach Lincoln Riley.

The veteran assistant is a two-time semifinalist (2017, 2019) for the Broyles Award, which is awarded to the top assistant coach in college football. He was also a well-known defensive coordinator for all of the wrong reasons during his time with the Sooners and Trojans. His defenses ranked among the worst in the nation for an extended period.

  • 2023 (at USC, though was fired midway through the year): No. 119 in total defense with 432.8 yards allowed per game, No. 121 in scoring defense (34.4 points allowed per game)
  • 2022 (at USC): No. 106 in total defense (423.9 yards allowed), No. 93 in scoring defense (29.2 points)
  • 2021 (at Oklahoma): No. 76 in total defense (391.5 yards allowed), No. 59 in scoring defense (25.8 points)

He gets another shot at leading a defense, joining a UCF staff under new coach Scott Frost — yes, former Nebraska coach Scott Frost.

Wisconsin will search for a new safeties coach entering the 2025 season. It will be Luke Fickell’s third safeties coach in as many years: Colin Hitschler held the position in 2023 before moving to Alabama.

The Badgers already made one staff change this offseason: hiring offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes from Kansas. Given the program’s top-down turnover of the last four seasons, continuity will be a good thing moving forward.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion.

The last 31 opening day quarterbacks for Nebraska

Take a trip down memory lane!!

With the recent news that the Nebraska Cornhuskers will start true freshman Dylan Raiola at quarterback when the season opens on August 31, it’s time to take a trip down memory lane and look back at the history of Nebraska’s starting quarterbacks.

The Huskers have a long line of memorable starting quarterbacks. The program features QBs that have won the Heisman, the Walter Camp Trophy, the Davey O’Brien Award, and the Johnny Unitas Award.

There were a few names I had forgotten were once starters for the Huskers, but the list contains a few memorable players and Nebraska football legends.

Scroll below and take a look at Nebraska’s starting quarterback history.

Scott Frost joining Rams coaching staff

Scott Frost to the NFL…

The college football coaching carousel is still spinning, somewhat. On Sunday, a surprising report came that former Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Scott Frost got a new gig.

Per reports, Frost is joining Sean McVay’s staff with the Los Angeles Rams. Here’s what Danny Jaillet and Evan Bredeson of Cornhuskers Wire wrote.

“The Los Angeles Rams have hired former Nebraska football coach Scott Frost as a senior football analyst, Sports Illustrated’s Pete Thamel first reported the news. Frost has not had a coaching job since being fired by Nebraska on September 11, 2022.”

“The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue reports (subscription required) that Frost will hold a variety of staff roles, including special teams, where the Rams currently have a vacancy. She also reports that Frost spent time with the Rams in OTAs and training camp and that the move had been in the works for several days.”

Frost’s time in Lincoln did not go well, but now he makes his way to the NFL in hopes of revamping his career.

Scott Frost will have a wide-ranging role with the Rams

Sean McVay shared a little bit about what Scott Frost’s role will be with the Rams

Sean McVay loves bringing coaches onto his staff from the collegiate level, doing so in the past with Jedd Fisch, Jimmy Lake and several others. Former UCF and Nebraska head coach Scott Frost is the latest to join McVay in Los Angeles, a move that was confirmed on Monday ahead of the Rams’ season opener.

McVay is excited to have Frost on his staff, sharing a little bit about what his role will be. He’ll primarily help on special teams, which makes sense after the Rams let assistant Chili Davis go last week, but he’ll also assist on offense and defense, too.

He’ll help Chase [Blackburn] out with special teams, but he’ll also have involvement on offense and defense,” McVay said. “Just to be able to get a quality caliber coach like him in the building – as you guys know, we’ve had a lot of turnover for the right reasons and you can’t have enough good quality people in-house. Really to get him in and it was something that he wanted to do. Like I said, the mutual connections. There’s a lot of people that are excited about it.”

Frost led UCF to a 13-0 record in just his second season in 2017 before being hired as Nebraska’s head coach in 2018, but he didn’t have as much success in Lincoln. He finished his five-year tenure there with a record of 16-31, never reaching a bowl game and only cracking the AP top 25 poll once at No. 24.

After a year out of coaching in 2023, he’s back in the mix with the Rams this year and McVay is excited about it.

Rams expected to hire former Nebraska coach Scott Frost as senior analyst

The Rams are expected to hire former Nebraska head coach Scott Frost to their coaching staff

The regular season is right around the corner but the Los Angeles Rams are still filling out their coaching staff. As he has several times before, Sean McVay is hiring from the college ranks.

According to Pete Thamel, the Rams are expected to hire Scott Frost as a senior football analyst. Frost was Nebraska’s head coach from 2018-2022 and previously coached at UCF, as well.

He led UCF to a perfect 13-0 record in his final season there in 2017. At Nebraska, the Cornhuskers went 16-31 in five seasons under Frost, never finishing with more than five wins.

It’s unclear what his responsibilities with the Rams will be but it’s yet another smart coach on McVay’s staff.

https://twitter.com/petethamel/status/1830304438797336773?s=46&t=fgDogtcDi8RPcJCwAy4V7g

Why one Commanders rookie might surprise in a few years

Don’t sleep on wide receiver Luke McCaffrey, who could prove to be a steal.

It’s only minicamp, but one Commanders rookie is a real prospect.

Yes, the vast majority of the attention will go to quarterback Jayden Daniels. However, one other first-year player might gain more attention in time.

Former Rice wide receiver Luke McCaffrey is not your typical receiver coming out of college.

McCaffrey’s dad, Ed, was an NFL wide receiver from 1991-2003 with the Giants, 49ers and Broncos. His older brother Christian is one of the best dual-threat running backs in the NFL.

McCaffrey learned to pass a lot at a young age to his older brother and loved being a high school quarterback. He signed to play at Nebraska, where he would play for former Cornhuskers quarterback Scott Frost.

However, McCaffrey saw action in only 11 games as quarterback at Nebraska for two seasons, passing for three touchdowns and six interceptions. He did rush for 530 yards, averaging 6.0 per carry.

So he transferred to Rice, which he thought might be a better opportunity. Completing only 31 of his 62 attempts with two touchdowns and four interceptions led to another major change — not the transfer portal, but changing positions in the Rice offense.

He had never played receiver, yet he made the move for his final two seasons with the Owls. He amassed 71 receptions for 992 yards, averaging 14.0 per reception in his final college season.

The point is, how many NFL rookies have played their position for only two seasons?

No question, Commanders general manager Adam Peters had this as his focus in drafting McCaffrey.

Barring injury, he could really improve as he continues to gain experience at his new position. And don’t overlook the fact that his old position was quarterback. Consequently, he will understand the position from a quarterback perspective as well.

Certainly Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson are much more experienced, but McCaffrey is still learning the position. His ceiling might be higher than we are expecting for a receiver from Rice.

Former Husker coach hired as Nevada’s offensive coordinator

It’s time for the next stop for a former Husker coach!

A former Nebraska Offensive Coordinator has been hired for the same position at Nevada. Former coach Matt Lubick was announced as the team’s offensive coordinator by head coach Jeff Choate on Monday.

Lubick was only a wide receiver coach and offensive coordinator with the Huskers for the 2020 and 2021 seasons before being dismissed. Prior to arriving in Lincoln, he had spent two seasons at Washington and the four seasons before that at Oregon, where he coached with Scott Frost.

For the last couple of seasons, Lubick has been a senior analyst at Kansas. He was diagnosed with leukemia last October and has been undergoing treatment.

Nevada head coach Jeff Choate is excited to see his new coordinator emerge from a tough battle.

“Matt has obviously had a long battle, and it’s really gratifying to see him come out the other end. One of the things he talked about with our team was gratitude, how grateful he was for the opportunity to coach at Nevada. And I can say the same thing—I’m extremely grateful that Matt is going to be our offensive coordinator. We’re very excited to have him in a position where he can engage with us now. Matt’s an extremely accomplished coach and an even better person, and I’m looking forward to what he’s able to bring.”

Choate will be entering his first season at Nevada after serving as Texas’ defensive coordinator for the last three years.

Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinions.

Looking back at the Nebraska career of Luke McCaffrey following surprising revelation

One of the many ‘what ifs?’ of the Scott Frost era.

Former Nebraska quarterback Luke McCaffrey recently set the record straight in regard to his time with the Cornhuskers. The wide receiver for the Rice Owls told 93.7 The Ticket that he was never asked to make the position switch at Nebraska despite the rumors on social media.

“Every once in a while somebody will talk about how ‘he (McCaffrey) wouldn’t switch at Nebraska’ and little things like that. But it’s funny because there was never any talk about me switching (positions) at Nebraska. I never got asked to.”

Last season, McCaffrey had 71 receptions for 992 yards and 13 touchdowns in 13 games for the Rice Owls. He would play for Nebraska for the 2019 and 2020 seasons before transferring to Louisville and then Rice.

During his time as a Husker, McCaffrey threw for 608 yards with three touchdowns and six interceptions. He also ran for 530 yards and four touchdowns in 11 games.

McCaffrey is currently projected as a third-round pick in the latest mock draft from NFL.com. He’s been linked with the San Francisco 49ers, where his brother, Christian, is the starting running back.

Find a photo gallery of Luke McCaffrey’s Nebraska career below.

Former Husker quarterback says he was never asked to switch positions

The former Husker said the popular rumor about his career in Lincoln, isn’t true.

A former Nebraska quarterback is setting the record straight about his time with the Cornhuskers. Luke McCaffrey played for Nebraska for the 2019 and 2020 seasons before transferring to Louisville and then Rice.

While with the Owls, the former quarterback made the switch to wide receiver. McCaffrey had 71 receptions for 992 yards and 13 touchdowns in 13 games for Rice this past season.

While appearing on 93.7 The Ticket with host and former Husker Adam Carriker, McCaffrey discussed the switch from quarterback to wide receiver and why the switch never happened at Nebraska. McCaffrey said the answer is easy: He was never asked.

“Every once in a while, somebody will talk about how ‘he (McCaffrey) wouldn’t switch at Nebraska’ and little things like that. But it’s funny because there was never any talk about me switching (positions) at Nebraska. I never got asked to.”

McCaffrey was a four-star recruit out of high school who chose Nebraska over Colorado, Michigan, Ohio State, and Mississippi. He played for Nebraska for the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

During his time as a Husker, he would throw for 608 yards with three touchdowns and six interceptions. McCaffrey would also run for 530 yards and four touchdowns.

The latest mock draft from NFL.com has McCaffrey selected in the third round by the San Francisco 49ers. His brother, Christian, is currently the Niners‘ starting running back.

Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinions.