Charles Thompson

[Hville]

I don’t think 9-3 is out of the question. If we are 3-1 after OU we just need to continue winning all the games we are favored to win. Michigan would probably be the only remaining team we wouldn’t be favored in.

 

[Hville]

It's really crazy to me when I think about the number of wins Frost will need to reach to keep his job.

I mean, yeah, they get to 6 wins and go to a bowl for the first time since 2016, that's "progress". But Frost is the one that lowered the bar, should he get the benefit of it to stay around?

I'm taking Year 5 into account if I'm Trev. Is 6-wins progress in Year 5? 6-6 in Year 5 isn't the same as 6-6 in Year 1, Year 2. JMPO, but 6-6 isn't showing me he's the right guy for the job. 6-6 likely means losing to Wisconsin (again) and Iowa (again). Probably losing to Purdue or Minnesota. Two more teams he hasn't done well against. Losses to upper-tier teams like Michigan and Oklahoma (who is also navigating its own regime change).

That's not progress. Playing Toledo in the Quick Lane Bowl in Year 5 is not progress. Not at Nebraska. Not with your resources. Not in Year 5.

IMPO Nebraska has to win 8. That will mean they've beaten a couple of the teams I mentioned above. In Year 5, that has to be the barometer.

Good points. I’d like to see Scott Frost put together a team that can overachieve instead of the four years they have underachieved.

 

[wcbsas]

It would be tough for Trev to fire Frost after he qualifies for his first bowl game. Going from 3 to 6 wins is progress ( not as much as fans want) and I’m not sure you want to tear this down and start over again. There’s not too many seniors especially on offense and the defense should be as good or better than last season. Not saying he wouldn’t be just saying it would be tough.
This Northwestern game is so important for the fans, Frost and the entire team.

Not sure I agree ... 6 wins means a pretty mediocre season losing just about every 50/50 game. I suspect Whipple is interim head coach for the bowl game if NU goes 6-6 in the regular season.

 

[N2FL]

Good points. I’d like to see Scott Frost put together a team that can overachieve instead of the four years they have underachieved.

If he goes 6-6, I'm looking forward to the "It's a new staff" or "he had 30+ new scholarship players" excuses as to why they didn't do better and he needs more time.

Nope. Any staff blowups or roster flips are on Frost. He should have hired a diverse staff from the jump, or at least made changes after 2020 when everyone recognized it and were screaming for it. Fans and media were calling out the coaches that got fired back in 2019 in some cases.

The transfer portal has been around for his entire tenure at Nebraska. Why did he wait until now to take advantage of it?

No, it's Year 5. I'm not excusing anything at this point. If he had winning seasons under his belt, sure. Some coaches have staff shakeups when their program dips or becomes stagnant. But when you've been bad the whole time, that doesn't warrant more time while you take more swings at it. His mulligan has been used. "Needs more time" excuses are tired at this point.

 

[cthusker]

Not sure a 6-6 season buys anything more except more of the same? There plenty of talent to win 8 or even 9 games imo. Frost needs AT LEAST 7 wins to get another bite but no extension even if he's retained with 7 wins. Don't want to see Nebraska locked into another financial disaster (to expensive to fire) if everything goes south in 2023!

Seems like most Husker fans are on the same page (or close) that Frost really needs more than just a .500 season to keep his job.

 

[Burning Bright]

It's really crazy to me when I think about the number of wins Frost will need to reach to keep his job.

I mean, yeah, they get to 6 wins and go to a bowl for the first time since 2016, that's "progress". But Frost is the one that lowered the bar, should he get the benefit of it to stay around?

I'm taking Year 5 into account if I'm Trev. Is 6-wins progress in Year 5? 6-6 in Year 5 isn't the same as 6-6 in Year 1, Year 2. JMPO, but 6-6 isn't showing me he's the right guy for the job. 6-6 likely means losing to Wisconsin (again) and Iowa (again). Probably losing to Purdue or Minnesota. Two more teams he hasn't done well against. Losses to upper-tier teams like Michigan and Oklahoma (who is also navigating its own regime change).

That's not progress. Playing Toledo in the Quick Lane Bowl in Year 5 is not progress. Not at Nebraska. Not with your resources. Not in Year 5.

IMPO Nebraska has to win 8. That will mean they've beaten a couple of the teams I mentioned above. In Year 5, that has to be the barometer.

Agreed. If it takes Year 5 to barely get bowl eligible, putting his overall record here at 21-35 or 22-34, why would any AD (who is serious about winning) retain Frost? For me personally, given the ease of the schedule, he’s got to scratch of 8 wins AND go 2-2 in November. Anything less than that is a pink slip on November 26th and a coaching search immediately after.

 

[goodnterribles]

Agreed. If it takes Year 5 to barely get bowl eligible, putting his overall record here at 21-35 or 22-34, why would any AD (who is serious about winning) retain Frost? For me personally, given the ease of the schedule, he’s got to scratch of 8 wins AND go 2-2 in November. Anything less than that is a pink slip on November 26th and a coaching search immediately after.

See, this is where it gets dicey with me when talking about ultimatums involving W/L record. What if they go 8-4 with a win over OU, but only go 1-3 down the stretch? What if Thompson (assumiing he's the starter) gets hurts in November and the offense struggles?
I agree with you that 8 wins should be the minimum benchmark, but there are so many different ways to judge how successful a season is. Here's hoping there is no wiggle room this year, either good or bad.

 

[Bigger Ed]

See, this is where it gets dicey with me when talking about ultimatums involving W/L record. What if they go 8-4 with a win over OU, but only go 1-3 down the stretch? What if Thompson (assumiing he's the starter) gets hurts in November and the offense struggles?
I agree with you that 8 wins should be the minimum benchmark, but there are so many different ways to judge how successful a season is. Here's hoping there is no wiggle room this year, either good or bad.

Good point. Let's say the minimum number of wins is 6. What if we go 6-0 and tank the rest of the season? What if we make it to 8-4 this year but revert to 5-7 in '23? What if we go 7-5 but somehow win the West?
How much weight is given to the "eye test," as in, "yeah, we won 8 games but only won 7 of those by one possession?" Or have another "we were close" year? What if we have a winning record but lose two blowouts?

Well, look at lifetime record. Pat Fitzgerald, who most here would agree is a pretty darn good coach. His first 6 years at Northwestern, he had a .526 winning percentage. Know what he is lifetime at Northwestern? .548 Frost is .486 in his 6 years as head coach (including a 13-0 season!) I know this isn't scientific with an extremely sparse data set, but it's a pretty good bet Frost isn't going to improve much over time, despite what he might be able to do this year.

So, what do we use to judge whether Frost should stay or not? IMO, his history as head coach should be enough, and it looks pretty bleak.

 

[goodnterribles]

Good point. Let's say the minimum number of wins is 6. What if we go 6-0 and tank the rest of the season? What if we make it to 8-4 this year but revert to 5-7 in '23? What if we go 7-5 but somehow win the West?
How much weight is given to the "eye test," as in, "yeah, we won 8 games but only won 7 of those by one possession?" Or have another "we were close" year? What if we have a winning record but lose two blowouts?

Well, look at lifetime record. Pat Fitzgerald, who most here would agree is a pretty darn good coach. His first 6 years at Northwestern, he had a .526 winning percentage. Know what he is lifetime at Northwestern? .548 Frost is .486 in his 6 years as head coach (including a 13-0 season!) I know this isn't scientific with an extremely sparse data set, but it's a pretty good bet Frost isn't going to improve much over time, despite what he might be able to do this year.

So, what do we use to judge whether Frost should stay or not? IMO, his history as head coach should be enough, and it looks pretty bleak.

Well his past seasons at NU should only be used as criteria if it's not a clear cut decision. 6-6, 7-5 type of season, you unfortunately have to take into account his previous 4 years and fire him. 8 wins or more and he's safe.

 

[Bigger Ed]

Well his past seasons at NU should only be used as criteria if it's not a clear cut decision. 6-6, 7-5 type of season, you unfortunately have to take into account his previous 4 years and fire him. 8 wins or more and he's safe.

You could be right. My guess is that 6 wins and a bowl game keeps him at NU.

 

[dwc13]

IMO, Frost will be evaluated based upon how the team fares in 2022 (compared with 2021 to assess progress) -- rather than what a traditional Blue Blood program (ideally) should look like in year 5 of a coach's tenure. This will give the AD maximum flexibility to assess the situation going forward. The moves at the end of 2021 amounted to hitting the reset button, albeit with a much shorter evaluation period going forward. Keep in mind the evaluation process also involves the recent additions to the coaching staff and they're going to get the benefit of the doubt given their very recent hire.

In the end, everyone on this forum wants to see the program recruit well and consistently play tough, smart, fundamentally-sound, mistake-free football. Do that and the record will take care of itself.

 

[Hville]

Well his past seasons at NU should only be used as criteria if it's not a clear cut decision. 6-6, 7-5 type of season, you unfortunately have to take into account his previous 4 years and fire him. 8 wins or more and he's safe.

And here is where we don’t agree again but on opposite. I’m not sure it takes 8 to keep him. In the right case I’m fine with 6-7 if there is something to the eye test. I just don’t like the previous 4 years because it seemed like there was too much dysfunction in too many areas. That is the part I want to see stop. We get a cleaner look at 6-7 but also get some close bad bounces I’d be alright keeping him.

Last year was a bunch of close games but it was dysfunctional rather than bad luck.

 

[goodnterribles]

And here is where we don’t agree again but on opposite. I’m not sure it takes 8 to keep him. In the right case I’m fine with 6-7 if there is something to the eye test. I just don’t like the previous 4 years because it seemed like there was too much dysfunction in too many areas. That is the part I want to see stop. We get a cleaner look at 6-7 but also get some close bad bounces I’d be alright keeping him.

Last year was a bunch of close games but it was dysfunctional rather than bad luck.

Please don't take this as a shot against you, but after the past few years, I can't believe that you would be ok with a 6 or 7 win season, regardless of how it looks. I'll be honest, I don't think I would be ok with a 6 or 7 win season at this point. There has to be some kind of defining moment that the program is headed in an upwards direction as opposed to being stuck in place.

 

[Hville]

Please don't take this as a shot against you, but after the past few years, I can't believe that you would be ok with a 6 or 7 win season, regardless of how it looks. I'll be honest, I don't think I would be ok with a 6 or 7 win season at this point. There has to be some kind of defining moment that the program is headed in an upwards direction as opposed to being stuck in place.

Don’t take this as a shot but I’ve tried to figure out how you have been so supportive of the 15-29 and now demand 8 wins. I’m not sure why I should be the one that needs to be figured out. But since you did describe wanting some kind of defining moment I did state 6-7 wins had to come with the eye test.

 

[goodnterribles]

Don’t take this as a shot but I’ve tried to figure out how you have been so supportive of the 15-29 and now demand 8 wins. I’m not sure why I should be the one that needs to be figured out. But since you did describe wanting some kind of defining moment I did state 6-7 wins had to come with the eye test.

I've never been supportive of 15-29. Most of what you view that as support is in response to your posts. But regardless, I'm not going to rehash 2 years worth of arguments.
I'm just surprised, after tons of critical posts, that you would accept 6 or 7 wins as improvement.