Devaney later joined the Michigan State staff in 1953 and became head coach at Wyoming in 1957 before landing at Nebraska. Mike remembers a picture in his dad’s office of two bums sitting by railroad tracks, with one of them captioned as saying, “ …and then I lost my sixth game to Kent State.”
That, Mike said, always served his father as a reminder of his roots.
Bob Devaney, who served as Nebraska Director of Athletics from 1967-1993, was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1981. He died in 1997, the final year of Osborne’s coaching career, one that culminated in a national championship – with Frost at quarterback.
Today, Frost, beginning his first season as head coach, inherits a program with losing records in two of its last three seasons. He’s already instilled confidence and begun changing the culture, all the while emphasizing training and weightlifting. Frost has unyielding fan support and sees an opportunity to win a championship that wasn’t realistically possible to deliver at his previous school.
Mike Devaney thinks the similarities are uncanny. Even from his home today in Scottsdale, Arizona, he can feel the energy and enthusiasm Frost has brought to Lincoln.
“I really do think he’s going to do a great job,” Mike Devaney said. “I’m really looking forward to the season.”