• You do not need to register if you are not going to pay the yearly fee to post. If you register please click here or log in go to "settings" then "my account" then "User Upgrades" and you can renew.

HuskerMax readers can save 50% on  Omaha Steaks .

UCF...the worst thing possible

coherbie said:
Pat Fitzgerald, who everyone seemingly praises at every opportunity, had zero coordinator or head coaching experience when his HC (Randy Walker) tragically passed away... & the LB coach was promoted & given the reigns to the program (at age 32).

Faith & Patience prevailed, as he guided and molded a previously bowl eligible program to being a respected & competitive member of the conference.

Folks in Lincoln need to stop trying to "catch lightning in a bottle" & circumvent the hard work, patience & determination needed to become an elite program once again... & allow our own alum a chance to learn, develop & lead us back to prominence. :Sign2cents:
Click to expand...


Fitzgerald was a great LB at Northwestern in the mid-90s, so he was already familiar with B1G Ten football before he ever began his coaching career (started at Maryland as a graduate assistant in 1998). He was hired by Walker in 2001 as DB/LB coach, so he had @5 years of learning from a well-respected head coach. Many who followed Northwestern football back then know Fitzgerald was being considered as Walker's eventual successor. When Walker unexpectedly passed away in June 2006, Fitzgerald was promoted to head coach. Several Walker-era assistants remained on Fitzgerald's coaching staff for many years.

Neither Frost nor anyone on his staff from UCF had any material experience with/knowledge about B1G Ten football when they arrived in Lincoln. Well, perhaps Frost can recall preparing for the 2014 Ohio State team that rolled Oregon in the CFP Championship. The biggest issue I had with Frost when he became head coach at Nebraska -- he didn't hire (or retain) an assistant or 2 who had solid B1G Ten experience/knowledge/recruiting connections. Big mistake, IMO. A successful head coach hires great assistants and then delegates responsibilities to them (expectations & accountability are also part of the deal).

Unfortunately, we live in an instant gratification / "what have you done for me lately" society. Patience and hard work are distinctly foreign concepts to some (fans, boosters, coaches, players, etc.). Alas, fans who expect Nebraska to be in the running for a national championship every season because that happened most years during the 80s & 90s are stuck in a time warp. Media rights money, TV/social media platforms and demographics have radically impacted the fortunes of all Power 5 programs. As a result, overall the current era of college football is far more competitive than it ever has been.

That being said, it's not unreasonable for fans to expect to see year-over-year tangible progress, even if the results are not realized in the W-L record. Reduce the mental mistakes and silly penalties. Line up properly on defense and maintain gap integrity. Don't waste time outs. Have more all-conference selections & players drafted by NFL teams. Get more playmakers onto the field.
 

coherbie said:
Pat Fitzgerald, who everyone seemingly praises at every opportunity, had zero coordinator or head coaching experience when his HC (Randy Walker) tragically passed away... & the LB coach was promoted & given the reigns to the program (at age 32).

Faith & Patience prevailed, as he guided and molded a previously bowl eligible program to being a respected & competitive member of the conference.

Folks in Lincoln need to stop trying to "catch lightning in a bottle" & circumvent the hard work, patience & determination needed to become an elite program once again... & allow our own alum a chance to learn, develop & lead us back to prominence. :Sign2cents:
Click to expand...

Pat Fitzgerald proved himself by his third season -- winning 9 games, which was more than Randy Walker ever won in any of his 7 seasons. Randy Walker was fine given the history of Northwestern football -- but he was 37-45 at Northwestern with only three winning seasons out of seven.

Personally, I don't care at all if our coach is an alum or not. And no coach should get free passes simply because he's an alum.

I suppose Frost could eventually turn it around. But I think it's at least as possible he tanks Nebraska to a level not seen since pre-Devaney -- but in a conference that is commonly much better from top to bottom than the old Big 8, making a rise back to being a successful program much more challenging.

We've always clearly had the top recruiting classes in the Big Ten West since joining the conference. That's fading rapidly. Wisconsin has surpassed us -- and consistently beats us with lesser raw talent out of high school. Iowa is right with us in the 2021 class now. Minnesota currently has five 4-stars with verbals, one more than Nebraska. Purdue is also attracting higher-ranked classes now than they were pre-Brohm. We have struggled even with the better recruiting classes -- because we keep getting out-coached. What happens when these teams that out-coach us now also have more talent? I'm basically saying that patience can only go on so long before you've dug yourself such a hole it's going to be very difficult to escape.
 
Last edited:
Most successful leaders suffer through and learn from their mistakes, which, I suppose bodes well for Frost's future as he is certainly making his share of mistakes at Nebraska.

Prior to Nebraska, Frost know nothing but success, which I believe gave him a false sense of confidence. He needed more guidance and experience than what he came with. Both the program and Frost are suffering from his easy and short term success at UCF.
 



HuskerWeatherman said:
Pat Fitzgerald proved himself by his third season -- winning 9 games, which was more than Randy Walker ever won in any of his 7 seasons. Randy Walker was fine given the history of Northwestern football -- but he was 37-45 at Northwestern with only three winning seasons out of seven.

Personally, I don't care at all if our coach is an alum or not. And no coach should get free passes simply because he's an alum.

I suppose Frost could eventually turn it around. But I think it's at least as possible he tanks Nebraska to a level not seen since pre-Devaney -- but in a conference that is commonly much better from top to bottom than the old Big 8, making a rise back to being a successful program much more challenging.

We've always clearly had the top recruiting classes in the Big Ten West since joining the conference. That's fading rapidly. Wisconsin has surpassed us -- and consistently beats us with lesser raw talent out of high school. Iowa is right with us in the 2021 class now. Minnesota currently has five 4-stars with verbals, one more than Nebraska. Purdue is also attracting higher-ranked classes now than they were pre-Brohm. We have struggled even with the better recruiting classes -- because we keep getting out-coached. What happens when these teams that out-coach us now also have more talent? I'm basically saying that patience can only go on so long before you've dug yourself such a hole it's going to be very difficult to escape.
Click to expand...

Context is important - my initial reply was in regard to SF's lack of HC experience, PF was simply brought up as a relative example... an alum, no previous HC experience - aside from complete crash & burn, he's got an unpressured lifetime gig.
Considering PF recruited most of RW's players (being on staff since 2001) + was promoted to a reasonably successful Big Ten program, (not a complete rebuild), doesn't seem magical, but whatever you think... RW replaced Gary Barnett, who won 10 games & took NW to the Rose bowl, love how folks act like PF invented NW football (& don't get me wrong - I like PF a lot - but NW celebrates folks who win 9 games, DONU fires them).

I honestly don't care if our coach is an alum or not either (like i said, the discussion comparison was made because of said similarity), but our current coach happens to be an alum from the glory days, led NU's last NC team... he was chosen & given a long term commitment to right the ship. I believe he deserves time to sort this out, make corrections & adapt - mainly because I for one am tired of continually switching horses mid race & happen to believe the program is improving.

Unlike the superstitious Husker fans during the post Osborne era... broken streaks & depths to which this program has (or may) fall to don't alarm me, but clearly they illustrate just how amazing and consistent Dr Tom & the BobFather were - I appreciate & miss them more each day. But they are not the measuring stick, continuing to use their records as the basis for comparison, led to jettisoning the HC's with the third & fourth most Husker all time victories & some claiming that even a monkey could win 9 at DONU.

All those tiger beat recruiting fans who love their ratings & somehow think their numerical assignments are insanely accurate, (down to 3 or 4 decimal points even) is laughable to me, but whatever works for folks. Avoid the rush & Feel free to keep panicking... it's worked so well the past couple decades... sixth time's probably the charm.
 
Last edited:
UCF is/was lower tier. And UCF v Auburn was a total fluke.

He and his buddies was hired due to fan expectations.

Riley ... 19-19, 2 bowls
$Frost$ ... 10-18, good chance 10-22 final 2020 record, 0 bowls

I say 3 strikes and out

 
Hooked on Huskers said:
UCF is/was lower tier. And UCF v Auburn was a total fluke.

He and his buddies was hired due to fan expectations.

Riley ... 19-19, 2 bowls
$Frost$ ... 10-18, good chance 10-22 final 2020 record, 0 bowls

I say 3 strikes and out

Click to expand...


Wrong. Frost was handed a gutted program. Nobody lifted. Nobody went to class. Soft team. Pelini had handed Riley a consistent 9 win team.

Has Frost had some clunkers, cost us a few games, mismanaged personnel, etc. I am sure he would be the first to tell you yes.

If you burn it down get ready to wait at least another 3-5 years to get back to 7-8 wins.

Frost is far from perfect. He knows it too. But he gets five years. Minimum. We need continuity and he gets 4 recruiting classes, minimum. We have had 5 coaches this century. Stop the merry go round
 
Last edited:
Phillysker said:
Wrong. Frost was handed a gutted program. Nobody lifted. Nobody went to class. Soft team. Pelini had handed Riley a consistent 9 win team.

Has Frost had some clunkers, cost us a few games, mismanaged personnel, etc. I am sure he would be the first to tell you yes.

If you burn it down get ready to wait at least another 3-5 years to get back to 7-8 wins.

Frost is far from perfect. He knows it too. But he gets five years. Minimum. We need continuity and he gets 4 recruiting classes, minimum. We have had 5 coaches this century. Stop the merry go round
Click to expand...
Gutted? Disagree (linky) ..... decent Bootle, Dismuke, Jo Jo, Barry, Davis brothers, Honas, AM, Ozigbo, Morgan Jr, JD Spielman, and some more ..... I believe all MR recruit.

And unique CFB arena, 3 years maximum, not 5 years
 




YUENGLING said:
He’s coaching in the Big Ten he needs to adjust his offense is inconsistent but he’s a smart guy he’s going to figure that out. This has been an absolutely horrible year for everyone the set up for these games is a joke. Making any sense or evaluation of this season is a waste of time.
Click to expand...
Thank you!
 
Phillysker said:
Wrong. Frost was handed a gutted program. Nobody lifted. Nobody went to class. Soft team. Pelini had handed Riley a consistent 9 win team.

Has Frost had some clunkers, cost us a few games, mismanaged personnel, etc. I am sure he would be the first to tell you yes.

If you burn it down get ready to wait at least another 3-5 years to get back to 7-8 wins.

Frost is far from perfect. He knows it too. But he gets five years. Minimum. We need continuity and he gets 4 recruiting classes, minimum. We have had 5 coaches this century. Stop the merry go round
Click to expand...
Another thank you.
 



Hooked on Huskers said:
Gutted? Disagree (linky) ..... decent Bootle, Dismuke, Jo Jo, Barry, Davis brothers, Honas, AM, Ozigbo, Morgan Jr, JD Spielman, and some more ..... I believe all MR recruit.

And unique CFB arena, 3 years maximum, not 5 years
Click to expand...

Yes. Gutted. I like Jo Jo is decent but many x overpursues. Barry? Pfft. Honas? Not yet and not Riley. Frost recruited AM. Spielman? Done for the year and gone from the program. Morgan was a good player. Ziggy did not put it all together til his senior year. Bootle and Dismuke? Meh. As far as the d line? Looks better this year than last.

Yes. Gutted.
 
Last edited:

I'd agree SF's coaching experience (Pac12 & AAC) has been in finesse leagues & I'm not convinced his current offensive style will work/translate in the B1G - hope he's not too stubborn to adjust/modify moving forward (if not, I doubt this works out long term) - but I remain optimistic there are good times ahead.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

GET TICKETS


Get 50% off on Omaha Steaks

Back
Top