That's the question I got from an FSU fan I work with today regarding Scott Frost's potential employment by the University of Nebraska. "Why?"
Like most competitive people, Frost is driven. He wants to win. He wants to improve himself, his family's position in life and be the best at what he does. I get it. I was it. Different business, but similar choice.
Why would he say no?
I have to step back twenty years when I had an opportunity to step into the 'big time' in my business. I owned and operated my own business. Was successful in that my family didn't want or need anything I couldn't provide. I enjoyed what I did, had many repeat clients and was able to spend time with my wife and kids. I had hobbies I enjoyed on occasion. Then came an offer from a large, multi billion dollar firm to take a step up in every single way as it relates to what I do. More money, bigger, more complex projects, bigger bonuses, etc. The position included travel, but as an Air Force brat, that didn't concern me in the least. I will tell people who ask to this day that I struggled with the decision, but that's BS. I knew I what I wanted to do the minute the offer was in my hand. I talked to the wife and as is typical for my wife she said 'Whatever you think is best, I'll support'. Sealed the deal. Had I chosen to decline the offer, kept my company and just kept doing what I'd done for more than a decade, I'd not have missed my kids growing up. I wouldn't have spent months at a time away from my wife, my parents, my siblings. I got what I agreed to, that's for sure. I built some great buildings and worked on some very difficult projects that checked all the boxes I'd secretly longed for. I guess you could say I reached the pinnacle of what I do for a living, but at what cost? Family pictures for years that don't include me. Two decades of life lived in a temporary condition. New cities living in apartments, hotels, trips home when they could be fit in. I left a perfectly acceptable and comfortable life for more...and I made a mistake. If I could hit the reset button and go back twenty years, I'd say 'Thanks for the offer, but no.'
Like I said, different business, but there is more to life than just reaching the top. Frost is a smart man and now he's a dad as well. I'm guessing he'll be looking at all of it a little harder than most of us think. There are reasons beyond UCF's status in the football world to say no. I can think of a few I should have thought more about back in the day.
