Fired Nebraska Coach Scott Frost Gets Hefty Contract Buyout

After just three games in this college football season, the Nebraska Cornhuskers have given Coach Scott Frost the boot. By firing Frost this early in the season, the University of Nebraska will have to pay him a hefty buyout for his contract. Here’s Frost’s contract buyout explained in more detail.

According to CBS Sports, Nebraska has to pay Frost $15 million to buyout his contract because the team fired him on Sept. 11. If Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts had waited just a few more weeks, until Oct. 1, Frost’s buyout would have been cut in half, CBS Sports reports.

The writing was on the wall that Alberts wasn’t happy with Frost’s performance as head coach. Last year, Alberts renegotiated Frost’s contract, reducing his 2022 salary by $1 million and his buyout by $7.5 million, the Lincoln Journal Star reported. However, the reduced buyout didn’t take effect until Oct. 1.

Alberts obviously couldn’t wait that long. The Cornhuskers fired Frost after the team lost by three points to Georgia Southern on Sept. 10. It was the team’s second loss in the first three games of the season.

“After the disappointing start to our season, I decided the best path forward for our program was to make a change in our head coaching position,” Alberts said in a statement.

Frost was hired as the Cornhuskers' coach in 2018. A native of Lincoln, Neb., the position was a homecoming for Frost, who played football for the Cornhuskers in the mid-1990s. As the team’s quarterback, Frost led Nebraska to two national championships in 1995 and 1997.

After college, Frost was drafted by the New York Jets. He played for the Jets until 2000. His NFL career lasted until 2003, and he played for three other teams — the Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But injuries relegated him to the sidelines, and he had little play time, mostly on special teams.

Frost pivoted his career to coaching college football in 2002 when he was on the injured reserve list with the Packers. He held coaching positions at the University of Northern Iowa and the University of Oregon. In 2015, he was hired as head coach for the University of Central Florida.

It was at UCF that Frost really hit his stride. He led the team to a 13-0 record in 2017, which earned him numerous “Coach of the Year” accolades, including from the American Athletic Conference (AAC) and American Football Coaches Association (AFCA).

But, when Frost returned to his alma mater in 2018, his winning percentage seemed to flounder. In Frost’s first season as Cornhuskers head coach, the team had the worst season start in college football history with six straight losses.

The losses continued over the next three seasons, and the Cornhuskers never reached better than fifth in the Big 12 West. The team also didn't qualifiy for a bowl game, CBS Sports reports. Frost’s winning percentage is the worst of any full-time Nebraska coach since the 1950s.