This story has been updated since its Sept. 11 publish date.
It’s not at all surprising that Nebraska fired Scott Frost Sunday morning, given how the Huskers have suffered one crushing defeat after another. Still, the timing was stunning, given that Frost’s buyout will drop from $15 million to $7.5 million on Oct. 1. But athletic director Trev Alberts pulled the plug less than a week before Oklahoma visits.
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Frost seemed like a home run hire when he left UCF for his alma mater. He was great in Orlando, but he was dreadful in Lincoln. Staffers have groused about Frost listening to the wrong people at the expense of his coaching staff and making too many impulsive in-game moves that often blew up in their faces.
Frost leaves behind a tradition-rich program but one that has struggled to get much traction in the past two decades. But it’s now a job in a Big Ten with a ton of money flowing in from the new TV deal. That should make it much more attractive. Word is, the Huskers figure to have a lot of interest from coaches in their old conference’s footprint with three very well-respected coaches in the Big 12 potentially in the mix.
After more than a week of the job being open, sources tell The Athletic there are three leading candidates on top of Nebraska’s wish list.
Lance Leipold, Kansas head coach
How about a candidate with Cornhusker roots and strong ties around the state? He was a Nebraska assistant from 2001-03, sandwiched around a decade at Nebraska-Omaha. That was before Leipold got his first head coaching job. At Wisconsin-Whitewater, he built a powerhouse, winning six Division III national titles and going 109-6. From there he went to Buffalo and elevated that program into one that was in the Top 25 by the time he left. He should’ve been hired away sooner, but ADs were hesitant perhaps because of his small-school history. Vanderbilt was very impressed with him two years ago but hired alum Clark Lea. Kansas hired Leipold, 58, and that proved very smart.
He inherited a huge mess in Lawrence in the wake of the Les Miles tenure but the team showed a lot of improvement despite going 2-10 in his first season. The Jayhawks beat Texas in Austin and lost the next two games by just a field goal apiece against West Virginia and TCU. This year, they’ve opened 3-0.
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His teams play very hard, are well-organized and always prepared. This guy wins everywhere. Leipold’s buyout at Kansas is only $5 million; it drops to $4 million in mid-December. In any event, that’s very manageable for Nebraska.
Matt Campbell, Iowa State head coach
Campbell has been a hot name for years. The 42-year-old Ohio native has been the best thing to happen to Iowa State football. He led the Cyclones to a top-10 season in 2020. They just notched his first win over arch-rival Iowa, despite having to replace QB Brock Purdy, superstar RB Breece Hall and All-American tight end Charlie Kolar. Campbell has done a fantastic job establishing a winning culture in Ames and developing a lot of talent. He was very high on USC’s radar last year before Lincoln Riley took the job. Would he leave for Lincoln? It’s not a given. Campbell has been very choosey.
Another factor here: Nebraska wants to be very aggressive in the NIL space, and has been already as evidenced by the way the Cornhuskers landed Ochaun Mathis, the transfer from TCU. Campbell and Iowa State haven’t been as aggressive on that front, but have been steadfast in their development model.
Bill O’Brien, Alabama offensive coordinator
O’Brien and Trev Alberts have a connection dating back to O’Brien’s days as an assistant at Georgia Tech. We hear Alberts has great admiration for the rebuilding job O’Brien did at Penn State. O’Brien did outstanding work stabilizing PSU, going 15-9 in two seasons before returning to the NFL. Alberts knows Nebraska doesn’t have the same problems Penn State did, but it’s a program that needs a major overhaul. O’Brien displayed real leadership when he arrived in Happy Valley and helped build the foundation for a turnaround. It also doesn’t hurt that since returning from the NFL, O’Brien, under a few seasons with Nick Saban, helped groom a Heisman winning quarterback in Bryce Young and is playing a key role with an Alabama team that is a strong national title contender.
Chris Klieman, Kansas State head coach
Another option with similar lower-division roots and a bunch of rings is Kansas State’s Chris Klieman. He won four national titles at North Dakota State. He’s had two eight-win seasons since coming to K-State in 2019 and this year’s team looks like it should be a contender for the Big 12 title. He’s 54 and in a good situation working with his old NDSU AD Gene Taylor.
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Jake Dickert, Washington State head coach
Dickert has done a very impressive job bringing much-needed stability to Washington State. He took over a rough situation after Nick Rolovich’s exit in 2021. Dickert rallied everyone there and made some good hires after he got the job full-time. He just led the Cougars to a big win at Wisconsin, where his defense bottled up the Badgers. The 39-year-old is a Midwestern guy who has fought hard on his way up the coaching world. It’s not a sure thing he’d be interested in leaving Pullman, given the chance they gave him and his connections to that program, but his stock likely will continue to rise.
Jamey Chadwell, Coastal Carolina head coach
Chadwell probably should’ve been scooped up by some SEC school sooner, but he’s still in the Sun Belt. He is a very creative offensive coach with a fun offense and a loyal staff. Chadwell has an aura about him that could get some folks excited if he comes into more focus as the search heats up. His team is 24-3 in the past three seasons.
Statement from Vice Chancellor, Director of Athletics – Trev Alberts. pic.twitter.com/weczB1ghoB
— Nebraska Huskers (@Huskers) September 11, 2022
Mickey Joseph, Nebraska interim head coach
Former Husker standout Joseph might get consideration. He has some head coaching experience in NAIA ball, where he went 13-7. The 54-year-old was well-regarded by his players and colleagues in his time at LSU, where he brought in and helped groom a lot of talent. If he can somehow spark a big turnaround in this program over the next 10 games, Joseph might open some eyes. That’s how it happened for his old boss Ed Orgeron at LSU when Orgeron was named interim coach this early into a season.
There are some wild card candidates to consider, too:
Bronco Mendenhall, former Virginia head coach: He’s a very sharp defensive mind who had a solid run at Virginia after going 99-43 at BYU. We expect him to be in the running for some Power 5 jobs this winter, but not sure how much he would excite the fanbase.
Matt Rhule, Carolina Panthers head coach: Rhule still has an NFL job, but there’s definitely some heat under his seat after going 10-23 in his first two seasons and starting this season 0-2. Rhule was fantastic at Baylor, taking over a program that desperately needed a big lift after the Art Briles scandal. Rhule did that; he made a ton of smart evaluations and transformed that program into a big winner again.
He also left behind a lot of talent for Dave Aranda in what became a top-5 team. If he does get fired, Rhule should be high on every AD’s list for any job vacancies. He was that good at Baylor — and he was terrific at Temple, turning a 2-10 team into one that 20-7 in his last two seasons there. If Nebraska and Auburn prove to be the two best college jobs, might the Penn State product be more tempted by the Big Ten vacancy?
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Gary Patterson, Texas special assistant: The former TCU coach has made a big impact for Steve Sarkisian’s program in a short time there, folks around the program tell me. The 62-year-old is one of the brightest defensive minds in football. He led TCU to seven top-10 seasons before things fizzled out for him in Fort Worth, but I’ve heard he’s refocused and has turned his mind to having a bit of a different approach if he decides to take another head coaching job. If he’s ready to get back in, a Gary Patterson 2.0 might be someone Alberts should at least meet with.
Jim Leonhard, Wisconsin defensive coordinator: The hunch is that Nebraska might not be interested in a first-time head coach. Frost only had two seasons of head coaching experience. The one assistant who might be tempting is Leonhard. He consistently leads one of the best units in college football. He has also helped elevate a program the Cornhuskers have tried to emulate in its ability to have a lot of sustained success in the shadows of Ohio State.
(Photo of Lance Leipold: Ed Zurga / Getty)
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