Scott Frost returning to coach UCF two years after an unsuccessful run at Nebraska

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Scott Frost is heading back to UCF to take over the program he coached to its greatest season, two years after being fired by Nebraska.

Frost had his first head coaching job at UCF in 2016, and the Knights went 6-7. A year later, UCF went 13-0 with a conference championship, a bowl victory over Auburn and final ranking of No. 6. On Saturday, the Knights turned Frost to turn around a team has had a losing record in each of its first two seasons in the Big 12.

"Today marks an exciting reunion for UCF Football as we welcome back Scott Frost, a coach who ignites the spirit and passion of Knight Nation,” UCF athletic director Terry Mohajir said in a release.

“Scott’s love for his players along with his leadership, enthusiasm and vision were pivotal in making the decision to bring him back to UCF," Mohajir added. "Throughout this national search, his passion for UCF was clear. I believe no one wanted to lead our program more than Scott.”

The first turnaround Frost led at UCF made him the hottest coaching candidate in that year's cycle, and he accepted Nebraska's offer to return to his alma mater and lead the team he quarterbacked to a 1997 co-national championship.

His time as Cornhuskers coach was an unmitigated failure. He was fired three games into the 2022 season, leaving with a 16-31 record. He hasn't coached at the college level since. He has been working this season as a coaching consultant with the Los Angeles Rams.

The 49-year-old Frost replaces Guz Malzahn, who left UCF after four seasons to become offensive coordinator at Florida State. Malzahn posted back-to-back nine-win seasons, but the Knights slipped to 6-7 last year and 4-8 this season.

The Knights just finished their second season in the Big 12. Their success under Frost came in the American Athletic Conference.

Josh Heupel followed Frost at UCF and went 28-8 over three seasons. Though the Knights were in the Top 25 each of those years, they never recaptured the magic of their 2017 season under Frost, who was Oregon's offensive coordinator when UCF hired him after George O'Leary's 2015 team went 0-12.

With McKenzie Milton starting at quarterback as a freshman, Frost's first team laid the foundation for the success to come. The 2017 Knights averaged 48.2 points to lead the nation, won most of their games by lopsided margins and knocked off three straight ranked opponents to finish the season.

Nebraska announced Frost would replace Mike Riley as head coach shortly after the Knights won the AAC championship game over Memphis. Frost stayed to coach the Knights to a 34-27 win over Malzahn's Auburn team and become the nation's only unbeaten team. Frost was named The Associated Press national coach of the year.

Nebraska fans rallied around the return of their native son. Frost grew up in Wood River in central Nebraska and was a record-setting high school quarterback who disappointed Huskers fans when he signed to play for Bill Walsh at Stanford.

Frost transferred to Nebraska after two seasons and in 1997 led the Huskers to a 13-0 record and shared national title with Michigan in coach Tom Osborne's final year. He played briefly in the NFL and made several coaching stops before landing at Oregon, where he worked under Chip Kelly and was a respected offensive coordinator before he went to UCF.

His celebrated hiring at Nebraska was followed by months of buildup for his first season, but he never could live up to the hype. His first Nebraska team opened with six straight losses. He never won more than five games in a season or more than three Big Ten games.

The 2022 season opened with a 31-28 loss to Northwestern in Ireland that's remembered for Frost's ill-conceived call for an onside kick with his team leading by 11 points in the third quarter. He was fired the day after the Huskers lost at home to Georgia Southern of the Sun Belt Conference.

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Philip Rossman-reich, The Associated Press