Those amongst the Nebraska faithful pulling for Scott Frost returning to his collegiate home may want to temper their hopes in order to avoid disappointment.
While the former Huskers quarterback and current Oregon wide receivers coach has spoken to his alma mater regarding a position on Bo Pelini‘s staff, the Omaha World-Herald is reporting that, as of Saturday, it appears unlikely he will reach an agreement with Nebraska.
We have been told on multiple occasions that Frost likely wouldn’t leave the Ducks for anything short of a coordinator role that includes play-calling responsibilities. It appears Pelini is heading in the direction of turning play-calling responsibilities over to NU running backs coach Tim Beck.
Such an offensive arrangement would, in all likelihood, preclude a move by Frost from Eugene to Lincoln.
With Frost appearing to fade as a candidate to, presumably, replace Shawn Watson, there’s the possibility that Pelini could hire current Notre Dame offensive line coach Ed Warinner as a co-coordinator. Warinner was Kansas’ coordinator from 2007 through 2009 and worked with Beck on Mark Mangino‘s Jayhawks staff.
Then there’s the little matter of Watson. As of Sunday afternoon, neither Pelini nor anyone else connected to the football program has publicly commented on the current coordinator’s status. Still, we continue to hear that Watson is indeed out, and has been out since the middle of January.
And, while Pelini knows nothing of it, there’s a job listing posted on the school’s official website seeking an “Assistant Coach-Football” whose responsibilities would include offensive game preparation and on-field strategies. That’s the latest in a long line of very big hints that Watson and/or wide receivers coach Ted Gilmore -- who we’ve been told has also been out since mid-January -- no longer have a coaching future at Nebraska.