Whenever a college team makes what appears to be a can't-miss coaching hire, Scott Frost's name will -- and should -- be mentioned.
Frost was the ultimate can't-miss candidate, plucked to revive Nebraska, his alma mater, after leading UCF to an undefeated season in 2017. A son of Nebraska who quarterbacked the Cornhuskers to the 1997 national championship, Frost would be the coach to restore glory for Big Red.
Instead, he was fired Sunday, three games into his fifth season. After a 45-42 loss to Georgia Southern on Saturday, Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts had enough. The school couldn't even wait three more weeks, when Frost's buyout would have dropped by half from $15 million to $7.5 million.
Since firing Frank Solich despite a 9-3 record in 2003, Nebraska has tried different types of coaches without coming close to the level of success it enjoyed from 1963 to 2001, when the program won five national championships, finished outside the AP Top 25 just twice and had 24 top-10 finishes. But Frost's struggles in Lincoln -- he never even made a bowl game and went 5-22 in one-score games, by far the worst mark in the FBS since the start of 2018 -- leaves Nebraska scrambling for answers.
The job isn't nearly as good as it was in the 1990s, but still has advantages, from resources to a massive, devoted fan base. Alberts, a former star linebacker at Nebraska, must find a coach who can restore the traits that made Nebraska great while also adapting to the Big Ten, which Frost could never do. Big Ten experience should be a priority, if not a requirement, for Alberts in the search.
Here's a look at 13 people, in alphabetical order, who Nebraska might consider to replace Frost.