Did you catch the firestorm about a returning coach at Big 12 media days?
No, it’s not about Rich Rodriguez. It’s about the other league coach returning to his old job, Scott Frost at Central Florida. And the school most chapped about it is one who hasn’t played in the Big 12 in over a decade: Nebraska.
With one comment on what he’d learned from his time in Nebraska, Frost basically burned any bridges that he still had left to Lincoln. “Don’t take the wrong job.”
That’s a remarkable difference from Rich Rodriguez’s reflection on his departure from West Virginia to Michigan. And it’s a big reason why Rodriguez appears the better bet to have success in his second act in Morgantown than Frost’s second act in Orlando.
Read More: Why Rich Rodriguez Represents a Better Bet Than Scott Frost
Rich Rodriguez Blames Himself First
For comparison’s sake, here’s what Rich Rodriguez said about his time in Michigan. “I never should have left (West Virginia).”
On the surface, Rodriguez and Frost are both saying similar things. Both were happy at their respective schools when they left the first time. But it’s the tone of each that suggest different things for each coach.
Rodriguez’s statement, starting with “I”, puts the blame squarely on himself for leaving Morgantown. He doesn’t say that he made a mistake because of the fit at Michigan. He says he made a mistake because of leaving West Virginia. There’s a difference there. This is a man who believes he could have won in Ann Arbor, but he had a good thing going and shouldn’t have messed with success.
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And his record says exactly that. Rodriguez went 6-for-7 in making a bowl game at West Virginia. He got the Mountaineers into the top 10 on three occasions. If not for one night against Pitt, he’d have coached for a national title.
Beyond that, his record speaks for itself in Tucson and Jacksonville, Ala. Rodriguez had one losing season in nine years at Arizona and Jacksonville State. Those are not easy places to win. Rodriguez figured it out.
Ironically, Rodriguez probably could have said “Don’t take the wrong job” and been totally justified. For him, Michigan was not a good fit, as his record there shows. But that’s what you get with a man who has a quarter century of being in charge under his belt. Rodriguez has learned what’s important to him, and it shows. More importantly, he’s learned that the buck stops with him.
Scott Frost Still Blames Others
While Scott Frost has a national title (yes, it counts; UCF was the only unbeaten that year and beat the Auburn team that Alabama couldn’t) to his name, that’s his only good year as a head coach. Frost went 6-7 in his first year at UCF and 16-31 in Lincoln. In six complete seasons, he has five losing seasons.
Even worse, Frost didn’t get the job done in one-score games. Frost’s record in one-score games was a laughable 5-22. His final 13 losses all came by one score, and the only reason he didn’t break that streak was because Nebraska fired him before Oklahoma could embarrass the Huskers on national television. (It didn’t work; Oklahoma still embarrassed Nebraska 49-14 without Frost.)
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But beyond that, Frost still won’t accept that he shoulders accountability for why things failed in Lincoln. And to be fair, Nebraska is a tough job. There’s a litany of reasons why the Huskers haven’t won in over a decade. But Frost saying “Don’t take the wrong job” places all of the blame on Nebraska when he hasn’t really done anything as a coach outside of 2017.
Frost failed to make in-game adjustments. And he hasn’t shown anything to suggest he has learned from those mistakes. Only four of his wins at UCF came by less than double digits. That’s not coaching; that’s having better players than anyone else. Frost had that advantage over the likes of Connecticut and Temple. He did not have that advantage over anyone in the Big Ten, and he does not have that edge over anyone in the Big 12.
Yes, Frost has a national title. So does Ed Orgeron. So does Gene Chizik. Neither man has held a head job since getting fired. And unlike Rodriguez, Frost doesn’t have success at another stop to prove he wasn’t a one-year wonder. Nor can he point to his old job as proof that he was the reason for success. Remember, Josh Heupel took over when Frost went to Lincoln and immediately produced another 13-0 season. So there’s a lot less there with Frost than there is with Rodriguez.
What’s Most Likely to Happen?
It’s important to remember that media days do not prove anything. The coaching graveyard is littered with the bones of those who won the press conference and lost on the field. Rich Rodriguez saying the right things doesn’t guarantee success in Act Two. Frost saying the wrong things doesn’t guarantee UCF will need a new coach in four years.
But it does mean that Rodriguez represents the better bet, and that’s because Rodriguez is more likely to recognize and embrace change. It’s important to remember that Rodriguez has never coached a day in the Big 12. He’s coached at two schools in the Big 12, but in other leagues. The only conference opponent you can say he knows well is Utah and Kyle Whittingham.
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That means Rodriguez will discover things that he needs to change. So will Frost. And their successes or failures in their second acts will have much to do with how well they embrace change. To embrace change, you have to be willing to look at yourself first.
Rich Rodriguez’s look into the past suggests that he’s ready to do exactly that. Scott Frost’s suggests that he might never be willing to do that. And that’s one big reason why Mountaineer fans should feel much better than Knights fans about their coach.
