How Scott Frost getting fired at Nebraska could impact the Tennessee Vols
When the Tennessee Vols were looking for a new head coach in 2017 — after the firing of Butch Jones — I was confident that then-UCF head coach Scott Frost would be a great option. Frost took over a UCF team that went 0-12 in 2015. In Frost's first season, he went 6-7 while leading […]
When the Tennessee Vols were looking for a new head coach in 2017 — after the firing of Butch Jones — I was confident that then-UCF head coach Scott Frost would be a great option.
Frost took over a UCF team that went 0-12 in 2015. In Frost's first season, he went 6-7 while leading the Knights to a bowl game appearance.
The next season saw UCF go 13-0. That impressive turnaround had me feeling like Frost was a home run hire.
Tennessee never really had a shot to land Frost. He was destined for Florida or Nebraska and he eventually chose the Cornhuskers, his alma mater.
Unfortunately for Frost, things didn't go well during his time in Lincoln. Frost never won more than five games in a season at Nebraska. As a result, he was fired on Sunday after going 16-31.
The big question now for Nebraska is who replaces Frost?
We likely won't know the answer to that question for a couple of months. But there are already some names being thrown out there. And one of those names could cause a domino effect that might impact the Vols.
Iowa State's Matt Campbell is a name that was mentioned on Sunday by The Athletic's Bruce Feldman and CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd — two well-connected college football reporters.
According to Dodd, Campbell has some legitimate interest in the Nebraska job.
Several sources have told CBS Sports that Campbell is interested in Nebraska. It's certainly more highly resourced than Iowa State, especially with the Big 12 moving down in the pecking order with the forthcoming departures of Texas and Oklahoma. But Campbell has to get to a certain level this season to be in the mix. That means 6-6 or even 7-5 might not be good enough for Nebraska, which absolutely has to hit a home run this time around. Campbell (10-7 in his last 17 games) may have simply hit his ceiling at Iowa State. Prior to this development, insiders were saying Campbell was interested in only two jobs: Ohio State and Notre Dame. Both are filled at the moment.
If Campbell lands at Nebraska, then it would put Iowa State in the market for a new head coach.
And that's where Tennessee could get involved in this.
Vols offensive coordinator Alex Golesh is destined to become a head coach. He has a bright offensive mind and he could bring an exciting style of offense to a program.
Golesh spent four seasons as an assistant at Iowa State under Campbell before joining Josh Heupel's staff at UCF in 2020.
His connection to Campbell (Golesh also coached alongside Campbell at Toledo) combined with the four seasons he spent in Ames, could make Golesh a prime candidate to replace Campbell (if he heads to Nebraska).
Losing Golesh wouldn't suddenly paralyze Tennessee's offense — this is still Heupel's system. But it would certainly hurt continuity, which is extremely important for any college football staff.
The good news is that Heupel could elevate quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle to the offensive coordinator position to maintain some of that play-calling continuity.
Losing Golesh, however, would still be a tough loss for Heupel (dismissing Golesh's contributions to the offense would be foolish).
I tend to think Iowa State would prefer to hire a sitting head coach, so I don't think Golesh would be at the top of the list.
But if Campbell moves on, I definitely think Golesh will at least be on the list. This could be something to monitor as the season progresses.
Featured image via Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports
