Nebraska football head coach Scott Frost's contract extension is officially official. Despite posting a record of 9-15 during his short tenure in Lincoln, Frost received a two-year extension to a contract that was already slated to last another five years.
The Huskers' coach received the good news a few weeks back, just ahead of a 37-21 loss to the Wisconsin Badgers. The final details of the deal were agreed and signed off on earlier this week, officially locking the coach in until 2026.
Over on the west coast, the Washington State Cougars extended their own head football coach Mike Leach. Leach has led a resurgence of the Cougars, bringing his air raid offense to the Pac 12. That offense led the team to 11 wins in 2018, though the team has taken a bit of a step back this year.
Though they are headed to a bowl game, Wazzu posted just a 6-6 regular-season record. That led some Washington State fans to wonder whether this was the right time to extend the head coach.
However, when one Twitter user drew comparisons to Mike Leach and Scott Frost, it was a Wazzu fan who was quick to point out how unfair that was.
"Umm please don’t compare Nebraska with Wazzu. We just had 11 wins a season ago and are going to our 5th straight bowl game. We had a down year but are doing quite alright in the grand scheme of things."
Nebraska football aspiring to be Washington State?
After the Washington State fan made that comment about the Huskers and the Cougars, other fans made it clear the Cornhuskers should be looking to be what the Pac 12 team has done in the last few years.
Some Huskers fans were quick to agree, admitting the program has fallen on hard times. Others lamented this was the state of the Huskers now.
Mike Leach's blueprint
What analysts and fans agreeing that what Leach has done at Washington State has been impressive, the idea that Nebraska football should follow that kind of blueprint has been floated before.
Leach took over a Cougars program since 2003. The former Texas Tech coach struggled in his first three seasons, going 3-9, 6-7 and 3-9 but hasn't suffered a losing year since 2014.
The 11-2 record was a high point in 2018 and there are certainly fans that are unhappy about the fall back to earth and a .500 record. On the other hand, there were some Nebraska football fans that were hoping Bill Moos might bring Leach over from the Pac 12. Moos is, after all the man who brought Leach to the Cougars.
Instead, Moos hired Scott Frost, who was inarguably the hottest name in the coaching circles during that period of time. Moos has now doubled down on his investment in Frost, giving him an extension just two years into his seven-year deal. Whether that will pay off will be watched closely.