Greg McElroy calls Scott Frost a 'rock solid' hire for UCF

Greg McElroy is a major fan of Scott Frost returning to UCF to helm the Knights once again following the departure of Gus Malzahn.

Frost made his mark on college football during his first stint in Orlando totaling a 19-7 record over two seasons, including a 12-4 mark in American Athletic Conference play, before moving on to Nebraska. Now, as returning to replace Malzahn, who’s taking over as the offensive coordinator at Florida State, McElroy explained why Frost’s decision is an easy one to get behind.

“After Gus Malzahn resigned to become the OC at Florida State, (UCF goes) back to the well and they hire Scott Frost,” McElroy stated. “I think this hire is rock solid. I just don’t know right now what Scott Frost is going to do from a staff standpoint. And I do think that this UCF job is one of the most attractive jobs that is open in this cycle. I think there was probably a bunch of people that were very interested in having an interview or being pursued. And I think Scott Frost, considering he had success there a handful of years ago, would be excellent. I just don’t know what he’s been doing the last couple years.

“I know he spent time in the NFL. Has that altered his philosophy offensively? Is he going to go and do some of the things that they had success with in the past, the hyper-speed tempo, finding speed all over the field? Is that going to work in the Big 12? I don’t know the answers to any of that, but I’m happy for Scott Frost to get an opportunity to go back to a place where he had tremendous success. He just couldn’t turn down the Nebraska opportunity.

“There’s too many reasons why, 25 million of them to be exact. So, I understand why you had to take the Nebraska job when it came open. But I still think that Scott Frost probably wonders, man. If (he) had never left UCF, what could (he) have built it into? I think all of that is completely fair. So, happy that he gets this second chance.”

Moreover, it’s easy to see why many are interested in Frost receiving a second shot with UCF. His first tenure with the Knights included a 2017 season for the ages, where they went 13-0 to seal a Peach Bowl appearance, which ended with a victory over Auburn.

After that, he headed to Nebraska – his alma mater – and his tenure didn’t go as well. The Cornhuskers went 16-31 under Frost’s watch and made the decision to part ways in the middle of the 2022 season.

He’s received some NFL experience since, currently working with the Los Angeles Rams as an analyst. Moving forward, Greg McElroy believes Scott Frost could be a game-changer for UCF, and it’ll be fascinating to see how his philosophies differ from his first stint with the Knights.

On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this article.