Pete Thamel believes Mark Stoops could solve Nebraska's problems

Some Cornhusker fans believe Tom Osborne and Tommy Frazier are walking through that door. Unfortunately, Nebraska is stuck with Scott Frost. The prodigal son returned home and made a mess. One college football prognosticator believes Mark Stoops is the perfect coach to solve the problems Frost created in Lincoln.

Nebraska’s embarrassing 30-22 loss to Illinois dropped the former Husker quarterback to 12-21 overall in Lincoln and just 9-18 in Big Ten play. In the midst of the fallout, Pat Forde, Dan Wetzel and Pete Thamel searched for a solution on the College Football Enquirer podcast. Thamel believes there are only two people that could potentially fix Nebraska, Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck or Kentucky’s Mark Stoops.

“Go hire Mark Stoops,” Thamel said. “ … He’s been about as good as Kentucky as you can be. And, look, they (Nebraska) just need to get back to baseline functional. If Mark Stoops has showed anything, it’s that he can get a perpetually awful program to baseline functional.”

Neither Wetzel or Forde agreed with Thamel’s back-handed compliment. It’s not that Stoops isn’t good enough for Nebraska. But why on Earth would he leave a good thing in Lexington to go to the slaughterhouse in Lincoln that already chewed up and spit out his childhood friend, Bo Pelini?

One thing not considered is the logistics of a Power Five to Power Five move. As much as we may like to throw names around during the coaching carousel, it rarely happens. Of the 65 active Power Five head coaches, only six left one Power Five school to join their current school.

• James Franklin: Vanderbilt to Penn State in 2013
• Paul Chryst: Pittsburgh to Wisconsin in 2014
• Dan Mullen: Mississippi State to Florida in 2018
• Jimbo Fisher: Florida State to Texas A&M in 2018
• Mel Tucker: Colorado to Michigan State in 2020
• Mike Leach: Washington State to Mississippi State in 2020

Mark Stoops may operate a scheme that would fit in well in the Big Ten West, but any self-respecting human with a medium-sized brain would wisely stay as far away from Nebraska football as possible.

Another Head Coach on UK’s Staff?

Mark Stoops isn’t the only Kentucky football coach Thamel believes would do well elsewhere. The Yahoo Sports columnist recently ranked the top 20 assistants that are in line for a head coaching job. Thamel believes UK linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator Jon Sumrall will factor into the next coaching carousel.

An old hand in the Southern footprint after stops at Tulane, Troy and Ole Miss, Sumrall is a dogged recruiter and respected coach. He’ll be in the conversation for Sun Belt jobs this season and beyond.

Stoops has taken note of Sumrall’s recruiting success. This offseason Sumrall added the “co-defensive coordinator” title. Thamel is not too far off, but I ultimately believe Sumrall’s tenure will depend on how long Brad White remains in Lexington. If the timing works out right for White to become a head coach, Stoops would love to pass the defensive coordinator baton to the former UK linebacker.