Nobody expected Scott Frost to be back here. Not after the Nebraska mess. Not after 5 straight losing seasons. But December 7, 2024, flipped the script in Orlando. Gus Malzahn walked away from $5 million and a job many would kill for. And who stepped back in? Frost. The man who once made the UCF Knights feel invincible. 5 years, $22 million, and a second shot at glory. And now, he’s not just back—he’s demanding a new kind of toughness from the Knights.

As fall camp approaches, Frost took to the mic on the Sons of UCF podcast and didn’t mince words. “I want grit,” he said. “I want guys that have pushed through hard things, that have buckled down and tried to get something done… I don’t know that about the team yet. I know they’re working hard, but you always said adversity, and I want to see what happens, and you need to have a gritty team.” Frost, who knows a thing or two about football heartbreak, wasn’t speaking in metaphors. He wants battle-tested players—guys who don’t fold when things get ugly. And after a 4-8 2024 season with 4 different quarterbacks trotting onto the field, UCF knows ugly all too well.

But Frost wasn’t done. “And then I want a team that attacks,” he added. “We got a ton of speed on the team… I want people to put up UCF tape and say, ‘Woo, those guys can run.’ The only way you can do that is if you’re at full speed and hustling all the time. So, if you give us those two qualities. We’re gonna have a real chance.” Speed and grit are all you need to win in life, not just in football. These two qualities might not show up on stat sheets, but win ball games.

The return of Frost is more than nostalgia. It’s unfinished business. In 2017, he led the Knights to a perfect 13-0 season. Then Nebraska called. Things didn’t go as planned. But now? Orlando feels like redemption. With Gus Malzahn now calling plays in Tallahassee, Frost returns to a Knights program looking for its identity. And this time, he’s brought new tools, new eyes, and a sharpened edge.

Quarterback? Still undecided. Tayven Jackson (Indiana), Jacurri Brown (returner), and Cam Fancher (Marshall/FAU) are battling it out. But Frost has done more with less before. The real win? A softer early schedule: Jacksonville State, North Carolina A&T, and a wobbly UNC squad. UCF could walk into Big 12 play at 3-0. For a program starving for momentum, that’s the type of start that lights a fuse.

At Big 12 Media Days, Frost stood confident, soaking in the déjà vu: “I think UCF has grown so much… our 2017 run has a lot to do with UCF becoming a candidate to be in a league like the Big 12,” he said. He’s not wrong. That magical run put UCF on the map. Now, it’s his job to keep them there. And this time, he’s not walking away.

UCF coach Scott Frost says Super Bowl-winning HC gave him that push to come back

Before he returned to college football, Frost had to rebuild himself. And it didn’t happen on a beach or in an ESPN studio. It happened inside the war room of the Los Angeles Rams. After getting fired at Nebraska, he spent a year under Sean McVay, the NFL’s youngest Super Bowl-winning head coach. That year changed everything.

“It really kind of reignited my passion for what I love to do,” Frost said of his time with the Rams. “Being around the game and coaching. I didn’t really have an intention of leaving college football, but UCF opened, and that was an easy decision for me.” When a coach says it was “easy” to sign for $22 million, you listen. But money aside, it was the football that pulled him back.

The Rams’ 2023 season was no joke. Top 10 in nearly every offensive metric. Eighth in third-down conversions. Fourth in red zone scoring rate. Eighth in points per drive. That’s not just success—that’s surgical offense. Frost saw it up close. Learned it. Absorbed it. “Sean McVay is one of the best innovators in pro football in a long time… I was able to pick up some of those things,” Frost shared.

NFL analyst Bryan Fischer echoed the sentiment. “Sean is one of the bright offensive minds in all of football. To be able to soak up that… it’s going to be huge for UCF.” Frost, the old-school option QB, now comes back to college with NFL-level playcalling know-how. Fast tempo, creative schemes, relentless attack. That’s the new Frost offense. 

He’s coming back with some humble pie. After going 16–31 in Nebraska—the worst run they’ve had in 60 years—nobody would’ve blamed him for vanishing. But he didn’t. He hit reset. Now he’s staring down a Big 12 grind with a roster full of transfers, raw talent, and just enough doubt to make them dangerous. He’s been the undefeated golden boy. He’s been the prodigal son who crashed hard. Now? He’s back in Orlando, trying to build it all again—with grit, speed, and no shortcuts.