Why Former Nebraska AD Bill Moos Regrets Passing on Chip Kelly for Scott Frost—The Untold Story Revealed

When Nebraska’s football program was at a crossroads back in 2017, Bill Moos—the then athletic director—had a clear favorite in mind to take the helm, and it wasn’t Scott Frost. In fact, Moos spills the beans in his memoir, “Crab Creek Chronicles: From the Wheat Fields to the Ball Fields and Beyond,” that his heart was set on bringing former Oregon head coach Chip Kelly aboard. Despite Frost’s flawless 13-0 season at UCF and his alma mater ties, Moos’s excitement for Kelly after a marathon four-hour meeting was unmistakable. Yet, inside the halls of Nebraska, support for Kelly evaporated quickly, with key influencers expressing strong resistance. Feeling the pressure and fearing Frost’s success elsewhere, Moos ultimately pulled the trigger—but his memoir hints at lingering doubts about that pivotal decision. Dive deeper into the behind-the-scenes drama and what unfolded during Frost’s tumultuous reign by exploring the full story here. LEARN MORE

Former Nebraska athletic director Bill Moos revealed in his recently released memoir that Scott Frost was not his first choice for football coach following the dismissal of Mike Riley in 2017. Moos revealed in his memoir, “Crab Creek Chronicles: From the Wheat Fields to the Ball Fields and Beyond,” that he wanted to hire former Oregon head coach Chip Kelly and not Frost.

Frost was the head coach at UCF for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. He led the Golden Knights to a 13-0 record in his second season. Following the 2017 season, he left Orlando to return to his alma mater.

Frost had a tumultuous tenure at Nebraska, coaching the Cornhuskers from 2018 to 2022. He ended his time in Lincoln with a 16-31 record, including a 10-26 record in the Big Ten.

Moos stated that before hiring Frost, he had a four-hour meeting with Kelly, who was out of football at the time and came away excited about the idea of hiring him. The Associated Press cited that when Moos presented to his superiors the idea of hiring Kelly instead of Frost, he was met with no excitement.

“I was met with blank stares and a total lack of excitement when I expressed that to my superiors. I later learned that a veteran regent and a generous donor to the university voiced a strong objection to the idea. I was not told I couldn’t pursue him, but I certainly felt negative vibes. Within a week, Chip Kelly was named the head coach at UCLA.”

Moos eventually had a meeting with Frost and writes that he came away unimpressed with the former Husker quarterback. In fact, he felt forced to hire Frost, writing that he couldn’t afford to have him go somewhere else and succeed.

“If I don’t pursue him with everything I’ve got and he ends up at Tennessee or Florida, I’m screwed.”

USA TODAY Sports recently listed the Frost hire as one of college football’s 15 worst hires of the past decade. Bill Moos was the athletic director at Nebraska from 2017 to 2021. His memoir, “Crab Creek Chronicles: From the Wheat Fields to the Ball Fields and Beyond,” is out now.

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This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: Former Nebraska AD Bill Moos liked Chip Kelly not Scott Frost as coach