UCF coach Scott Frost has done a masterful job during his short time in Orlando.
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After inheriting a winless team in 2015, Frost led the Knights to a 6-7 (4-4 AAC) record during his first season and a 5-0 start in 2017. That's helped the former Nebraska quarterback become one of the hottest rising coaches in college football and has linked him to numerous potential Power 5 conference jobs next season.
Many believe Frost could be the top candidate at his alma matter this offseason, as well as a serious option for Tennessee once it eventually fires Butch Jones, among others. But UCF has already taken measures to avoid losing its coach.
According to the Orlando Sentinel's Mike Bianchi, UCF athletics director Danny White announced that the university will attempt to raise more than $1.5 million per year from donors for the school's "Football Excellence Fund," which he wrote might as well be called the "Keep Scott Frost in Orlando Fund," as its presumed purpose is to outbid other programs looking to hire the coach and increase the amount paid to his assistants.
Frost currently makes $2 million per year, which is surely to change after another impressive season regardless of whether its from UCF or another school. The Knights also currently have a salary pool of about $2.3 million for assistant coaches, which is about $1 million less than what cross-state rival USF is set to pay Charlie Strong's assistants during the next few seasons.
Frost is keen on taking care of his assistant coaches and is reportedly donating his own money to the Football Excellence Fund in order to do so, according to the Sentinel.
"I'm very excited about the success we've had in our time here and I'm committed to helping this program continue growing," Frost said in a statement as his team prepared to take on Navy Saturday. "I'm happy to be part of the UCF Football Excellence Fund. We need more resources to keep taking this program where we want it to go. I'm hopeful my support will be a catalyst for others to jump on board and take part."
While that does sound like a coach who is content where he is, it may still be difficult to keep Frost in Orlando if he keeps winning, especially with his alma matter possibly waiting in the wings.
However, UCF is making a smart investment as it needs to do everything possible to keep its coach happy as long as it can.
