Scott Frost joins Jim Rome for wide-ranging interview on UCF, the NFL, and college football’s challenges

UCF head coach Scott Frost appeared on The Jim Rome Show Tuesday for a wide-ranging interview that covered his return to Orlando, how a season in the NFL reignited his coaching passion, and why culture building is more important than ever in today’s college football landscape.

Frost and Rome have a long-standing relationship. The two first connected back in the late 1990s when Frost was a standout quarterback at Nebraska and a guest on Rome’s program.

Remembering Ryne Sandberg

Rome opened the conversation with a question about the recent passing of Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg. Frost, a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, recently told local media that Sandberg was his favorite player growing up.

“I’m like a lot of people,” Frost said. “I came from school when I was a little boy and it was either watch cartoons or watch WGN and the Cubs.

“And I love sports. So really the ’84 team with (Leon) Durham and (Keith) Moreland and (Bobby) Dernier and Sandberg and Larry Bowa. That’s when I got started rooting for the Cubs and been a fan ever since.”

Coaching with the Rams reignited the fire

Rome then pivoted to Frost’s recent time with the Los Angeles Rams, where he served as a senior analyst during the 2024 NFL season under head coach Sean McVay.

“It was great being in that building,” Frost said. “He’s so smart and the organization is so good. Top to bottom in that building.

“They’re just a class act and everybody’s working together and pulling the rope in the same direction. It was a great experience for me just to be around it and see it. And it made football fun for me again for the first time in a while.

“And I kind of reignited my passion to get back involved in it in a deeper way. And then this job opened late in the season and they were nice enough to let me interview for it. And I got offered the job. My wife and I loved it here the first time and decided we wanted to take another crack at it.”

Lessons from the NFL

Rome asked Frost what stood out the most from his return to the NFL and how it compared to the current college football environment.

“They do such a good job in the NFL, making a good product,” Frost said. “And, you know, it kind of relates to college football right now. One of the reasons I believe the NFL is such a good product is it’s fair. Everybody has the same rules, same amount of money to spend, same draft opportunities. And that’s why a huge part of the games come down to the last drive of the game.

“College football isn’t really there right now. And I wish it was. And I hope it gets there. They’re certainly making efforts to get it there.

“But the NFL does a great job, putting a game on the field and a product on the field that’s competitive and fair and fun to watch for everyone.”

Why UCF was the right fit again

Rome asked Frost why he chose to return to UCF for a second stint.

“Well, first and foremost, we loved Orlando,” Frost said. “I think it’s a good place to raise our family. And we kind of wanted to put an anchor down and be in one place for our kids sake.

“There’s a ton of talent around here. The university has grown so much. It’s the newest university in Power Four by a long shot.

“Where it started to where it is now, and where UCF can go. I feel like our group was part of the growth of it once before that helped to get into the Big 12. Now, I see it as our responsibility to help it push forward even more and become more prevalent in college football.

“But it’s an exciting place to be with talent all around us and a good group of people here. I love coming into work every day here. I love the kids that we have and the type of players that we can recruit from Florida. We’re having a blast.”

Addressing UCF’s current state

Rome referenced UCF’s 28-24 record over the past four years and 4-8 finish in 2024 under former coach Gus Malzahn, asking Frost how he views the challenge ahead, especially with 69 new players on the roster.

“Yeah, it I think a lot of coaches that take on a new program are going to be faced with (roster turnover),” Frost said. “You’re going to have to rebuild your whole team in a lot of ways. That’s a challenge and not a lot of fun.

“But in some other ways, you can go get the guys that you want and rebuild the team the way that you want to quicker. So we’ve been putting a lot of work into making sure we take a group of individuals and try to turn them into a team and seeing how fast we can grow up and become a cohesive unit. And the guys have been working hard and excited to get an opportunity to prove ourselves.”

QB competition remains wide open

Noting former UCF great McKenzie Milton has returned as quarterbacks coach, Rome asked about the ongoing quarterback battle.

“There’s a saying in football. If you have more than one quarterback, you don’t have any, and I think there’s some truth to that. I don’t feel like that’s where we are,” Frost said. “We got three guys that I think if they were the guy that they’d give us a great opportunity to compete and win games.

“But I don’t want to hand the job to anyone. I want them to go out and earn it. And so we’re being really fair and we’ll take as much time as we need to to make sure that we anoint the right person and give him the first opportunity.

“But all three guys are playing pretty well right now. And KZ is doing a great job with them.”

A big opportunity for Myles Montgomery

Rome asked about returning senior running back Myles Montgomery, who will step into a lead role following RJ Harvey’s departure.

“Yeah, he’s gonna be a good story,” Frost said. “I think I really like our running back room overall. But you know, Myles was behind RJ Harvey, who was one of the better running backs in the country last year. And it’s always fun to see a guy get his opportunity after being patient and waiting his turn. And I hope Myles catches in on that this year.”

How this challenge compares to 2016

Rome asked how this rebuild compares to the one Frost inherited in 2016, when UCF was coming off a winless season.

“Yeah, I think it’s just a higher level challenge,” Frost said. “The same type of challenge, just at a higher level. You know, we’re playing in a lot better league right now. Big 12 is fun football. It’s a very even league. You can make an argument that anyone in the league could win it if they play well.

“That makes every game important and every game a challenge. Even though the league’s harder, though, we’re able to recruit better players because we’re in that league now and we’re a Power Four team.

“So again, UCF has grown so much even since I was here the first time, and looking at the caliber of talent that we have here and what we’re able to get and how much financially and in other ways, the resources here have improved. I think UCF has got a chance to continue its ascension and I’m happy to be a part of it.”

The message remains: Rise and Conquer

Rome, noting that UCF still displays the “Rise and Conquer” slogan Frost originally introduced, asked about the continued message and how it resonates today.

“Yeah, it was nice for them to leave (Rise & Conquer) up because I didn’t have to reinvent the wheel,” Frost said. “When I got here (the first time), I had left Oregon and we’d had a ton of success out there with Chip Kelly and Mark Helfrich and it was ‘Win the Day’ and I didn’t want to use that. So we’re the Knights and we came up with ‘Rise and Conquer’ really means the same thing.

“I want our guys to approach every day, attack the day, try to be better than they were the day before and then put their head on the pillow and get ready to do it again. We preach those things all the time, but it’s nice that it’s still up on the walls. We didn’t have to do any painting over anything and it’s still right there for them.”

The widening gap in college football

Rome noted many schools preach similar values and slogans. So what separates the programs that thrive?

“Well, I’ll take a sidestep on that,” Frost said. “You know where college football is. I’m not shy of saying it right now. It’s off the rails and out of control. And unfortunately, right now, whoever has the richest boosters is getting really good players and those teams are gonna have a better chance to win. And we’re doing an unbelievable job catching up on those resources.

“Terry Mohajir, our AD, has done a great job with that. But as everybody’s getting a lot more new players in their program and taking kids in the transfer portal and using revshare to get them, you really have a collection of mercenaries now. And the team stuff, the culture building, it’s even harder now because you don’t have three or four years to work with people on that.

“But I think it’s even more important now. And you see some teams around the country with talent, but it doesn’t come together. And that’s probably why.

“And some other teams that overachieve. We really have to be intentional with that. We had a lot of players in our meeting rooms that didn’t even know each other’s names because of the number of new players we had.

“So as hard as it is now, I think it’s even more important than it was before.”

Retention and relationships

Rome wrapped the interview by asking how Frost approaches culture-building in this new era of roster turnover and player movement.

“Yeah, I think retention is going to be key,” Frost said. “It’s nice that we’re in Orlando and a place where people want to be, where it’s sunny and there’s palm trees. So that’s going to help us with retention.

“But I think you also have to build an environment that kids enjoy being in and they know they’re cared about. That being said, there’s going to be more roster turnover in the current state of college football than there was before and fewer kids that stay in your program for three, four or five years. So I think every year is going to be the same.

“You’re going to have to rebuild it. Hopefully you have some culture keepers and kids that stayed around that help you do that. But it’s going to be a challenge every year.”

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