Frost: 'I'm not a candidate at Oregon'
UCF head coach Scott Frost put to rest on Thursday any rumors he may be in the running to become Oregon's next coach.
Due to his ties to Eugene - Frost is the Ducks' former offensive coordinator and has a close relationship with Nike founder and Oregon benefactor Phil Knight - some have speculated Frost could be targeted to replace Mark Helfrich who was fired Tuesday.
"I'm not a candidate for Oregon," Frost said. "I'm happy right here. This is where I want to be. I started something here. I feel like we've taken a lot of steps to getting this program to the top of this league. I want to see that through here. I'm really happy here and I have no intention of leaving here any time soon.
"You go out and you recruit kids to come play for you. You agree to try to do something for a program. When you give your word to kids and people like that, I think it's your responsibility to see those things through. That doesn't mean circumstances can't ever change, but I'm committed to this place. My wife loves it here. I love it here. We're happy in Orlando and I really like where we're going with this program. The minute I'm done with this press conference I'm going to go out and recruit for UCF."
Frost added he's more concerned with building UCF back into top program before he gives thought to any other opportunities that could come his way.
"A lot of coaches are in a hurry to take the next step," Frost said. "I think you get yourself in trouble when you take a step before you're ready or before the time is right. I'm committed to making this place a really good football program and a football program that can win and win consistently in our league. I'm not even planning on looking for a job until we get to that point."
Frost did say he has reached out to some of his friends on the Oregon staff.
"My take on the Oregon thing, those guys are really good coaches," Frost said. "Everybody has a bad year. I'm sad for those guys. Those are all my friends out there. They're really good coaches and good people. The only people I've talked to are the guys that just lost their job. All of them will land on their feet."
Frost was later asked if recruiting at UCF is easier than it was at Oregon.
"Absolutely," Frost said. "I've been recruiting all week. Tuesday I got in a car and drove to a town in Florida and recruited and I was back at home that night. Last night drove to another city in Florida and I was back at home last night. I'm about to get in the car after this. That's a lot different than flying all over the country and spending a night in a different state every night. There's a ton of talent right around here. We're going to tap into it.
"I love where we are with this recruiting class, what we got out of the last recruiting class. When we have some time to get our guys into this system and this program, I think we can do special things."