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Just another post from Mike Canales' agent.

All this talk about him going back to high school is ridiculous. You've got guys out there who climbed the ladder from high school to college - Art Briles, Gus Malzahn, Todd Graham, Chad Morris.... Dodge, if he choses to do so, will be on a college coaching staff next season; and, probably a BCS staff. I guarantee you he'll have calls today. It's not that Dodge wasn't smart or didn't have something. His problem was he brought along too many other people who didn't have as much in their tank as him. Then, he was too loyal to the for too long. Is that a bad thing? In life generally - no. But, college football is different. If you have a group of guys who collectively don't know what they are doing, they are going to be exploited. Dodge's coaching staffs were exploited by the like of Bob Stoops, Les Miles, Howard Schnellenberger, Larry Blakeney, David Bailiff, Rick Stockstill, Ricky Bustle...and on and on and on. Coaches with decades of college experience standing across the sideline from him, Ford, and the cuss-patrolling wide receivers coach. You think back to game one in Oklahoma. Todd Ford calling the shots against Bob Stoops and Brent Venables? Come on. Ron Mendoza trying to scheme against Kevin Wilson and Kevin Sumlin...and with a secondary coach who had been out of the profession for 13 years? It was a joke. Dodge's main sins were: (1) hanging onto outclassed assistants for too long, (2) misplaying the quarterback position. The learning curve was steep for Dodge. But, he's not done by a long shot. He can be a position coach, a pass game coordinator, an offensive coordinator, a quarterbacks coach. Heck, John L. Smith is the outside linebacker/special teams coach at Arkansas, for crying out loud! He's got something. He made some mistakes here. But, he isn't done by a long shot. As alumni and a fan base, it wasn't fun to be part of the "experiment." But, we've got a new stadium on the way, and the hope of RV getting us a coach with experience in building mid-majors like ours. In the end, Dodge will be fine, we'll be fine. In fact, we're both better off. Dodge can relax and choose among offers. We can began to have hope for the future in our new stadium.

NT Coaching Position: It's Wide Open

Thoughts on Bower, posted elsewhere a few weeks back. Sorry for the repost, but not everyone could see it. ---------- Hiring Bower is the ultimate punt job RV could pull on a coaching search. He's everything people hated about Dickey and potentially worse, as he wouldn't have any connection to the area and wouldn't have any of the assistants that really helped him during his most successful years. Take away wins over 1-AA programs (as many people wanted to do when discussing Coach Bower the 1st), and his celebrated "14 year run of winning seasons" in 18 full seasons at USM includes 8 years with 6 or fewer D-1A victories. Only once in his final 8 years coaching USM did he manage to finish a year with fewer than 3 conference losses. When we fired Dickey, people here knew damn well why we did it. But it didn't make a lot of sense to people outside the program. USM had their reasons for firing a guy who hadn't had a losing season in 14 years. And we've already lived through what led them to fire Bower once before here. Now... Take him out of the school and the town where he was a former hero QB and longtime assistant before taking over as head coach. Take away the assistants who started leaving during his greatest success, weren't there to help him during his decade long decline and won't be joining him at North Texas. Drop him into a conference that's tougher to recruit to, a state where he's never had any coaching experience, and a side of the country he hasn't worked in for over two decades. And remove him from the coaching game entirely for 3 years. Does that sound like a recipe for success here to anyone? Is that the best bet for this program?

Wrong. Say never. Scream it from the rooftops. Etch it in the foundation of the new stadium. PUT IT IN THE SCHOOL CHARTER. The next time anyone at North Texas hires a coach that lacks any coaching experience beyond the high school level, that person should be FIRED IMMEDIATELY. No exceptions. Say never. Say it. I dare you. I double dog dare you. I don't know how many times this school has to learn that lesson. Maybe someday it works out for someone else, somewhere else. Good for them. We're done pouring salt in our eye.

If this is true, then RV needs to be shown the door also. Has he not learned his leason? Hell, I needed to fill a Financial Analyst II position and interviewed 5 individuals before filling the spot. I'm glad I did because candidate #4 blew everybody out of the water. If other candidates aren't considered, then RV has failed as our AD.

If RV doesn't get this hire right he should be tied to the roof of an '86 Corrolla and delivered to the county line...in 30 minutes or less.

He's done with High School football. I echo the sentiments of most on this board...Best of luck to coach Dodge. Thanks for trying and I hope you can take what you've learned here at UNT and use it in your future endeavors. This was the best move for both parties I think. Now Canales is the man, so most of you clammoring to see this will get your wish. I don't want to hear any of the injury excuses for coach Canales that were rebuffed for Dodge. Coach Canales, make lemonade. If not, you're out of here too.

http://saveuntfootball.webs.com/apps/links/ I didn't intend to post it until after the WKU or Troy games. I've included former college head coaches with some track record of winning. The list is in no particular order, and I have no favorites. I'm simply in the school of thought that believe an experienced driver needs to be at the wheel of this thing. In compiling the list, I was surprised by the number of guys I'd forgotten about. Among them Ty Willingham, Karl Dorrell, Jeff Jagodzinski...guys who didn't necessarily lose, but who were at bigger place and had much more expected of them. Other were dumped because of unrealistic, unappreciative fanbases/administrators/boards of directors - Paul Pasqualoni, Philip Fulmer, Rocky Long, Gary Gibbs, etc. The one odd guy I've included in there is former New York Giants head coach Jim Fassell. The guy's coaching in the UFL, for crying out loud! He wants to coach somewhere. Why not here? This guy would be confused by his Sun Belt colleagues? Nah. Give him a call just for the hell of it, RV. Anyway, have fun with the list.

I knew Leavitt in college at Mizzou where he was a standout defensive back and baseball player for the Tigers. I notice your last home game is with Kansas State. If anyone in the country could coach North Texas to a win over his old boss, Bill Snyder, it would be Jim Leavitt. How would you like to close out the year with a quality win over a Big 12 Team?

I simply do not understand the lack of knowledge about UNT from those on this board. I thought most posters were really UNT fans and alums and wonder where this lack of knowledge comes from? Please put this misconception to bed about UNT having only one winning head football coach. Good grief...time and time again this comes up. Amazing lack of understanding of UNT's history. Sorry for the short rant, but this sort of stuff does get to me.

Didn't I read that same post somewhere 4 years ago?

The Dallas Cowboys and Akron Zips say hello.

Is there any chance the coaching change will cause UNT to dump the Southlake Carroll-looking uniforms and go back to something more traditional with the right shade of green?

I will not be "dancing in the streets", and I do consider myself a proud member of the Mean Green nation. I do not celebrate others misfortune. TD did what he thought was best to turn around the fortunes of the Mean green. It didn't work out. For that I am truly sorry, but I see no reason to "dance in the streets" over this situation. I'll be 100% behind Coach Canales and the next head coach of the Mean Green, but i will also thank Coach Dodge for his efforts and wish him well going forward. It is also time to wish Coach Canales well going forward. GO MEAN GREEN!

Does this keep us from striving to be the best damn football program (and university as a whole) possible?. If our own alum can't look at the positives of NT, how can we expect anybody else to look at us favorably? I am so f'ing sick of this self defeating attitude. I have read thread after thread about how pathetic NT is in every way possible. I'm sorry people feel that way but I damn sure don't. I have a great job after obtaining a business degree in finance, I've worked my ass off to get where I am and I think I've been a pretty good ambassador for NT when talking us up at work to A&M, UT, TT, OU alums. This attitude has GOT to stop, its more defeating to me to hear alum belittle NT than some douchebag Aggie.

Some poster once claimed a hurricane would kill Osama bin Laden...or some-such. I'd stop listening to any of us.

So much funny stuff on here: "Mike Leach can't take the UNT job because of the lawsuit." - If Mike Leach wants the UNT job, he can certainly take it, and make the decision to drop the lawsuit (or agree on a settlement). People seem to forget that lawyers get 40-60% of that settlement/law suit victory. People seem to forget that if Mike Leach takes ANY job, he will probably drop this lawsuit. The fact that he was quoteed as saying he "would talk to ANYONE about coaching next year" tells me the lawsuit is not an issue. "Mike Leach was mean to donors" - Ya, so mean that while he was there, Tech expanded their stadium, added donors to the football program like never before, and elevated their football program to unseen heights. MIKE LEACH DIDN'T GLADHAND WITH DONORS BECAUSE HE DIDN'T HAVE TO, HE WON!! Winning brought in the money. How much money has Dodge raised doing everything UNT asked of him except WINNING? Not near what Leach did at Tech. The above is such a stupid argument. College football fans want winners. They pay for winners. Win and you don't have to be nice. RV needs to understand that his job is (or at least should be) on the line with this next hire. Talk to everyone that is a good candidate for this job. Good to know that the college football inferiority complex that is the UNT fan is alive and well.

From what I witnessed last Saturday night, there are several players who could truly benefit from some Jim-Leavitt-style motivation!

Do we really want a guy that hit a player at half time in front of his team at halftime, then lied to everyone about it. It was also found in the investigation that he had the kid meet him at a church late at night to come up with a cover up story He met the kid at a church....what more do you want ?

Actually, there have been five: J.W. St. Clair, Theron Fouts, Jack Sisco, Odus Mitchell, and Hayden Fry.

Firing the coach is a story to bury. Hiring the new coach is something get good coverage and I'm sure it won't be timed to take place during another event!

My opinion...which I know means nothing....but If UNT wants to be considered a big time division 1 program...then from top to bottom they need to act like a big time program. These half fast hires and giving people a chance to prove themselves are fine...only if you have exhausted all other options.

Not sure you can be hired by the State of Texas while in a lawsuit against the State of Texas.

People have been known to dance in the streets when a hopeless situation becomes hopeful. That is what has happened today. I wish Coach Dodge the best, but this is not a funeral moment, this is a rebirth moment, and should be treated as such.

Even for you ... that is one stupid comment.

Article from Vicksburg Post That was from an article written after he was fired. Does this not sound like the perfect fit?

I totally respect RV for handling this situation this week rather than letting it drag on the rest of the season...

He has been a wonderful man, but I'm very glad to see this move. I was definitely in the minority when I was not excited at the announcement of Coach Dodge coming to UNT. I was really hoping to be proven wrong, but alas, this was one time when I was (unfortunately) right about a coaching move. I wish the man nothing but the best in his future. I know many Southlake-Carroll fans who would welcome him back with open arms and a hefty paycheck! And, I expect Riley to stay and graduate from UNT. He seems like a stand-up guy and that just makes sense. My Facebook friends keep throwing out Mike Leach as the name they'd like to see replace Dodge. It would be colorful and interesting. And, after these last few dud seasons, I'm all about colorful and interesting. Go Mean Green!

Good luck, Coach Dodge. A true class act that unfortunately didn't transfer to wins on the field. Can we also get rid of the Southlake uniforms for God's sake !!! GO MEAN GREEN !!!

and he's been better than baine, so i'm good with it

If it's talent evaluation then we might as well get rid of Rivals, Scout and the other evaluators of talent because they also don't have a clue. There is no Sun Belt team that continually gets substantially higher rated players than the other teams. Troy appears to because of the number that they offer but we can't be sure how many (and the quality) of their recruiting class actually attend Troy University. Sorry, that theory might work when getting beat by Oklahoma, Alabama, Clemson, et al but not when dominated by Belt teams. That would lie directly at the feet of the coaches.

Look, the rule is once Matthew McConaughey makes a movie about a subject it is COMPLETELY fair game. Take "A Time to Kill" for example...

Look pal, we had at least 8 Roman candles on the sideline with injuries. Several more bottle rockets and sparklers didn't even suit up. Give em a break.

I like our chances vs wKu w/ Riley at the helm.

Have you ever seen a 12 year old kid playing little league and he/she is so good that your eyes instantly find them on the field? (I ask because I coached little league soccer and have a few girls playing division 1 soccer right now) What happens when you take this stud 12 year old, and put them on the High School Varsity team? They look completely overmatched. Eventually, they will grow and learn, and when they're 16-17, they'll be the best on that varsity team and your eyes will be drawn to their ability again. I really think that Dodge is going to get a shot as a QB coach at an AQ school, or an O-coordinator at some other school (maybe starting in FCS or lower) and work his way back up to being a FBS head coach again (10 years or so). When he does, he'll be good.

Should this sort of reasoning be applied to the offensive and defensive coordinators as well?

I think he'd be great.

We're having fun here no?

I can introduce you to several parents and fans that have a different view then this, they tell me that Dodge has totally lost the team, and they can't wait for TD to go. If you saw the players walk to the stadium you would know this is true. Second why does anyone think letting Dodge coach out the season is Classy? He is struggling horribly, he has lost the team, the fan base is choking, man oh man RV we need some Damage Control. Please stop the bleeding, we need a sign some reason to believe the AD is worried about what is going on. Please let Todd Dodge move on to the next chapter of his life, reassign him or cut him loose for all that is good in the world. Tomorrow can't be too soon.

Well...I won't bother rating this post, because after reading it twice, I only became more uncertain as to what you're trying to say. My initial impression, which I guess I'll stick with, is that you're being disingenuous: disingenuous, from the American Heritage Dictionary: Not straightforward or candid; insincere or calculating.First, I find it troubling that you define yourself as "a Dodge fan from the start and still am". Are you not a fan of UNT more than one coach? Will you be around after he (almost certainly) is not? Second, you say that you "want to win, so if a new coach is the answer, then fine by me". I don't recall anyone here saying that just any new coach will be the answer without someone else correcting them, but it seems lame to speak in such broad generalities, Third, you get to your actual premise, which is whether a "new" coach right now would make sense, but can't ever bring yourself to use the term "interim", so that we could all just mentally recall all the existing threads dealing with that topic. Finally, you finish that paragraph; on to the second: Fourth, ask "If TD is let go, who fills his shoes for the rest of this season...Canalas?". Did you ever think you might you might check somewhere like meangreensports.com so as to know that his last name is "Canales" rather than "Canalas"? Fifth, ask "does he stay on as the new head coach or just in the interim?". Does that usually get determined with 5 games to coach? I guess Bill Stewart at West Virginia made a convincing case in one bowl game, but hey, we'd have 5 times that many chances to evaluate Canales or whoever else (Gandy?). Sixth, finally say something in your second paragraph: "If he is not ("the guy from here on out"), then I struggle to find the reason to let TD go right now", so... To your final paragraph: Seventh: "I mean, we're freakin 1-6". That's the part I find most disingenuous, trying to justify retaining someone as coach (through the end of the season, or however long your status as his "fan" lasts?) by citing his (typical) 1-6 record so far this year. Eighth: "Hopefully we can finish the season 2-10 or by miracle 3-9. I don't know if switching coaches right now REALLY improves our chances of winning games this year". So, your "hope" is for one more win, with a schedule including two teams with first year coaches WKU and ULM. Would a "miracle" at 3-9 then justify retaining Dodge or whoever might be the "interim" (or our "new" coach), however you can bring yourself to frame it? Ninth: "Again, if Canalas is the guy and he keeps most of the staff intact, then I see the reasoning. If not, then why not let the current crew finish the year and clean house after the season is over?" Again, wouldn't we know something about whether he or another assistant were "the guy" if given a chance to prove themselves? Or, can you only frame a question in such a way as to only consider two extremes, thinking a "new (not interim) coach" being only considered if he is "the guy" would seem so unattractive that we would all embrace this status quo because "I don't know if switching coaches right now REALLY improves our chances of winning games this year". Man, how would you or anyone else REALLY KNOW that, especially if was not at least attempted. Tenth: "Thoughts?" I think you don't realize that even the POSSIBILITY of a win or two or three might mean a lot to the current players, students, and those who attend games. Anyone who still thinks this team doesn't need at least some HOPE of a few wins in this season didn't look at their faces as they went into the stadium last Saturday. Also, I think you're such a Dodge fan that you hold out hopes that, by some double miracle, he wins those 4 games some other "Dodge to the end" fan was saying as the minimum win threshold for him to return next year, and that the powers that be decide to bring him back for year 5. Also, I feel bad for writing such things as this about you, with your cute little kid avatar, but I tell myself I'm not against you, just the arguments(?) you've presented, just as I have nothing against (and great respect for) Coach Todd Dodge. It's just time to realize that this was not meant to be.

Side Show Joe Age: 37 in a few days Why I'd be a good coach: I'm the current "Teacher of the Year" at my school. That means I'm good with kids. I coached the Chi Omega girls to the Sorority Championship Game twice at MSU. That was lots of fun... Lots. As a player, I never played on a losing team, and I'm going all the way back to pee wee. North Dallas 40 is still my favorite football movie. Necessary Roughness is second. I hate the prevent defense. I'd run out on to the field waving the big North Texas Battle Flag before every game. I'd put speakers in the visitor's locker room at the new stadium, and hook it up so when the lights are on "Tip Toe Through the Tulips", plays very loud on a continuous loop. I'm old school. That means I played back when coaches hit players. Not that I would. At practice coaches would gives us some water with our dirt during our water break, and run us 'til we were gasping for air, call us into a huddle, and then the coaches would fart. That's the kind of toughness I'd demand of players. I'd be a tough coach. Yeah, that's it. Why I'd be a bad coach: Aside from the wonderful experience of coaching sorority girls, I've never done any real coaching. I use profanity that would make Gary DeLoach blush. I'd publicly bad-mouth recruits that turn us down, and the programs they went to. I'd drink too much at the Monday radio show from the Pourhouse. I'd call the local radio shows, T.V. news, and newspapers, and complain about their coverage of North Texas athletics. I'd guarantee wins, even if I didn't think we had a chance of winning. I'd bet on our games. I'm a gambling man like Pete Rose. Compensation: Whatever they are paying Dodge. I'd take less, but I need some scratch to bet with.

I believe Marshall U holds that record

The other thread is such a beat down when you stop to think about it that I would like to look at these instead. Mine, in order: 1. OSU - just awesome. 2. FAU in the last of the 1st round SBC tourney home games. 3. ASU Triple OT game.

Name: Dean Martinez Age: at the start of the slow crawl to midlife crisis Why I'd be a great head coach: I can show the kids with some fancy Mexican freestyle wrestling moves I can wow las senoritas with some fancy Mexican freestyle wrestling moves I make a mean margarita for the post game press conference Mariachi Half time I can recruit Northside, Oak Cliff, Pleasant Grove, Rio Grand Valley, Coahuila, Tamaulipas, and San Luis Potosi Fresh tortillas! Why I'd be a terrible head coach: fancy Mexican freestyle wrestling moves may not go over to well in Denton My ongoing feud with Jerry Luis may be considered a distraction too great to overcome Immigration issues with recruits Mariachi Half time Expected compensation: 75k, Chevy Pickup, amnesty, and fajitas