Eagle-96

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/...9.565c82c9.html Football: Dodge Sets Plan for New Defense, Staff By Brett Vito / Staff Writer Mean Green to switch back to 4-3 in 2007 The walls were still bare, the boxes not quite unpacked on Thursday, a day after Todd Dodge moved into his office in the Mean Green Athletic Center. North Texas’ new head coach had only been on the job a few hours and had a to-do list that seemed a mile long, even after he made a few initial decisions. Dodge will run a 4-3 defense and his staff will include current high school coaches other than new wide receivers coach Clayton George. He has also determined UNT will have a minimum of 16 and as many as 21 scholarships to hand out in his first recruiting class. The time it took to make those decisions and study his new roster had Dodge scrambling. "I am excited to pour myself into this job," said Dodge, who capped his career at Southlake Carroll by winning the Class 5A Division I state title Saturday. "For the last two weeks I did a pretty good job of maintaining my focus on Carroll, considering how many opportunities there were to have a lack of focus." Dodge acknowledged Carroll's long playoff run has put him behind in terms of laying the foundation for his new team, but said Thursday he has begun the process of shaping the program. One of Dodge's first moves was to hire George, a former UNT wide receiver who spent eight years coaching under him at the high school level. News of the hiring became public last week. "Clayton is the very best wide receivers coach I could hire," Dodge said. "He has three years of head coaching experience and will be a fabulous recruiter. When you can go out and hire great coaches who you have a trust level with, you should feel blessed." George was a four-year letterman at UNT from 1990-93 and led the Mean Green in receiving in 1992. While Dodge wouldn't reveal who will fill out the remainder of his staff, he did acknowledge he would hire a few additional coaches he has worked with at the high school level. "What I can say about my staff is that I am going to bring some guys with me," Dodge said. "I would like to have everything done by Wednesday of next week." While Dodge has yet to make an announcement on who his defensive coordinator will be, he has decided on the Mean Green’s defensive scheme. UNT ran the 4-3 under former head coach Darrell Dickey until last season when the Mean Green switched to the 3-4 under coordinator Fred Bleil. "We can be more multiple out of the 4-3," Dodge said. "It worked for us at Carroll and is battle tested. We can also get into a three-man front out of it if we need to." UNT will begin the transition back to a 4-3 defense during spring practice. When those workouts will begin has yet to be determined. The Mean Green typically began spring practice in mid-February under Dickey. Dodge said when he was an assistant at UNT from 1992-93, the Mean Green held spring practice in March and April. "I would tend to hold off until the weather is a little warmer from a teaching standpoint for our offense," said Dodge, who runs a passing-based system. UNT's plans for spring practice and recruiting should be set in the next week. Dodge has had a chance to take an initial look at the Mean Green's roster and has determined that he has at least 16 scholarships to give, but that number could grow. "Once the staff gets in and I can visit with them I will have a better idea," Dodge said. "Over the next 5-6 days, it will become clearer."

I wonder if TD will keep any current coaches (Archie or Evans) and, if not, will we see any current college assistants from elsewhere hired for the new staff. I would like to see at least 1 or 2 coaches with recent college experience. But then again, this is TD's gig and if he sees fit to hire a full staff of high school coaches then I will be behind him 100%.

I work for a large financial firm in Fort Worth. I got my BBA in Finance in 1996. This is just a taste of Stand-Up's last underwear ad: http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A9G_RtjiRJVFfpYA...s2/fatparis.jpg

Defensive coordiantor/linebackers coach at Southlake Carroll. If you watched the State Title game, he was the one on the sidelines screaming and jawing at his players when the offense was on the field. He looks to have a little fire in his belly. I would love to see some emotion on the sidelines from the coaching staff again. It got real old seeing coaches on the sideline with their arms folded looking disinterested.

Sperated at birth? Is it Ken Lay or Fred Bliel.

Any word on the staff being filled out? I know TD has only been on the job 3 days now but I wonder when we will start to hear some names. Clayton George - On staff. Probably as WR coach. Ron Mendoza - Rumored to be coming to NT as Defensive Coordinator

The list is growing by leaps and bounds. Every time I check(and that is quite often) there are a few more names. It's nice to see some All-State and some area Top 50 names on there. Thank You Todd Dodge!!!!!!!

Thanks!!!

Can you PIN the link por favor?

Does anyone remeber Stack getting buried on the bench because DD wanted a quarterback that could run the option every now and then.

YAAAWWWWWNNNNN What a waste of newsprint.

I'm not sure about you but I liked what I saw from the Carroll D coordinator that has been rumored to be coming here. Talk about fire. He was in his players faces and jawing and screaming when they were on the sideline. It's about time we had some emotion from the coaching staff instead of just sitting there.

That had to be one of the funniest things I have ever seen. Riley blows chunks, gets the snap a second later and calmly throws a perfect pass for a touchdown. He then blows more chunks and heads to the sideline. Talk about being calm, cool, and collected.

North Texas 94 Jarvis 70 Final

North Texas 46 Jarvis 30 Halftime

North Texas 33 Jarvis 19 Mean Green having no problem early.

My point was that instead of signing one 3-star player and fifteen 2-star players, we actually may be able to bring five or six 3-star players. I don't think that is beyond reason. 2006 - Zero 3-star recruits 2005 - One 3-star recruit(Willie Ransom) 2004 - Two 3-star recruits(Jamario Thomas, TJ Covington) 2003 - One 3-star recruit(Michael Pruitt)

What do you think the highest rated recruit will be on signing day now that Coach Dodge is on board. In the past we have usually been able to pull in mostly 2-Star players with one or two 3-Star recruits every now and then. I think that we could see quite a few 3-star players and might even be able to draw a 4-star player if we are lucky. I think the receiver and QB position will obviously see the biggest impact.

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/16284789.htm Ex-Haltom coach expected to join UNT By TROY PHILLIPS Former Haltom head football coach Clayton George has gone through the application process at North Texas and is expected to be the first member of new UNT coach Todd Dodge’s staff, a university spokesperson said. Athletic director Rick Villarreal, who is helping facilitate early hires for Dodge while he finishes as Carroll’s head coach, did not return a phone call. Former UNT quarterback Mitch Maher, who played with George from 1991-93, confirmed George will join Dodge’s staff. On Tuesday, the Birdville school district announced in a release that George had “resigned his position [at Haltom] with BISD to take a coaching position at the University of North Texas.” In 1992 and ’93, George, a receiver, and Maher were coached by Dodge, then UNT’s quarterback/receivers coach. George did not return phone calls.

I want the team to play with intensity and emotion. I want the coaching staff to instill a winning attitude in the players. I want the team and coaches to beleive that we can compete against OU and Arkansas not that "We are lucky to be on the same field". I want the coaches to try to win games instead of trying to stay close and get lucky at the end. I want TD to embrace the fans and community. I am not concerned with the win/loss record next year. I just want some Kaizen

If you are so embarrased about the way people are acting then don't read the posts. I am embarrased that you continue to post negatively about our new coach before he has even assembled his staff, let alone coached his first game. We are not gonna let you rain on our parade just because you aren't thrilled about the coaching hires. I'm sure TD knows what he is doing regarding his staff and he has probably forgotten more about football than most of us will ever know. GMG!!!

I beleive JUCO signing day is tomorrow Dec 20. I don't think there is any chance that NT will sign any early JUCO. But then again I am not sure that TD would have gone that way. When is the mid-term signing period and how many will we sign?

Harry, Will there be a new iteration of the old Mean Green Report(ie a pay site for inside iformation). I know I, along with alot of others, would be willing to pay for the info. Especially if it helps support the running of the board. Will the recruiting page be a part of this?

It has been speculated on the Mean & Green board that the contract could be upwards of $500,000 per year for 4 years. If so, then I am pumped about RV, Dr. Bataille, and the BOR's commitment to NT football. We may be able to actually afford(and keep) some quality assistants. GMG!!!

I think we will be hard pressed to beat OU. It is unrealistic to think that we can change coaches and just up and run the table against the likes of OU and Arkansas. The one difference next year to years past is that TD will bring confidence and attitude to the game. He will come in with the attitude that "why can't we beat OU" instead of the old tired DD addage " we're lucky to be on the same field, woe is me".