CaribbeanGreen

Yeah. And it makes the Derek Thompson decision even more interesting.

Oh, I agree - Dickey wasn't a RV hire, despite the small LSU connection... RV has shown in the past a tendency to favor folks he has connections with (see: USM), and with Bower available, it's natural to at least consider him a prime candidate. Not saying RV is into blatant cronyism, either... I don't believe he's going to hire someone just because they're from USM if he doesn't also feel they're best for the job.

16 out of 24 seasons w/ at least 7 wins. 12 out of 17 seasons w/ at least 7 wins. That sounds awfully solid to me. Mind you, these aren't even the only two guys out there - just two top of mind guys who are available and who we can afford. We have no excuse not to bring in a ready, proven, established FBS success who can IMMEDIATELY turn this thing around headed into the new stadium many of us thought we'd never see. The opportunity laid out in front of NT is STAGGERING at this very moment. This is it. The time is now, indeed.

I just don't think that at this crossroads, with this budget, we can afford to take a risk on the "up and comer". We need a resume of success, skins on the wall, and a proven track record at this level. We can finally afford it.. we can't afford NOT to do it. And Dozer, I agree - I prefer Fran to Bower myself. I'm just including Bower because he has beyond solid numbers over many years and we all know the RV/USM connection makes him a huge player in this.

Also, for conversation, Dennis Franchione has had SIXTEEN seasons as a head coach in which his team won 7 or more ballgames. He's had FOUR in which his team has lost 7 or more. This out of 24 seasons as a head coach. Jeff Bower has had TWELVE seasons as a head coach in which his team won 7 or more ballgames. He's had TWO in which his team lost 7 or more - the last in 1993, SIXTEEN YEARS AGO. This out of 17 seasons as a head coach. Meanwhile in the past FIFTY YEARS, the University of North Texas (DI) has had THIRTEEN seasons with 7 or more wins. UNT has had SEVENTEEN in which they've lost 7 or more. Either of these coaches would be a staggering statistical upgrade the moment they set foot in Denton. Just some sobering perspective.

I posted my opinion on what we should do on the Fran thread... but for here, let me just say that Louisville has already fired Kragthorpe and Virginia has done in Groh. Likewise, Colorado has committed that Hawkins is back. There is no excuse for a decision to not be made. Frankly, if Dodge were coming BACK, that decision should have already been made and announced ASAP, lest we not be hurting ourselves in recruiting. If he's NOT coming back, which I believe all signs point to (though you never know at UNT), every day we wait is detrimental to the cause.

For the sake of conversation, Patterson only joined Fran's staff at UNM in 1996. Prior to that, Fran was 53-6 at Pittsburg State, 13-9 at SW Texas, and 18-27 at UNM. With Patterson in the fold at UNM, Fran posted a 15-9 record his last two seasons. While admittedly this tells just a part of the whole story, in Fran's career as a FBS HC (eliminating Pitt St and SWT), he is 67-63 without Gary Patterson as his DC. With Patterson, he is 40-19. One should note, however, that for a large part of it, "With Patterson" should also read "With LaDainian Tomlinson".... which, by the way, I don't penalize Fran for "winning just because he had LT"... that's hogwash to me, and something similar could be said of almost any coach. Fran found LT and got him out of Waco to TCU. Overall, Fran is 187-101-2 as a head football coach. 86 games over .500. He's 107-81 in FBS, 26 games over .500. And in addition, Jeff Bower is 119-83-1 as a head football coach, all in FBS. 36 games over .500. For the record, Hayden Fry's career coaching record 232-178-10. 54 games over .500. If we hire EITHER of these coaches, they would walk onto campus as the undisputed second best coach in the history of UNT, with stats not unlike (or better) than Hayden Fry's at the same point in his career.... this in a VERY different and challenging college football environment, and mostly at mid-majors. We can nitpick all we want, but in the Sun Belt, an established hire puts us immediately rocketing up the pecking order. Likewise, I would not expect any "4 year building process" with Fran or Bower. I'd expect significant improvement in year one and to be competing for a bowl game in year two, opening the stadium. This is the most important hire in the history of NT football. We're at a crossroads like never before, with many millions at stake. We can't afford a project or a "potential" hire. Get skins in here. On this level. We have the budget, we have the candidates.

Wha?!? Attendance was UP for a home game vs. Army as opposed to Arkie State?!? You're KIDDING ME!!! Well hell, we MUST be on the right track!!! Using this post as the torchbearer for "logic and reason" = priceless.

How did I not make sense, shaft? I'm just impressed MY post was singled out as the classless one. That's a feather in my cap. Screw you, Katrina. now, back to the tzatziki....

You know, i was gonna ask, but thought I'd come off as racially profiling. This excites me. Will there be tzatziki? I will literally not care about the score if there's tzatziki.

Ha. Entirely possible. I do believe that on that drive, though, it was more than "handoff to JaQuay"... I remember watching and thinking "Wow, we may have something here!"... wish I could have seen Thompson's drive in person today.

If I recall, DD put Scott Hall in for the first time late in a Baylor loss at Fouts, and he promptly drove the team down the field for a TD on his first drive. Good omen all the way around for Thompson.

You're a good fan, I enjoy your posts, and we both endlessly support the same difficult program. We just agree to disagree. No harm no foul.. it's all in the past anyway. I'm ready to climb all aboard the KRAM1 positivity train once the search begins. Next year should be exciting, and I can already state that I expect improvment, regardless.

gagree. The only decision that has to be made at this point is when to announce - and Memphis has already hired their replacement. I don't know much about the 30-day moratorium, but we need to get moving.

Really? Frankly, I don't care why DD isn't a head coach anywhere else. Idaho offered him, but that was it. Don't care why Patterson and Peterson aren't either... that isn't the point. You really think that during the longest conference win streak in the nation no one cared, and that's why there was no national pub? Because no one cared about little ol' North Texas before Dodge graced us with this presence? Maybe.. just MAYBE - sideline allegations of racism, widespread team drug tests, etc. are slightly more attractive news topics than stolen backpacks and drunk tanks. Not saying one is worse than the other, but come on. One moves the numbers, one doesn't.

Likewise, I could do the same. I know several others who could as well. Believe it or not - Dodge's teams WEREN'T much more behaved. And what you're saying never happened, well, just don't be so certain of that. It's not useful to go on, as it's all over now. But besides the much larger stack of negative headlines Dodge accumulated in 1/3 the time, rest assured that this wasn't choir practice.

Coaches in our conference don't. And anyway, not the point. I'm saying that for 250k per year, in ANY profession, saying "HE TRIED" should not be a feather in someone's cap. They ALL "try".

Oh Dear Lord... forget it. You're right. Dickey is Dave Bliss reincarnate, and Dodge ran a good clean program. No off the field problems, no bad national pub, no academic misconduct. I know you LIKE Football Trilli, and that's all that matters... but we had FAR worse widespread pub and issues under him in 1/3 of the time. Period. All I'm saying is this whole "Dodge did things the right way, and the last guy was an Outlaw!" needs to flat stop. It's complete fallacy.

Radio - you misunderstood my post. DeLoach should have been the INTERIM coach today, before the full housecleaning tomorrow. Like a lot of places do it. Like what would have prevented black jerseys and flaming redshirts. When a coach is NOT fighting for his job, and knows he no longer HAS said job, you shouldn't leave him w access to your program.

he TRIED?!? 250k per year, 3 years at the job and we're going with "he TRIED"!!?!?!? I think ALL FBS coaches TRY. All stinkin' junior high coaches TRY. I'd TRY, but that doesn't mean I could coach a lick. As for the argument about saving this job in burning the shirt -- again, I ask - WHAT IF HE WASN'T? There's very very (VERY) good chance he wasn't trying to save his job, boys. And this is the one thing that is NOT Dodge's fault... it's the administration's fault that Football Trilli was allowed to f up the redshirt, be it through malice or idiocy. DeLoach should have been the HC today. Period. You'd think they'd have learned their lesson on this one.

I could bring a lot of excitement to the field by setting up a giant feces bonfire on the 50 in the middle of warmups, but that wouldn't win any games either. Excitement is for women who just want to see shiny things fly around at a football game they're forced to go to.

I don't care much for what church the dude goes to, but I'm not thanking anyone for being an abject failure on and off the field while stealing $750,000 of NT's money. From pulling kids' promised scholarships when he got here to burning kids' redshirts on the way out, with all the rampant drug use, racism allegations, stolen debit cards, mishandling and insensitivity towards deserving seniors, mass defections off the sinking ship, and the worst off and on the field national publicity in NT history - Thanks for nothing, Todd. Great character guy and leader my a**. Oh wait, I know, we believe what we want to believe. We'll blame the last guy, whose national headlines came from conference title and rushing champions, and whose off-field transgressions look comical compared the to Dodge error. All I care about is who stuff happened under and what was done about it. And even if you want to say Dickey's players were trash and blame them for racismgate and rampant drug use (though we both know that last one is 100% bs), the constant ethical mishandling of scholarships and seniors and transfers and just about everything else are all the feet of the most over-his-head coach to hold a job 3 dismal years in CFB history. Ask Daniel Meager about "building a family". Oh, that's right... he was busy setting records on the road against SMU before he was benched for a Freshman. Too bad he wore the scarlet "DD"... good thing Dodge didn't have any of his guys ready to usurp Casey "OMG! He's a DD guy!" Fitzgerald. Todd Dodge may be a nice guy to have dinner with, but "running a tight ship" was hardly his forte.

Look- not suprisingly, the same people are going to defend Dodge that have been, and vice versa - no matter what. For some people, the team wearing black jerseys in a meaningless game was the end of the world. For others, inexplicably burning a kid's redshirt in the final two minutes is much worse and impacts the school and its kids it a worse manner. Matter of opinion, I guess. But be it malice, stupidity, or other - I don't see how putting in Thompson can be supported. Some people have claimed "Dodge was fighting for his job!"... well... what if he WASN'T? Tasty was exactly right... BOTH issues.. Jerseygate and The Burning of the Redshirt are completely at the feet of the administration.. the blood is on THEIR hands. A poorly timed midseason firing of DD and a potential hush-hush late season firing of a coach KNOWN to be an in-game idiot is THEIR fault. DeLoach should have been HC today, housecleaning begins tomorrow.

Seriously, who's the one guy who voted no?? Let's take bets.

We could have done more with all that momentum (that DD created, mind you), but that last part of your sentence is comedy gold. Dodge is laying 50 points to anything else we've ever had here in the screw-up arena... on the field, off the field, you name it, he's done it. Oh well. No worries for long.