rcade

If Mac gets over the Dickey ouster, it will be good news for the program. We need all of the boosters we can get, especially ones who are willing to write checks with five or six zeroes in them.

Is Todd Dodge as big a name in Texas football that he'd been mentioned this often? I figured all of the Dodge talk here was due to a couple of zealous fans of his high school program.

It's not my job to protect UNT's rep. Darrell Dickey and Ramon Flanagan should have to answer for this stuff, if it's true. They're dishonoring the seniors who ought to have gone out on a high note, but instead have to deal with halftime meltdowns and uniform stunts. Though it's true these coaches won't be UNT's problem any more, Dickey's still getting $500K from the school. That ought to buy a little more class than we've gotten in his departure, and I say that as a fan of his accomplishments who was on the fence about his firing.

Uniform changes where they've planned them in advance and worked with the sponsor can be cool. Clemson coming out in purple uniforms for the second time in their history was a weird but memorable moment. I'm in Jacksonville and the all-black uniforms are great, especially with that defense in that house. But if the reports from Saturday are true, the idea that a Division I-A football program's ousted coach could sneak rec-league unis on his team as an F-U to the school paying him a half-mil buyout is unfreakingbelievable. Can anyone imagine Ron Zook doing that at Florida? He'd have to go into hiding like Salman Rushdie.

If anyone was a witness to any of this, I've been contacted by a reporter who'd like to hear from people who can shed light on it. Please send me an e-mail and I'll do what I can to put you in touch.

I saw that. With all due respect to Harry, there's stuff here that ought to be brought to light. If he forbids the speculation here I'll pursue it on my weblog. During halftime, Offensive Coordinator Ramon Flanagan allegedly got into a fight with the wide receivers coach and tried to choke him. The fracas was so bad, from what I've been told, that UNT's offense received no instruction from the coaches during halftime.

I have heard from sources close to the team that Coach Dickey told his players that the uniform change was intended to "piss off Villareal." Brett Vito writes today in the Denton Record-Chronicle that before the game Athletic Director Rick Villareal "hadn’t even had a chance to look at the uniforms," which suggests the change wasn't cleared with him. Dickey's told the press it was the players' idea. If anyone can corroborate that he's not telling the truth (or that the rumors aren't true), please reply here or contact me on my weblog. This is either a bush-league stunt that ought to be exposed or an innocent gesture that's being misinterpreted, and I'd like to get to the bottom of it if possible.

Actual quote from Howard Schnellenberger to a Florida reporter about last night's game.

It's called caring about the program. Maybe when you've been following this team for 18 years, as I have since enrolling in 1988, you'll know why it matters. The uniform stunt was bush league. Any school that values its football program wouldn't let a departing coach get away with it.

No kidding. There's a difference between working by the hour at Grandy's and working as a salaried employee with a high six-figure settlement who agreed to finish out the season after his firing.

It's not unheard of for a coach to be fired before season's end. Ron Zook was fired Oct. 25, 2004, in Florida and he also coached out the remainder of the year.

My bet is that we've already seen Dickey's last trip on the sideline as UNT coach.

Sing it, Brother Jay.

In 10 years, the way Darrell Dickey left the program will pale in comparison to four conference championships and the first bowl trip for UNT in 40 years. He'll be remembered as the best coach since Hayden Fry, unless his replacement takes that honor. He'll be a UNT Hall of Fame member on the first try. I don't know what's going on with the guy right now. We have a good source for the report that he responded to his firing by telling his players it was because he "couldn't recruit" and asking how that made them feel. His conduct since the firing has been bush league and should come up every time he's considered for another head coaching job in the future. But none of that changes his amazing four-year run through the Belt and the early defenses he put together here.

He couldn't change them at the half without telling the entire world it was a spiteful act by Dickey (if it was).

Why should that matter? The "nice person well-liked by everyone" field is over there.

Like what? I'm almost afraid to ask.

One of the reasons Darrell Dickey's firing got so much press was because it led off the college football off-season changes. It would've been overlooked after the final game when Miami's Larry Coker and other bigger moves are being made in I-A. It couldn't have been a surprise that Mattress Mac came unglued after his buddy got the hook. He's our best-hyped booster with a history of throwing public snit fits, so AD Rick Villareal and the new president had to be bracing for his reaction. Villareal's mention of a new seven-figure donation appears to have been timed to cool off people who might think we've lost too much by pissing off Mac. RV knew he had it in hand when he fired Dickey. Does he also have a new head coach in hand? The lack of a search committee, his quick denial that the USM coach was a contender, and some hints dropped about pleasing UNT fans make me think we've already got Dickey's replacement but it can't be announced yet. I don't think RV would be taking the big-risk move of firing Dickey and losing Mac without knowing with certainty there's a big reward.

Wow. I knew he'd been there a while, but I didn't know he was also their offensive coordinator for five seasons before being hired head coach and was a former UNH player. No wonder he's not getting mentioned in coach wish lists.

Anyone like Sean McDonnell at New Hampshire? He's won the Eddie Robinson award and has built a successful I-AA program on an exciting offense. They've been to the playoffs the last two years and are in this year.

I live in North Florida. At Disney World last weekend I saw somebody wearing FAU gear for the first time ever. I was so shocked I didn't have a chance to express some Sun Belt solidarity, since I was wearing a Mean Green shirt. Here, aside from the big three (Florida, FSU and Miami) I see UCF, USF and Florida A&M gear all the time. I wish the Sun Belt would go after FAMU. They have a fan base much more loyal and large than their I-AA program would indicate.

If this turns out to be true -- I still have trouble believing it -- it's potential career suicide for Dickey. What kind of program would trust someone who pulled a stunt like that?

I don't think money's the problem where the coach is concerned, but UNT needs world-class facilities. One of the smartest things Mark Cuban did when he took over the Mavs was give them the best player amenities in the NBA. Even visiting teams got lobster dinners after a game. Free agents started coming to Dallas when they wouldn't even consider the team before.

Here's an update from a Florida paper: "Defensive lineman Josh Jenkins was injured midway through the second quarter and was taken off the field on a stretcher. Jenkins was discharged from Presbyterian Hospital and returned home with the team." That's a relief.

Did anyone see Clemson come out in their all-purple jerseys one time at Death Valley a few weeks ago? That was as bizarre as the sight of the Mean Green in black, but at least they planned ahead and the uniforms didn't look thrown together.