Smitty

That's very true. But considering the huge number of athletes recruited from Texas by schools across the nation, there's a lot of coaches out there without "Texas ties" who have experience recruiting in Texas and have excellent relationships with Texas high school coaches. Think of it this way: would you rather have a guy who has never been to Texas, or Ramon Flanagan?

Completely agree. But RV cannot afford a crony hire, either. A failed crony hire gets him fired, and I would think he knows tjat. This is the biggest hire of his tenure, and I'm sure that he knows he needs to get it right. All I'm saying is to relax as names pop up in the media. Those names get floated for all kinds of reasons by all kinds of people, and unfortunately too many media members print rumors as much as verified facts.

Amen. Why, indeed. It's done. We're all moving on.

No, it's NOT pretty clear. Please, everybody, take a real deep breath. A lot of very good coaches are in the middle of bowl preparation or high school playoffs, and they don't have time to talk about possible jobs. And even if they are in very casual talks about possible jobs, they're not going to say anything publicly for fear of distracting their players from the job at hand. And if that means lying publicly to help his team win a bowl or a playoff game, just about any coach is going to tell that lie. As to Nix, I know nothing about him, but a coach with SEC experience is going to be qualified to coach in the Sun Belt. His name being mentioned is not a guarantee he'll get the job. Names will be mentioned, names will be floated, and names will be conjectured for a variety of reasons. Don't jump off a cliff everytime a name comes up or we'll have a huge stack of booster corpses on the rocks below. Fact is, there are no absolutes in a coaching hunt. UNT's next coach does not necessarily have to have Texas ties, or be an offensive-minded coach, or be a defensive-minded coach, or have head-coach experience. The best coach out there may be relatively inexperienced and a Texas outsider, but possesses that special something that can build and lead a team. It's an incredibly subjective process, and entering it with blinders on can lead you to miss the best coach for the job. I believe that UNT's athletic program is better for having RV here, and I trust him to make the right selection. Remember, RV's own job is at risk with filling the head-coaching job, so we can all expect that he's going to hire the best coach he can find. And if that's Nix, then we need to give him a fair chance to prove himself. So everyone relax, and let RV do his job.

If that call came from the sideline and wasn't an adlib, I think we can eliminate Trinity coach Steve Lineweaver from consideration for the UNT job. Leading by five, in the fourth quarter, and they try a fake punt in their own end of the field. Southlake is fabulous, but that's giving them way too much respect. Punt it, go play defense, and make them go 80 yards.

There's been lots of talk about the timing and justification of the firing of Coach Dickey. Most of the arguments have been emotional in origin, so let's reduce things to a more objective nature. Look at North Texas's national ranking, according the NCAA statistics (available at http://www.ncaa.org/stats/football) for the past SIX years. Two years is too small of a sample, so included here are the four years that UNT won the Sun Belt and went to the New Orleans Bowl. During this six year period, the NCAA had an average of 117 Division I-A teams: National ranking in total offense 2006: 116 2005: 114 2004: 82 2003: 95 2002: 115 2001: 108 Avg.: 105 National ranking in scoring offense 2006: 113 2005: 112 2004: 52 2003: 54 2002: 102 2001: 81 Avg.: 85.5 National ranking in total defense 2006: 61 2005: 101 2004: 87 2003: 21 2002: 9 2001: 42 Avg.: 53.5 National ranking in fewest penalties per game 2006: 74 2005: 98 2004: 89 2003: 109 2002: 96 2001: 78 Avg.: 90.66 UNT's average penalty yards per game 2006: 50.73 2005: 74.27 2004: 69.17 2003: 86.92 2002: 71.00 2001: 69.64 Avg.: 70.28 In the past six years, Dickey's offense ranks 105th in the nation out of 117 schools. That is amazing when you realized that in two of those seasons, North Texas had the leading rusher in the nation, and four of those years featured the top pass receiver in UNT history. While the defense ranks a respectable 53rd, that number is skewed by the 2002-2003 seasons. In the past three years, the total defense ranking has dropped dramatically to 83rd. Perhaps most glaring is the penalties. In the past six years, UNT has been one of the most penalized teams in the nation, averaging a shocking 70 yards in penalties per game.

For those of you who did not attend, you missed a classic moment. On North Texas's final drive, I believe the next to last play call was a run up the gut. Up the gut when trailing by three with two minutes left, from their own end of the field, with only one time out left. I've never seen so many boosters and hard core fans turn on the press box, arms out-stretched, pleading for an explanation. I've never seen so many people stand, turn, and yell at a press box in all my years. I'm not much for yelling at the team, the players, or coaches, but that one moved me to stand and stare at the pressbox. That moment seem to bring all the frustration to a head. I know Meager has his limits. I know Phillips and Woody have their limits. But you have to throw in that situation, even if its just a slant or screen to Quinn to try to get him into space and make something happen. To run up the gut in that situaton is unbelievable.

At the risk of showing my age, Mr. Peppermint was a locally-produced kids show on Channel 8 from the 1960s. I don't know when it ended. He wore a straw hat and a pink and white striped coat. And yes, the SMU band did look like him.

I was surprised, too, at some of the empty seats. Maybe some of them stayed home to watch UT-Ohio State. Their loss. I wouldn't have missed this!

Have a fabulous night. We all deserve it!

This rivals the feeling of winning the New Mexico State conference championship game. It's not quite the high of the New Orleans Bowl victory, but it will keep me smiling all weekend. It's especially nice since I live around so many Mustangs. I'm just going to smile at every Pony I see.

You're looking for something to be mad about. This is an AP story (not necessarily writen by the Morning News), filed immediately after the game. This kind of story is pure nuts and bolts. No time for quotes, no time for analysis. It's who won, who lost, who did what. That's all. There is no insult, either intentional or unintentional, in this article. There is nothing to be negative about tonight. We won! Enjoy it.

Give Coach Dickey credit. He made the switch to Wilson when the offense slowed, and he didn't go back and forth. He stuck with Woody, he and Flanagan made play calls that gave him a chance to be successful, and Woody's performance validated the trust they put in him. This was a success all the way around. Congratulations to Coach Dickey and his staff for an emotional win. And to respond, after SMU cut the gap to 7-6, so strongly says a lot about the team and about Woody. That was a poised, impressive scoring drive to re-take control. It was especially nice that everyone - from coaches to players, from alumni to the students - really, really wanted this game and were on their feet all night. My hands are raw and my voice is shot, and I feel fine!

You're absolutely right that reporters should ask the tough questions. Don't ask this "How do you feel about the game" stuff. Ask the hard questions. But the mere fact that none of the reporters feel UNT will win is not necessarily bias. It does, however, say a lot about the perception of the UNT program, that people don't think UNT can beat SMU - at home - two short years after the Eagles went to a bowl game for four straight years. And there is only one way to change that perception. Win.

It's not the job of reporters to support the home team. It's their job to call it straight, to report fairly, accurately, and without bias. Bias is for columnists, not reporters. Don't ask the press to cheer for the home team. Cheerleaders make lousy reporters.

Also, Cody Spencer was waived by the Titans. For those who missed it (me, until today), Brad Kassell is with the Jets now. He signed as a free agent in April.

News on former Eagles: The good news: FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots traded rookie running back Patrick Cobbs to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for an undisclosed draft choice and released 10 players today (Saturday). That ought to give Patrick more playing time. And what a coup for the Patriots. Sign a free agent and turn him into an extra draft choice. No wonder the Patriots have been so successful. The bad news: EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The Giants today reached the NFL’s 53-man roster limit by waiving 21 players ... Defensive ends Eric Moore, the Giants’ sixth-round selection in 2005, and Adrian Awasom were also waived. Moore played in eight games last season, while Awasom appeared in five.