untjim1995

What conference are we gonna go up to? The fans don't want the MWC and the AAC is out because of SMU.

Historically speaking, the Baylors and Vanderbilt's of the world aren't going to let their position of Big Tick on the FBS Power Bloodhound just go away. They have the attorneys and $$$ to fight that. One of my favorite examples of how bad this all had become was back in 2006. That year, TCU and Boise State were top ten teams and faced each other in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego, because that was where there conferences had made a deal to get them to play each other, TCU won a great game, 17-16, giving Boise State their first loss of the year, and it made both teams finish as Top 10 teams that season. Meanwhile, Baylor, before Briles and the rapists joined the program, were in the midst of their decade long existence as the Big XII's doormat, were again staying at home, having won no more than 2-3 games that season. When it was all said and done, Baylor made MORE MONEY from the Big XII's bowl teams than TCU and Boise State made COMBINED in bowl money. Its why I'm thrilled to death for the Frogs. They were the Little Engine That Could, no matter what conference they were in after the SWC broke up and they began seriously funding their program for where THEY wanted it to be, not just based off their peers in the G5 leagues they were a member of. They worked hard for the money they now get and know that it could very well be short-lived when the Big XII goes away by 2025. I've always felt that they were the model we should have followed--fund the program above the peers, go west and play against teams people have heard of and care about, start winning big, and get local and national media attention. But the university and the fanbase here have never wanted this, so it is what it is.

Very few want to admit that the last sentence you posted above is THE problem. Its not that Seth or DMac or Dodge or even Dickey weren't able to make connections with these recruits or their coaches and parents, its that these other college coaches can easily influence them all to take a second look at committing to UNT and that is when the reality of our history becomes an albatross around the coaching staff's neck. Winning the SBC 4 years in a row didn't fix it. Hiring the hottest name in Texas HS Football didn't fix it. Winning 9 games and the HoD Bowl game under a coach with skins on the wall and an uber-optimistic attitude (at the time) didn't change it. And, so far, a young offensively-minded coach who improved the program immensely in just one year hasn't moved the needle. The only thing that has stayed the same is the reputation. Now, with the funds we are investing into the program (finally) and the fact that we showed everyone we will fire a coach well before his contract becomes affordable to buy out, maybe this will finally start to convince these Tx HS Coaches and parents that their sons should take a look at UNT as more than a safety net.

The top end of the P5s wouldn't care--its the bottom 20 that would $hit themselves over a plan like this.

We're different...

I hope you were the QB and not the center...

The millions they get would probably comfort them during those trying times. This needs to happen. Texas doesn't need to be playing North Texas, just like Tennessee doesn't need to play Middle Tennessee. The budget advantages and the other huge advantages these NFL-lite schools have should make them play each other only.

You weren't around here for the days of Toby Godwin or John Baker, both of whom were NFL punters and led the NCAA in punting during the 90s. We really are the program for punters...

This is the absolute hardest thing to fix--the defensive front seven. It's a combo of coaching, strength and conditioning, and player development. This was the biggest disappointment about McCarney--this was supposed to be his strength, coaching and developing linemen. The fact we won 5 games last year with the roster we had for both lines is darn near miraculous, IMO.

This is the year that SMU should get back to where they were under June Jones before he basically quit on them. Chad Morris will be coaching somewhere else after this year, probably in College Station at his alma mater or in Lubbock...

Somehow, I doubt this article is being posted on La Texh's board or UTSA's board. Its ok to admit that we have pretty much always sucked at recruiting compared to our peers. Whether that's because we have just missed on every single coaching hire we've hired, save for Dodge's initial wave of interest, or because our reputation is basically easy to sell against (which I believe to be the issue), our struggles are real. We've had 4 winning seasons at this level since 1995. That's not hard to recruit against...

1.) Kyle Field 2.) DKR 3.) Amon Carter 4.) Jones stadium 5.) McLane Stadium 6.) TDECU 7.) Sun Bowl 8.) Apogee--only because of its small size 9.) Ford 10.) Rice Stadium 11.) Whatever Texas State calls its stadium 12.) Kentucky Fried Chicken Bucket-dome

It's what we have to deal with until we give these TX HS coaches and parents a reason to believe that UNT Football is worth their recruits' time and efforts. We haven't done that, so we get what we can most of the time, even if it doesn't involve any other FBS offers.

I think that gets them like 10 season tickets too...

I think from a budget standpoint, RV was more than happy to have Dodge's staff be mostly HS coaches. Everything about that hire was high risk, high reward. Cheap coaching staff with lots of name recognition. If it worked, we would be in really good shape today. But it didn't, for so many reasons that we all know.

This continues to remind me at how lazy or terrible RV was at scheduling... worst thing he ever did here--and that is saying something

Last year, we were ranked anywhere from 126-128 in most early polls, out of 128 teams. We were predicted to win 1-2 games at the most. we won 5. They don't know about our level of play..

I'm just glad we didn't have the albino squirrel flag option...

Johnny Jones saw a big leap in recruiting TX HS talent after he had been here for several years and got us into the NCAA Tournament. I suspect that is how it will have to be here for SL or any other UNT head coach to change the perception that the program has. He's gonna have to win big and be here for several years to get us above UTSA or Texas State in the eyes of the coaches and parents. UTSA, more than anyone else that is a G5 in this region except for UH, has the highest ceiling of anyone, because they are in a huge city with no competition, as well as because the media, alumni, current students, and residents in San Antonio have no reason to be down or apathetic to them. They haven't dropped their program down, they haven't used other windows within the university to promote the school, and they have used their location/stadium to get quality OOC teams to visit SA. To me, it would be a colossal shock if they weren't outrecruiting the rest of us in the SBCUSA, at a bare minimum. They have advantages that the rest of us don't...

Fouts was THE WORST--he could have said on the record or off the record, it didn't change its status as a toilet bowl of a stadium. I think the part that frustrated most people about Darrell Dickey was that he just wasn't that inspiring. From pure give-up before bodybag games, from boring offensive strategy, and the Eeyore effect from comments like its the "toughest job in America--I know because I'm here EVERYDAY", they all just beat most people down. Yes, he killed SBC teams for the better part of 4 years, as well as beating Cincy in the NO Bowl and then crushing Baylor in front of a near-sellout at Fouts, but the media didn't care about that, nor did other ADs, who normally couldn't wait to hire a G5 coach who has just won a conference title, much less 4 in a row. He was a good coach when he had great defensive talent at the same time as a solid running game. If either of those were off kilter, then forget it--you got TCU Dickster, where we the fans in FW for our game against the Frogs were literally chanting for us to throw a pass instead of handoff after handoff after handoff leading to another punt in a game where our defense played its heart out and kept us in that game. He was way better than Dennis Parker and Matt Simon at everything, better than Dodge at actual coaching (not PR), and about the same as DMac at coaching (not even close PR-wise). Not one of those guys should even be in same breath as Fry or Mitchell or Corky Nelson for coaching abilities exhibited at UNT. I suspect Rod Rust should be on their too. But no one in the last 30 years has really shown me that they are anything close to great--and I really believed DMac was going to be great here, but the last year and a half here was Dodge-esque in its futility and Dickey-esque in its giveup.

Recruiting services that garner all the media attention and other coaches that use these rankings for their advantage over us while recruiting players, they all beg to differ--even though you are right. Gage is big loss on the recruiting front, but its not terribly surprising. I'm sure that the other coaches recruiting him have bombarded him with negativity on his choice and his family and HS coaches are probably hearing the same stuff.

People on here don't want to realize that the reputation we earned over the last 35 years with TX HS coaches and parents is basically the fire-breathing dragon that burns ever head coach we have hired since Fry left here. Maybe Littrell is the one that finally slays that dragon--but right now, he's building an army of kids that aren't that coveted or kids that were coveted and went somewhere else and then came here because they couldn't play at the other school. Johnny Jones made that work as the hoops coach here until the program became good enough on its own to start getting in some solid talent that others also wanted badly. This has to be SL's preferred way to try and build this up--because he, like JJ, isn't a real solid public speaker--McCarney sucked at recruiting, but it wasn't because he didn't try as hard as he could to sell the opportunity here. DMac truly believed that UNT was just gonna be a USF starter-kit, just get going and watch lots of Texas HS talent just migrate to Denton--but he couldn't get that talent, especially at QB, to ever come here and it led to the worst loss in modern college football history. But Littrell's offense should get the attention of QBs and other skilled players, even if his style is more reserved and quiet in public. Until the TX HS Coaches and parents look at us as a program that their kids would be a great fit for, we are going to continue to see the other SBCUSA schools out-recruit us. Only UTEP has had recruiting issues like we have had over time, in part because of its remote location away from the bigger population centers in Texas. Texas State and UTSA both can sell to recruits a lot of playing time, a program built upon growing into something, and they don't have apathy holding back generations of alumni and fans like we do.

I see 6-6. wins over Lamar, UTSA, UAB, UTEP, Rice, and ODU.

7 should be the answer, especially if we go bowling, as you're suggesting with a 7-6 record.

5 wins, I'll be disappointed, but I'll understand... 6 wins will give me confidence that we are really making progress. > 6 wins means SL was a great hire and probably moves on very soon. < 5 wins: barring injuries at QB or the OL providing us with some excuses, this will be very disappointing if we only win 3-4 games. This schedule is easier than anything we have had in a long time.