GrandGreen

Ugh, SMU for one small example.

Hell, what is the matter with self promotion. Ever been on or held an employment interview? Canales has kept a team together that could have easily folded. I am not one that gives all the credit to Canales, I think this team even in its injury laden present; has some talent and has been overall playing hard. Who to say Dodge would not have had the same results. Nobody knows, but we do know that the team is playing relatively well now and certainly hasn't shown any quit. Canales thus far has looked good in a very bad situation. Is he the one to lead NT to the zenith of non-aq football? The answer is unknown, just as it would be with any other candidate. With the exception of loose canon Leach, I don't see anyone that is going to give NT instant creditable with the recruits, NT fans, and football fans in general. The likelihood of hiring a Leach type is remote because of a number of reasons.

I think it is great that Canales is so open and enthusiastic campaigning to be hc of the Mean Green. I don't think the last game hurt his chances at all, a blow out loss would have about eliminated him; but at the same time it did not vault him into a leadership position. A lot depends on who is available and how much NT is willing to spend. With Canales' performance thus far, he certainly is a very serious candidate. Would you chose Canales at Dodge's salary, Leavitt at a $500K or Leach at $1M if all were interested? No easy answers, but I do think if Canales continues to impress that he has to be favored unless NT goes for a bigger splash name coach. I can't see NT going for a relatively unknown assistant, no matter from what school, over Canales if he does well in the next two games.

You know I have no doubt that NT has much better musicians than Troy, if they didn't they should just kill the program. NT has one of the best and biggest music schools around compared to a very small school with an unrenowned music program if they have one at all. Also I think everyone is aware that band members work hard but I guarantee you it is a small fraction of what the football players put in; and most don't have any hesitation criticizing them. The truth is that plus 90% of the people who were at the game last night would have noticed that the Troy travel band with maybe a fourth of the players was a much better "football spirit band" than NT. They were louder, more enthusiastic, and played a more varied selection. I do appreciate the dedication and skill of the NT band, but the sad fact is they were totally upstaged. I and most in attendance don't care who was amplified and who was not, which band would have won at a music competition, or was illegally using music. And while we are discussing the band,am I the only that notices they do basically the same half time show every time. Yes the music may change, and sometimes it is great, but they march out get into formation play one or two selections then bring out the dancers and do one number than off the field. If I wanted to nitpick more I would point out that they are usually out of step and sloppy marching and getting into their formations. I have always wondered why NT doesn't showcase their music ability by doing the things that help the band perform. Show some originality, learn more than a handful of scores, get loud, get some decent warm weather uniforms. NT probably produces more high school music directors than any school in the state, and I would think that number would dwarf the number of concert musicians it produces. Yes, I am confident that NT does a great job training music educators but it seems to miss a good opportunity to more finely hone showmanship with an overall lackluster marching band. With all the criticism of this post, it is not the individual band member that is the issue, it is the focus of the marching band. Being technically and musically the best is great, but why can't that be accomplished at the same time as being the most entertaining. It seems to me that would be more fun for everybody especially the band members.

I highly doubt RV is going to buy out a WBB contract. I think NT is stuck with SS for at least two more years and probably 3 no matter what her record is. IMO they are trying to boost the program by upgrading the assistants just as they did with Trilli, which obviously did not work. It is way to early this year to throw in the towel, but they couldn't have got off to a worst start.

This has been kicked around for years and never went anywhere. With the recent Belt mandate on scheduling, NT probably couldn't afford games against the frogs and ponies unless they substantially improve. Actually, I think this would significantly increase interest in four programs that definitely need it. If sponsorship could be secured it would be a win for all four programs. What would really be great is if they could make it an eight team tournament alternating at the four local sites and invite a couple of top Texas teams and National teams to participate with the local teams playing against the outsiders in the first round. Can you imagine the interest in a Baylor, UT, North Carolina, Illinois, UTA, SMU, TCU and NT tournament in the holiday season? We can always dream, but it does seem strange that the metroplex with four division one teams does not have any continuing college basketball tournaments.

I wonder why anyone is concerned with recruiting at this point. No one with many other options is going to commit to NT until a new coach is signed. I would be leery about anyone who committed to NT now. About all that can be done, is for Canales and staff to keep in contact with the better recruits in hopes that they can be signed if Canales gets the job. Historically, most NT recruits are committed late in the process; so I don't think a whole lot is lost with this coaching change particularly if a new coach is signed before season end. In fact, I believe the new coach whoever he is will be able to do substantially better than NT has done the past two years. As an aside; I have always like ULM; they do a whole lot with very little. They were our big rival in the SL and deserve sympathy for being that close to La Tech and their delusional fans.

Anything is possible, until it isn't. The important thing is that NT can still make a gigantic statement this season. If NT won the three remaining Belt games, it would be very easy to make the case that NT is the best team in the conference. With all the injuries and playing the majority of games with a third or fourth string QB; the rest of the conference just might fear the team that most have laughed at, no matter who the new coach is, next year.

The answer to NT football dilemma is to win, in the Belt or elsewhere. The Belt has been very good to NT, it is certainly not a premier conference but with NT generally stinking it up in football the last six years; NT should not complain. IMO the Belt will be significantly better than the reconstituted WAC and has been on par with the MAC for several years, and the MWC and CUSA are not really substantially better. Being in the Belt, hurts recruiting in Texas because NT is the lone team; but TCU has been able to manage that in the MWC because they are very good. It would be nice to be in a conference with your peers, and IMO that would be Tech, Houston, UTEP and in time perhaps UTSA and TSSM. Similar size schools with close academics and missions. NT immediate goal should be to dominate the Belt. I do believe that NT has the resources, size and location and hopefully now the will to do just that. In reality now, NT has two bad programs: football and WBB and the running sports stuck on mediocrity. RV and staff has got volleyball, swimming, tennis, softball, MBB and golf all on an upward trajectory. Soccer long a strength is also in the top portion of the conference. New conference opportunities will come and I really think NT is already in a very positive position. The private dominated Western CUSA may have unfavorable odds for NT entrance, but if NT continues to build, better things will come.

This is a young NT team, but I don't like the direction this team has had the last few years. Yes, the conference has gotten a lot better, but all that means is that NT apparently has not. There are lots of excuses, young team, playing WKU at their home in the tournament etc, etc.; but going from a perennial front runner to losing 0-3 to the sixth seed is certainly not progress. This decline no matter how small is coming at a time when the facilities have been greatly improved. Maybe just relying on local second tier players is no longer enough to sustain a premier program. Most of the Belt clubs are recruiting nationally including the DFW area and a few are getting big help from international players. The metroplex is a premier soccer area no doubt, but maybe NT should widen their net a bit. Like football it appears everyone recruit the area for players. Obviously, the main thrust of recruiting the metro should continue but maybe concentrating on a few local club teams is not sufficient anymore. It is not time to give up on the coach and team, his record is outstanding but NT soccer is no longer dominating the Belt and the historical best team at NT is down the list now. The facts are that NT got into women's soccer relatively early and feasted on a lot of bad opponents. In general, the rest of the soccer world has upgraded while perhaps NT has not upped their game enough. Complaining about a team that has never had a losing record maybe strange but I would prefer this team not sink into mediocrity before progress is questioned.

Never, is a long time. Actually, if you want to look at untapped sources than NT has to be near the top. The big 12 schools by virtue of being in the Big 12 have larger resources but there are huge variances between the top and the bottom. The privates have some very big donors but not near as many alums. The facts are that NT got into the fund raising business late and frankly has never had the continued success or the focus to build up relationships that lead to big donations. With the new student fees, better facilities and hopefully more wins; there are substantial reasons for NT to grow donations. NT does have a lot of alums with big money, the trick is going to be to sell a a lot more of them on the athletic program.

By virtue of being the interim coach, Canales is already a serious candidate. If he and the team do well in the next three games he has to be one of the favorites. I am not sure you can state a number of games he would have to win, he would have to be competitive in all. It is ironic that Canales faith is largely in the hands of a hobbled Riley to led the team.

A better conference would be nice, but the next major need is to win in the Belt. In a way, I see the Belt as an advantage for a program in as much disarray as NT football. Nothing against the Belt but if NT can't win here, they can't win anywhere.

Actually the coaching job is primarily to win, not connect to the players. A lot of successful coaches were and/or are tyrants as far as their relationships with the players. However the usual ploy is for the head coach to be the nice guy and the coordinators the fire breathers. As far as Fry or Royal, Wilkerson, Bryant; you have no way to know that they wouldn't be successful today. The active coaches you mentioned, who knows. It is easy to list coaches on the decline and coaches on the top of the charts and conclude their position is do to one trait or another. I do believe it takes a different type of skill to build a small program up than it does to be successful at a high resource institution and not all coaches can make that transition.

Obviously, Canales will be considered for the job. NT needs to make a splash with the new hire but it would be stupid not to look at Canales if he continues to get results. This team is much better than Dodge's first three even with the injuries with Riley at QB. So with enthusiastic leadership NT could finish with a couple more wins. Everyone expects NT to up the ante on coaches salaries but just paying more even double although it improves the odds does not guarantee success. If Canales wins 2 or 3 of the last four then he is going to be considered for a lot of jobs not just at NT. I am hopeful that RV will have a new hc before the KSU game, if NT beats two out of Troy, ULM and the Muts and plays the other close; Canales would get my vote over most of the known hc suspects including Leavitt. In my view, demonstrating winning trumps the bigger name when you are talking about Bower, Leavitt and Fran. I think the Leavitt hc and Canales oc is highly unlikely, just because he worked for Leavitt before does not mean he would do again.

Your read is the same as mine, obviously there was little or no recruiting done for this year in cross country. Look for a big turnaround next year. On another note, has NT ever hired the other track coach? I noticed that Talley and a few others are no longer listed on the track roster, if he is no longer with the team it would be a big loss. Not many pay much attention to the track sports but if NT ever has a chance at winning the "all sports championship", they are going to have to improve. I took the termination of the two track coaches as a sign, that NT wanted to upgrade their program. Hopefully that will happen, there is no reason that NT should not dominate other than lack of interest and funding.

I thought NT got the best overall play they have had at least since the Clemson game. The defense, offense and special teams all were good with few mistakes. WKU obviously isn't a very good team but neither were several others that NT has managed to lose to. WKU's game plan helped a lot because they tried few long passes which has been a big problem for NT's defense and relied early on their middle running game playing into NT's strength. Jackson and Atkisson have been solid all year and the defensive ends and linebackers were effective today. Personally I think not being down 0-7 was a great advantage. On the offensive side, the line finally had a good game. Another courageous game by Riley, Dunbar finally got enough blocking to take over the game.

Wouldn't it be a lot better to toast foremost the players and the coaching staff for a very good game than use this for an opportunity to pile on the ex-coach? Frankly, no one can really know what would have been the results if Dodge was still the coach. Todd Dodge went out with style, and hopefully will remain a big supporter of NT. Lets try to focus on the future and hope for several more wins for Canales and the team. The Troy game certainly doesn't look as hopeless as it appeared yesterday.

NT soccer loses to Denver 0-1, not bad considering Denver is a good team and playing in Denver. NT loses to Muts at home 2-3, disappointing as NT won first two sets and couldn't close them out. Not sure what I was typing in title.

No, Canales will do everything he can to win here, no matter what his chances on becoming hc are. He is auditioning for his next job wherever that might be and being an interim hc can only help him unless the team completely deteriorates.

Canales is obviously a candidate but he must finish strong. The problem with Canales is that he is not a name in Texas and his association with the current debacle does not help him. We should get a good idea of his ability to coach over the rest of the season, but it will not tell us what is recruiting ability will be. Also his hire would not convey the message that NT is a lot more serious about football. He would be viewed as just another "cheap" assistant coach hire for NT and would not make the type of statement that a more renowned coach would. I believe Canales is a long shot and will need a great finish to be a serious candidate, but if he wins a couple of games and plays the rest close he will be difficult to ignore.

WKU or anybody else will be a big challenge for this NT team, too many injuries and now an interim coach. I expect that WKU will be a good Belt team very soon. NT might have a chance if Dodge is able to play and the offensive line improves. NT better give a heck of an effort or they will be steamrolled.

Only partially agree, programs like UT were you can pay to have the very best assistants; this is the approach that works. For lower tier teams, the HC has to be a more hands on guy. It is common to have the hc be the de facto coach on one side of the ball. It is why Mack Brown would be a terrible coach at a place like NT. His main role is hiring and monitoring assistants, fund raising, and providing very general guidance. NT needs someone who does those things but also who can recruit and take a much bigger part in the developing of game plans and players. This doesn't mean the hc is out leading drills and coaching techniques but it does mean that he takes an active part in game planning, play calling, and recruiting. It is a fact that even if a lower tier team can afford a very capable hc that they will also have the same level of assistants.

There should have been a Green player as pre season MVP, but I guess the vote was too split. Frankly, between Thompson, White and Odufuwa, it is a difficult just to predict the team mvp. If Thompson has many games like against Kansas State he could be all world. Odufuwa is probably the team mvp in that at this point he is NT's only proven post presence. Look for him to continue to be the top rebounder in the league and probably add a couple of points to his scoring average. White, one of the most unselfish players at NT ever, with Johnson's help at the point should have a great year.

I am not sure how much this helps anything. Almost all teams play a bunch of patsies in the oc, for a number of reasons. It allows cheap home games, pads player statistics, allows bench players more action and obviously builds up the record. Playing against lower division teams is RPI neutral, while playing against a bad D1 can lower your rpi even it is a big win. As far as having to play an oc schedule that averages 150 rpi that will be expensive and it will be impossible to monitor. What is the league going to do if a team falls far short of these standards? I assume the obvious intent of these standards is to eventually raise the likelihood of being a multiple NCAA conference by raising the RPI of the conference. The problem is that just playing better competition does no good if you don't also win your share. With most upper tier conference teams playing few away oc games, this mandate will be very difficult to obtain as the number of home games could go down. I don't have a lot of faith in the conference help with scheduling. The problem is that you greatly limit regional teams as less than probably a third of the so called mid majors will have a rating above 150 while the majority of the schools with higher ratings will be in the so called high major category. Not many of the upper league conferences such as the Big 12, or SEC are going to play home and home against a Belt team. This would be a good thing for the serious fan because the games should be better against better competition. However, how many fans are going to be lost when those 20 win seasons are much more difficult to come by. There are a lot of 20 win team these days that include a lot of victories over non-division 1 teams and very poor D1 competition. Is it really going to help the Belt's perception even if the rpi does rise if the win percentage goes significantly down? As far as averaging 5000 a game that seems unrealistic for most of the Belt. NT should average that and more but has not been close in decades. I have no idea of how the league is going to help at all with this.