GrandGreen

Jeez, what Leavitt allegedly did is not ok under any circumstances, but neither is it worthy of completely destroying a career. If he did do it as alleged, it cost him his job and probably a lot of money. The question is what is his character and going forward can he perform the job in the manner that NT needs. Again, if this did occur and is an isolated occurrence in a long career, then I believe it should be given little weight. However, if he has a history of questionable conduct than he is not NT's man. Frankly, in the old days this would hardly be noticed; but in the days of openness, this has to be evaluated. There appear to be a lot of potential good applicants available and maybe Leavitt is not the best one, but he certainly should be looked at. He has a proven record of building a program with little limited resources. However, there is definitely a reason that USF wants him out.

The positive thing is that NT never recruits anywhere close to WKU on paper, but still manages to win it's share. JJ in the past has got few big names but still has managed to usually be deemed the most athletic team in the conference. It will be very interesting with this class which should the best in JJ's career, to see how it progresses through the Belt.

West is a Golden Triangle homer that gave NT great coverage when Dodge was hired and has supported him through the ordeal. Heard even more of this when Dickey was fired with all his success and late ailments when at NT. I like Dodge and was never fond of Dickey, but both men were in hind sight terminated too late not too early. It is easy to opine over some perceived wrong when it is not your program involved.

Yes, several as a matter of fact at this point. However, this is an early signing group that has a year to improve.

Right, SMU might be a meaningful comparison for football but not basketball.

Assuming all the commits are signed. NT will have the following squad: Posts Edwards 6'7 Sr Hogans 6'7 Sr Knox 6'10 Jr Holmen 6'8 Jr Robinson 6'9 F Post/Wing Williams 6'6 F Combos A. Williams 6'4 Jr Jones 6'2 F Walton 6'2 Jr Point Norris 5'10 F I think NT can afford to be very selective with their other 3 ships. They need another wing for next year but other then that unless they can get some super prospects, one or two transfers might be a good strategy. I would like to see a big man like Wooden sitting on the bench a year waiting to replace Hogans and Edwards.

When will people ever learn that college coach's contract are almost completely one sided. JJ just signed a contract extension, signing him to a longer contract does absolutely nothing but tie down the school. Now if NT wants to increase his compensation that is another thing but adding years to the contract would only add to NT's exposure. All NT fans want JJ to stay and keep winning. With the recruiting class he is putting together, he is certainly more likely to stay but if a LSU or like program comes after him, it is doubtful NT could keep him no matter what they are paying.

Obviously, NT or anyone else that is looking at Leavitt needs to be satisfied that anything like the alleged incident will not happen. Amusingly, there is another thread discussing the differences between now in the past relating to what coaches can get by with. Decades ago, an incident like this would not even be newsworthy. Many who admire Corky Nelson, seem to forget his fighting with a player on the sidelines. An event that passed with little consequences for Corky or the player. However, this is today and things like the alleged incident can't happen. It does seem that this is all about the money and most likely will be settled. This event has to be evaluated in any review of Leavitt as a candidate just as Lynch's conduct or any other hc hopeful. One thing about hiring any established head coach, they are all going to have a public record that can be analyzed and all are going to have both good and bad factors. In the case of Leavitt, he has had a long coaching history and if this is an isolated event; than it should treated as such.

I never understood why NT was not better able to take advantage of their history as it relates to the integration of its athletic teams. However, I believe the time for that has long passed. I do think with the right leadership decisions that NT could ultimately become a force in Texas athletics. It is the only football playing public school in the biggest and most prosperous part of the state. The major problem is that athletics has a very poor infrastructure, and I am not talking about mortar. NT just has never developed the fan base and support it needs to be successful. Frankly though it is slowly improving, NT has never enjoyed the financial support it takes to excel. NT can rapidly process even with the historical perception of athletic ineptness but it is going to take great leadership. I believe NT has taken the first steps by getting good base facilities for a non-AQ program and the next step in the process is hiring a recognized coach that illustrates that NT is at long last serious about its athletic program.

Joe Greene played for Rust not Fry and if you think football was cleaner in the "ole days", it is because you just were not around. As mentioned above, coaches could never get away with the stuff they used to pull. Illegal recruiting, abuse of players and little regard to academics were all issues that were much worse in the past. There were no cameras at every event and very few investigative reporters. Coaches could just about get by with anything and many did. Coaches such as Royal, Wilkerson, Bryant, etc. were legends because they won not because of great character. The powers routinely gave out 60 and 70 freshmen ships and then proceeded to run off the majority to make way for next years crop. Rules limiting number of scholarships, stating minimum academic standards, and requiring academic progress are not always effective, but it is a much better environment for players than existed decades ago.

If history means anything, NT is not going to be scared away by a little fisticuffs between a player and hc. If there is any mutual interest between Leavitt and NT then this alleged event should be investigated and NT satisfied that it is not a pertinent issue. The contract could specify immediate dismissal without compensation if something similar ever occurs. I don't see a major risk if NT does necessary due diligence.

Yes, there is usually turnover after a coaching change, but more often than not it is instigated by the coach. I would think the majority of the players look forward to a fresh start, the last three years couldn't have been that enjoyable. NT has a handful of great or potentially great players, and even if all of them decided to leave; NT is still ahead making the decision. Dodge lost a few of Dickey's recruits but most forget that over half of Parker's squad was gone soon after Simon arrived. Hopefully, NT can keep the vast majority because it is down in numbers and medical redshirts can be obtained for Tune, Byne, Johnson, Leppo, Thompson and others. This team has shown that it doesn't have a lot of quitters involved, and I doubt a new coach is going to scare any of them.

WKU and MTSU; seem to think the basketball world revolves around them. WKU definitely has the historically best bb program, while the Muts have a great WBB program. Based on their fans participation in the Belt tournament; they should also get more attention than the other Belt schools. Frankly, although much closer and having a high caliber BB team, NT's fan response has been disappointing. Much better last year, then NT first Belt tournament win in Lafayette when the NT fans were practically non-existent; but still needs to be vastly improved. All that being said, there still has to be a site that actually bids and offers something comparable to Hot Springs and apparently that has not happened. I am not as enamored as many with Hot Springs. It is a easy travel location and is small enough that it is easy to get around, but for a half a##ed bb fan like me that doesn't have a great interest in watching non-NT games; it doesn't have a lot of attractions. A Memphis, Nashville, Mobil, New Orleans and even Biloxi would be more centrally located and offer far more then Hot Springs. However, the Belt is not going to get near the focus at any of these places with the exception of Mobile, and that is not a neutral site. Hot Springs is overall a great location for NT fans and we should take advantage of it for the next three years. The weekday games are tough for most to make, but if MTSU and WKU can do it, why can't NT. We are much closer and there are potentially a lot more of us.

Does anyone really think Leach is even a remote option? Forget about the money aspect, RV couldn't control Dickey; can you imagine Leach here? It would be fun and I think he would win but highly unlikely. . Out of that group, I would go with Leavitt a proven program builder and to my knowledge never complained about USF lack of resources. Also his character questions seem to be small compared to Leach.

Frankly, based on the Dodge hire; I think RV needs all the help he can get. Having the acting president in your corner is of enormous benefit.

Traditionally, NT has always relied on recruits committing in December and January. Unfortunately, NT is doing about all it can at this time; and that is just to keep in contact with recruits. Basically, recruiting is dead until a new coaching staff is in place. Obviously, the quicker a hc is named the better that is one reason that a not currently employed coach is more desirable than one that is not available till after a bowl game.

Shows just how ignorant some of these posters are. I give DD all the credit for NT incredible run of conference wins but also all the blame for the fall of the program after that. DD apparently thought he was destined for bigger things not realizing that most programs didn't want a hc who was a public relations disaster and most of his success related to one inexplicably good recruiting class. HIs lazy recruiting and bad mouthing of the program finally cost him his job.

NT's tie with a very average UALR team about killed any chance of winning the regular season conference title.

Old article but Robinson, I think would look good in green. www.reporternews.com/news/2010/jan/24/eastlands-robinson-adding-maturity-to-his-hoops/

Well I guess I am just as worried about Matt Simon and especially the demon Dickey down the road. I would be happy if any of them succeed, Jerry Moore turned in to a good coach decades and a few schools after he left the Green. I do think that Dodge will once again be successful and I would not be surprised if it ultimately is as a FB division hc, but his time at NT had to end.

Well, I guess NT should not even try under those circumstances. Money is always an obstacle because there is always someone who can pay more, even for the richest programs. However, I don't think NT is going to worry about covering Dodge salary with so much at stake with this next hire. Likewise unless NT is mystically transported into the SEC, there are always better conference homes. Sun Belt competition isn't going to exactly scare coaches away. The lack of success at NT in football is in the past, you don't even want a coach that is concerned with that. The facts are that NT is without doubt in the best position it has ever been to move the football program forward.. Individual coaches may have interest or not, but there are only 120 hc jobs and there are going to be excellent candidates. I really like the fear that if NT does makes a good hire, he will be gone in 2 to 3 years. I guess NT should settle for someone with no upward expectations, I think most would be elated with a coach that was so successful that he was lost after two or three years.

I would think it will be a long time if ever that Dodge is back in college coaching. The perception is that he has been a complete failure at the college level, and I doubt he would even be considered for a coordinator position and I doubt he would want to be just an assistant. He can have his pick of high school jobs and with almost 2 years of pay coming, he can take his time.

You really think RV is going to go for another "out there" type candidate? I highly doubt that RV is going to hire someone else with limited college experience. Joe was a great football player and also great supporter of NT, less leave it at that. I can't imagine Greene being interested in starting a college coaching career at 60+.

There is a big difference between being able to identify talent and the ability to sign those athletes. NT by virtue of it's history, conference, and current performance is just not going to sign many identified primo athletes. There are two elements in the recruiting wars, beating out similar and sightly better competition for athletes and the ability to identify borderline prospects that there is little competition for that have fb talent. Dodge's first year recruiting was horrible in hind sight, but he signed a great number of All everything type athletes. The problem though they were good high school athletes, they didn't have college level ability. I thought Dodge second year was one of the best recruiting years NT has had, he actually signed a number of athletes that had other opportunities. The last two years, Dodge and staff have basically had to fight over the leftovers of recruits, being basically non-competitive against Texas fb competition. Note, the relatively large number of out of state players. Yes, there are a few exceptions but in general, Dodge and staff got borderline athletics and took too many chances on the academically challenged. I still do wonder why many of you continue to pound on Riley. A player that gives everything and has had a fair measure of success. He may not be strong enough to stay away from injury but the kid has a hell of a heart. Every coach makes recruiting mistakes and the lower the team is on the food chain, the more risks are usually taken. One thing that has surprised me about Dodge is his failure to recruit a number of QBs. This recruit one a year may be alright for a team with an established QB rotation, but makes no sense when the team has no established hierarchy of QB's. He has also failed more often than not, with high school receivers; a position that should be easy for him to recruit. Discussing Dodge's recruiting now is probably totally counter productive. Hopefully, NT hires a coach that can create enough excitement to quickly upgrade recruiting. You have to give Dodge and staff some credit, I think they have really worked hard at recruiting; but it hard to out recruit your record and conference. There is no reason that NT should not out recruit the other Belt teams and be able to compete with the bottom half of the Texas teams, but it is not going to be easy. You generally have to win to recruit well, and to win you have to have talent. The new coach because of the lack of depth is probably going to have to continue to hit the jucos hard and slowing reduce the reliance on transfers.