NT80

'Horn fans think it could be a good fit for him to get some college HC experience at UNT while keeping his son at SLC for senior year.... Todd Dodge thread on UT board

That brings up another important point to the coaching search...popularity. With the need for new stadium donations forming and a renewal for the football team and season ticket holders, hiring a popular or name-known coach should be a major factor. The new coach will be undefeated at UNT until at least next September. We need to use this time to push all the buttons for donations and season ticket sales. Could a Todd Dodge be that carrot to dangle in front of us?

Why not? Who else at UNT has hired a college football coach or would know what we need?

Quick slants: North Texas at ULM By Michael Kern North Texas players enter this game with a heavy heart but will surely be fired up for their coach. This is the final game for North Texas football coach Darrell Dickey, who was fired by the school after a 34-31 loss to Louisiana Tech a few weeks ago. Dickey, who suffered a heart attack just weeks before being fired, agreed to finish out the season. His team wore all black uniforms partly in protest in last Saturday’s home loss to Florida Atlantic. “It’s been an honor and it’s been a pleasure,” Dickey said. “I hate to see it end. My emotions and my focus will be on trying to help these kids play with one more great effort.” The Mean Green hasn’t given up on its season since Dickey was fired. North Texas won the following game at Louisiana-Lafayette, 16-7, then lost by just a point last week. Freshman running back Evan Robertson has emerged as a solid replacement for banged up star Jamario Thomas, rushing for more than 200 yards last week. “(Thomas) is beat up right now,” Dickey said referring to the bumps and bruises from a long season. “Our offense has made some progress from a blocking standpoint, and Robertson has been kind of fresh. He hasn't gotten beat down.” HAWK TALK Dickey is concerned about defending a ULM rushing attack that has shown major signs of life the last couple of weeks. He said the multiple sets the Warhawks use keep defenses off balance and make it difficult to get the right personnel into the game. ULM’s mixture of a power running game inside and an option game that attacks the corners also make it difficult to get defenders in the right place before the play. “Can't hone in on one thing,” Dickey said. “They are running the option well which Coach Weatherbie has had a lot of success doing in the past.” — Michael Kern ............................................................................................ AROUND THE BELT THEN THERE WERE TWO The build up to Saturday’s game between Middle Tennessee State and Troy is taking on a conference championship game type of feel. The Blue Raiders have already clinched a share of the conference title but would win the championship outright with a win. Troy still has another game against winless Florida International next week but would clinch a share of the title for all intents and purposes with a win. “It's a one-game series for both of us,” Troy coach Larry Blakeney said. Essentially, one of these two teams will be headed to the New Orleans Bowl as the Sun Belt champions. Middle Tennessee, which is already bowl eligible with seven wins, could still get an at-large bowl berth if it loses. The only way it can guarantee it will play in a bowl, however, is with a win Saturday. “An opportunity to go to a bowl is something everybody dreams of,” MTSU coach Rick Stocksill said. “Florida State was fighting, scratching and clawing to get its sixth win Saturday. South Carolina was doing the same thing. Every team, that's what you strive for to get in a bowl game. Both of these teams have that opportunity this weekend.” — Michael Kern

I would like to take credit...if only I knew how to hack. I also noticed SI disparaged Michigan State further down that column by listing them as SMU at 4-8.

Ellis Island Medal of Honor award, small bio and photo.... Al Goldfield 2000 award/photo/bio

FAU coach said the team had multiple injuries from the game: broken arm, concussion, and ankle injury to name a few. It was probably the concussion that required the ambulance.

I'll agree with you. The University as a whole, all alums, and all athletic donors need to know about this, and the media release when school is out and a holiday in effect is strange. BUT, it is a great start to what I hope is a VERY PUBLIC capital campaign for a new stadium. Hello Marketing Department!!

The radio crew made reference to the new monitor during the game. I'm glad UNT Athletics was able to respond quickly to some needed equipment. You'd think that issue would have come up before the UTA game. How long have replay monitors been allowed in college games?

"It is the largest gift ever donated to North Texas athletics and will be used primarily in the development of a plan for a proposed football stadium adjacent to the current Mean Green Athletics Center." YES!!!!! This is the best part of the donation, to be used as seed-money for a New Stadium, a kickoff so to speak for it's capital campaign. Originally RV mentioned that the gift might be split among various athletic needs but I'm glad it is going to the New Stadium.... the keystone to NT Athletic's future.

That eliminates SMUt's chances.

The MTSU loss this season was the worst conference home loss in the history of Fouts. My Xmas wish is for SMUt to rehire DD and RF as assistants.

First game for UNC-Charlotte since UNT beat them 90-72. Syracuse is ranked #17 and is 5-0. November 22, 2006 Carrier Dome • Attendance: 18,881 Charlotte 67 Syracuse 79 49ers 30 37 67 Orange 31 48 79

Are they local ads within Denton only or have they been seen elsewhere in the metroplex? We need more regional advertising.

He's an exciting up and coming young coach that we'd be lucky to hang onto for a few seasons before he moves further up. I just don't see him crashing and burning at NT like some think he would because he currently coaches HS.

Agree, this is the biggest plus to Dodge. Besides coaching an entertaining style of football that players want to play (especially QBs and WRs), he would be instantly known to local recruits.

Tentative WKU 2007 1-A Football Schedule (Main Board) posted by WKULooseCannon90 , Atlanta, GA, 11-20-2006, 20:43, from 24.131.48.112 According to Coach Elson on Coach's show, so far: @Florida (Sept 1) EKU @Chattanooga Morehead Troy FIU or FAU @MTSU @UNT @Ball State

For UNT and FIU fans (Main Board) posted by Arkstfan , 11-21-2006, 15:51, from 170.94.60.200 Remember that the best hires aren't always popular until the results come in. Tom Dienhart column from the Sporting News, January 1, 2001 Carroll's hiring is another mistake for troubled USC Dear Mike Garrett: I 'think you made a mistake hiring Pete Carroll as USC's next coach. As Trojans athletics director, you needed to hit a home run with this hire. This looks more like a scratch single. I know. Carroll might end up being grand, but the perception in the here and now is what matters for a program that's on the wane. And that perception isn't good. Some might compare Carroll to Paul Hackett, the coach he replaces. That might not be fair, but you can't blame them. Carroll is an NFL guy. He's a defensive tactician who hasn't coached in college since 1083, when he was an assistant at Pacific. Hackett was an offensive expert who hadn't coached in college since 1092 when he landed the USC job before the 1998 season. At least Hackett's most recent college stint at the time was as head coach at Pittsburgh. Unlike Hackett, Carroll proved he can be a successful head coach, leading the New England Patriots to a pair of winning seasons and playoff berths. He's also a super-enthusiastic guy. But Carroll doesn't know college football. Oh, he's saying the fight things. You know, stuff like, "If you can understand the process in the NFL ... in the draft process, it's all about watching players in college, I don't consider myself unfamiliar with the college game at all." I'm sure Carroll, like Hackett, knows his X's and O's. The problem is the college game Carroll doesn't know. It was the same one Hackett had trouble grasping. I'm talking about things like academic issues, recruiting / and dealing with alumni. Is Caroll up for whispering sweet nothings into the ears of know-it-all 18-year-olds? Is Carroll up for spending more time speaking at booster events than breaking down film? Is Carroll up for fans demanding to know why USC can't dominate the Pac-10 anymore? Carroll needs a positive start and would help himself by retaining defensive line coach Ed Orgeron and running backs coach Kennedy Pola, a pair of Hackett assistants who red-line their intensity meters. I know, Mike. You say, "Average Joe doesn't know football." Believe what you want, but Average Joe has reason to doubt your hiring skills and thinks you are part of the problem. Hackett was 19-18 at USC, and his last team finished last in the Pac-10, the first t/me that ever has happened. He was your man after you mishandled the termination of John Robinson after the 1997 season. Your job might be riding on Carroll's performance. Your non-communicative ways cause people to make conclusions that might not be tree about you and your program. And you didn't help yourself a few years ago when you gave a "pep talk" in the locker room. It was hard for you to believe people didn't fall over themselves to coach your beloved USC. But it's not that good of a job because it's not 1975 anymore. The 85-scholarship limit has made college football an equal-opportunity sport in which schools such as Oregon State and Virginia Tech have BCS dreams. Also working against USC are substandard facilities-all the way from Heritage Hall to the antiquated weight room. And the L.A. lifestyle isn't tot everyone, especially not for assistant coaches. Housing prices are out of sight, To live in a decent area, coaches must drive an hour to and from work. Their days are long enough as it is. Oregon State's Dennis Erickson and Oregon's Mike Bellotti are the biggest names who sniffed around the USC job but didn't really pursue it. San Diego Chargers coach Mike Riley would have been a good hire. He served as Oregon State's coach from 1997-98 and was USC's offensive coordinator before that, but he couldn't make up his mind. When he continued to drag his feet, you grabbed Carroll, who was out of work last season. Contrast that to the job search at Alabama. Marquee names such as Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer and Miami's Butch Davis seriously considered taking the job. In the end, the Tide got TCU coach Dermis Franchione, one of the hottest coaches in the college game. Dennis Franchione, USC Coach. Would've had a nice ring to it. Sincerely, Tom

There is no guarantee with any hire that they will win immediately at NT, regardless of their past coaching experience. DD went 3.5 years before he won. I went through the Parker era at NT. I also saw Dodge and Southlake play Plano in the playoffs last season and on TV several times. I agree with SUMG that there is a big difference between the two coaches and their styles. Dodge's system isn't based on $$ and facilities. He can coach and gets the most out of his players, many not overly huge or super fast. I would be very excited for him to become UNT's coach and we would reap a ton of local media from it = recruits.

Interesting that he turned down that OC job. Wonder what it paid? Perhaps now that Dodge has coached his son at QB for a season he would be more willing to leave Southlake, especially since UNT is so close he could commute from home. Plus Rice would be a tough place to recruit to with all their high academic requirements.

The donation is great (after being gone 35 years), and I do appreciate it for the program. The support stated at the time of the gift (2 years ago) was because he likes DD and the job he was doing and he would continue to help UNT "as long as DD was coach". Now, when DD is not doing so well and we want to change directions, MM cries foul and wants his "already spent" money given to Music if the recognition sign isn't changed to DD. I don't see much Mean Green blood there. But, I'll give him another chance to buy my forgiveness...I have 60 million ways he can do it!

From another player's parent posted on the M&G board: "My son is a WR and told me that RF attacked the WR's coach after he told RF that his play calling sucked! The jerseys were DD's idea and he bought them with his own money. The players did not request them or had any intention of making any kind of statement by wearing them. DD was attempting to use the jerseys as a motivational tool but most of the players were seeing it as his way to get a dig in on RV. Most of the players are sick of DD's bullshit and are happy to seem him go!"

Someone posted the football Scrappy was a different person, and had more energy. Hopefully the basketball one got the hint!

That's crazy; where did you hear that? The BOR and President would not let an AD fire then hire a football coach if they were not going to keep him around. Note: if RV starts wearing all black, then I'll worry that he might be leaving.

There is a class way to do things and a classless way....