PlummMeanGreen

I think most all of our problem with Jim McIngvale is why UNT (his alma mater where he played for Hayden Fry) was never important enough for him until some KSU graduate came to town? So many things just never makes sense with the things that happen to our alma mater and MM's non-support for his alma mater during all those years when we really could have used a Big Donor; in fact, it very well could have been such a person who could have talked our (then) UNT officials to avoid NCAA D1-AA at all costs. MM was not there for us then, and unless he and Rick V have some kind of "Come To Jesus" talk, he is not going to be there for his/our alma mater anytime soon. I do think most think NT Athletics will survive without MM because......... we did so before DD even arrived in Denton and FWIW...........is there any one alum really ever bigger than his own collegiate alma mater? ANSWER: Not only "NO"...... but HELL NO!

I heard one rumor that DD bought the old Milton-Bradley edition of "Candyland" for all the DRC sports staff several Christmas seasons ago; that is, all those from the DRC who covered the Mean Green. Seems they've been writing nothing but "sweet" stuff ever since. Come on, folks, DD is probably a very nice guy that got placed into an impossible situation for a man who merely had the talents that had made him a journeyman assistant football coach (which I think I posted that theme a very long time ago when some of of our elect even thought we might lose him to the Big 10 or Big 12 any minute). You don't get the big job by only beating SBC schools and our next HFC will know that coming in--guaranteed. We all know how DD felt about us from post-game radio comments over a span of years and he has to know how most feel about him by now. All of us moving upward, onward and forward would probably be best for all (truth be known). Some of us are hoping that Rick V (with more support and encouragement from our new prez') gets back with DD when all their motors have cooled to tell him coaching the next 3 games is a bit much for a lame duck coach and turn all this over to our assistant head football coach the next 2 weeks following this Saturday's game (which would be DD's last). Probably would not be a very good idea at all for DD to coach another game at Fouts Field, quite frankly. Many of us would remember how Coach Fry had been fired from SMU one week before his last game as Mustangs coach and SMU did let him coach his (one) last game versus the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon Carter Stadium. It was SMU's last game of the season, though. I'll never forget seeing film footage on DFW TV sports shows on that Fall Saturday after that game was over with Coach Fry crying which his sun-glasses could not even hide his tears. Coach Fry's SMU players loved him, too. You can't spend all that time together and not feel something for your coach (unless you were in said coach's dog house most of your time on campus). Fry was 7 & 4 his last year at SMU and it was a Mattress Mac-type SMU alum who waved his pocket book at the SMU hierarchy to insure Fry would get the axe. Matter of fact, I think if was SMU football letterman Dick Davis (who would later become the A.D. for his alma mater). It might be said college football is sometimes not for the feint of heart with the way things sometimes materialize or come down.

Before I have to hit the road and make that green stuff that makes capitalism so nice..... One of our best (ever) alums just called me and said what makes sense: "If DD had left UNT for a HFC's job at Memphis, Louisville, etc, etc, etc, etc, don't you think NT football letterman and DD bosom buddy Mattress Mac's money would have followed wherever Darrell went and left UNT in the cold (where he had before DD even came to UNT)? Only at North Texas, folks, only at UNT... Guess what, though, fellow alums? We have other Big Tater alums out there if approached correctly and with that all important good timing can make us all forget our DD-obsessed furniture salesman from Houston in a Kansas State Wildcat minute. One has to wonder why we have some of the weirdest damn situations and scenarios that only seem unique to our alma mater? We Have A Bright Future At UNT (and all the DFW media including TCU coach Patterson with his somewhat back-handed comments directed toward UNT in todays FWST); anyway, just let all our critics who obviously did not know the full story with DD's termination, anyway, let them all make the trip up to Denton, Texas, America, and see all the construction cranes (still) all over our main campus so that they can understand that our upside might be better than many other Texas D1-A schools they are far more used to covering and have since the SWC days..............and hey fellas, also don't forget to wear your apple green, kelly green or forest green hard hats while you're trying to find your way around our "always" expanding campus, too, OK? Rick V.................if its within you, please do pardon all my past barbs directed at you mostly out of the complete frustration of a middle-aged (and not getting any younger) NT Ex who just wanted to see his alma mater's football prrogram pick up where it left off following a pretty successful trip to Knoxville, Tennessee, but nevertheless............. RICK V............THE ENTIRE MEAN GREEN NATION IS PULLING FOR YOU TO HIT A GRAND SLAM HOME RUN WITH THIS YOUR FIRST HEAD FOOTBALL COACHES HIRE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS. Later, fellow alums....

And amazingly, FFR, Randy Galloway is an NT Ex; of course, he is an alum of about 2 other Texas schools besides ours, too, not graduating from any of them: but hellsbells, Dale Hansen didn't even go to college if I remember reading his bio correctly. Coach DD's main problems were that he "vented" at times when he really didn't have to or need to; that is, when he was even winning SBC games and then he would get on those post game radio shows and start venting those verbal diatribes aimed toward all the wrong people and for all the wrong reasons. I guess when his daddy and Craig Helwig got him this job which was (basically) handed over to him on a silver platter that he should have been told what a coach with very little charisma and no D1-A head football coaching experience might be getting himself into. PLUS.......... an NT HFC's job once held by one who had all the charisma in the world (but unfortunately, was coach at a time when smaller D1 leagues did not have bowl tie-ins, Denton had 39K population, NTSU had about 16-17K students and Denton County back in the 70's had all of 99,000 citizens and was even considered a "rural" county by the Texas Almanac back in that day. Albeit the fact that we beat nobodies just out of 1-AA to get to 4 bowl games, they all served a purpose that was a positive and DD should always receive his due for that 4 year part of his NT job. And all this no matter how 3 out of those 4 games turned out. I believe it was even those bowl games that showed many of us that we had a long ways to go to be an integral part of NCAA D1-A once again and it also told many of us that DD might not be the one who would be able to take us to that next level. A new hire will make us all forget much on all this DD Ball subject, but we did get an Athletic Center out of all this and Dickey did have much to do with that. On the other side of the coin, though, if UNT did not have an AC, we would probably be in a world of hurt for us to have any effective D1-A recruiting since even some pretty good 1-AA schools can probably even match our Athletic Center out at Eagle Point Campus. Texas State U in San Marcos has a very nice Athletic Center FWIW... Once UNT attaches about a 35-40K seat football stadium to our Athletic Center, then it will look about 5X's better than it does now it in its "standing alone" mode out on that rolling Texas prairie located on the western part of the UNT campus. Matter of fact, such a jewel of a new stadium will enhance every standing building out at the Mean Green Village including those venues at the former Liberty Christian School we inherited with its purchase that are now part of the MG Village as well.

Although I think George has been influenced by another NT staffer as to who he should be friendly to or who he should not be friendly to among our peers, I would never go out on a limb and say "Jub-Jub" should be fired as our MG play by play guy. Matter of fact, I think he does a damn good job doing our play by play. Just my .02.... As NT80 posted, I think the great Bill Mercer did a thing or 2 that cost him his job when Al Hurley had him terminated. I can never think George Dunham went behind anyone's back to have any part of having Bill canned. Most of the controversy had to do with upstart KTCK 1310 The Ticket when Bill Mercer was telling some not to buy advertisement with that station when he heard it would carry MG football in its inaugural year and he might not be part of its future. Water under the bridge with that one, folks. And on Charlie Waters, I think he'd be a helluva' good HFC at some college over his color broadcasting of Dallas Cowboy football. I know some others who feel the same about Charlie. SMU thought long and hard about him a few years ago and many of the Mustang elect wanted him very badly to be their HFC.

Neither George Dunham or his trusty sidekick, ie, Hank "NT would never want to be a part of CUSA" ** Dickenson would understand that Darrell Dickey could not carry John Hayden Fry's jock strap and I think even the entire Dickey clan would all be smart enough to know that. But our dynamic radio duo can do all the dreamin' about all that they want. ** Ol' HD said that to both SUMG and I in his first year on the NT Athletic Dept. payroll which was, uh, what decade again, John? Rick V still needs to do some more house cleaning so new schools of thought coming into Denton soon won't be tarnished or sabbotaged by old schools of thought of which many of that group wore out their welcome in Denton a long, long time ago. If Hank loves the Denton community and civic scene that much maybe he should resign from the UNT Athletic Dept and the, uh, the Mean Green Radio Network and run for mayor of Denton? Of course, he would have to be fore-warned that there would be a "slight" pay cut in doing that. A non-BCS athletic program that is not successful over an extended period of time (at a higher profile than that of the upstart SBC); anyway, such an athletic program should not become a haven of rest or retirement center for those who who've been around long enough to make a noticeable difference and I talk of all the ancillery athletic staff types as much as the coaches themselves.

Well...I guess I've had to eat some baked crow (since we above-50 types have had to give up the fried variety for you know all the reasons why); but in much of our (my) frustations with what I thought was going to be an extension of "more of the same" with DD Ball for another year or 2 or 3 and how that would have kept us from climbing up the NCAA D1-A 119 step ladder I supposed I just started (unfairly) gunslingin' toward whoever was within gun sight of my buttline special barrell out of complete frustration. 59 year follower of MG football GrayEagleOne's post of even him giving up if there were no changes bothered me to no end as to how the level of frustration had even affected one of my (and yours) long time MG buddies and friends. I think that is when I really started getting the most pi$$ed at what was seemingly going to happen for Mean Green football. And while on this subject of non-stop posts (along with some of yours) about how damn bleak our future had really looked it was going to continue to be (until Rick V and the UNT prez' made their stand yesterday); and with some of you taking some well-aimed potshots at those of us who just wouldn't go for what we were seeing happening I will say this? No, not one time have you ever read a post of mine telling some of you...........Na, Na, Na, Na, Naaaa, Na...... "WE TOLD YOU SO" and guess what, you won't be from this keyboard. Yet..............I confess I did take some direct hits on Rick V weeks ago and probably just because he was in the same bldg with all the rest of who many of us think are slackers who plan retirements in Denton no matter the quality or production of their jobs or how far down we stay down in most of our MG varsity sports (of which they are as big a part of as any coach truth be known). I would hope Rick V (with what seems to be some apparent new freedom for him) will think about evaluating everyone in that NT Athletic Dept. from those who clean the windows to those who are supposed to be out raising money under his direction. But in all fairness to our A.D. it was just days ago I found out from a fellow alum just how much Bobby Ray had really had his thumb on RV; that is, how much B.R. had really been orchestrating many of the decisons I previously thought all belonged (solely) to Rick Villarreal. My bad..............I was wrong and I am sorry, Mr. Villarreal. If any of you have ever made such a similar mistake in judgement, then you'll know how I feel right now on all this concerning Rick V. UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE DAY: Rick V has a tough job in picking up the pieces of the last 25 years of neglect and his own having been hamstrung by one of our upper echelon leaders. Others probably would have cut and run long ago, but (for whatever reason) something has kept Rick Villarreal in Denton. Anyway, I do hope RV will be sensative as hell as to what UNT really needs as our next Mean Green HFC as compared to all the other 9 Texas D1-A schools and their own unique needs with theirs I'm sure. It will be a temptation for him (as it would for any A.D. I suppose) to go with who he knows personally and with such a choice being just fine and comfortable for him, but there are close to 34,000 UNT students now and over 100,000 NT Exes in the Metroplex that RV's final choice for HFC also needs to be a pretty darn acceptable pick to them as well. Folks, we are at the bottom of that 10 school Texas D1-A school's as far as our being able to get consistent news coverage from the statewide media and is a prime reason I (and others) have posted non-stop "We Must Have A Top 25 Football Program @ UNT To Make Any Kind of State-Wide/Regional Headway" ; you know, much like Boise State has shown how Top 25 is not an impossible dream even for us. We still have our Lone Star State media that still (basically) caters to the 4 Texas schools in the Big 12 (which we know we won't ever break into that line-up of coverage unless we really do warp speed ahead with annual Top 25 MG football); but the Texas sports media still also caters to the ex SWC schools (and now even UTEP) over UNT and will do so until we become a regular Top 25 football school for about 4 or 5 years in a row; then and only then will we finally start commanding not only some regional attention, but also respect from Texas sports media types. Nothing really profound or new with this following statement but: This is just going to be one helluva' very crucial hire whoever the next HFC will be at the University of North Texas. We just cannot afford to screw it up this time around, fellow alums/MG fans and.............folks.

Ok, I know some of you will say we're not #10 but we're ahead of this school, that school or whatever Texas D1-A football school but listen to "young grampa" and others who feel the same, young gunner NT alums. Those of us who grew up in the Houston area will tell you how NT was hardly on the radar screen in that area during the Abner Haynes, Mean Joe Greene or..................(clear my throat) not even the Hayden Fry era. Folks, we are hardly on the Greater Houston area radar even now in the year 2006. There are some pretty good recruits down there in H-Town from all accounts. UNT ahead of Rice U? Not hardly............folks, any ex SWC school has it over us until we start making Top 25 for a few years running (like, uh..............former Big West conference mate..............Boise State? We cannot afford another hire like most of those we've had in Denton the last 25 years unless we want to continue having success with schools in worse athletic shape than our own, like some of the ones we're in a league with? (Check all those media guides again, Doubting Thomases, who want to see the state of the Mean Green Nation). We cannot hire a crony, we cannot hire a project (we just had one of those), we cannot hire a Texas good ol' boy that spits hits tobbaco out of the side of the mouth just damn perfect" AND................we cannot afford to hire another "face-less" "who the hell is he?" type that it will take 4 years for Texas HS football coaches to get to even know his name. (Yes, we will have a tough job in hiring the next head football coach at UNT but that is why some get paid the Big Bucks and thats to work over-time making sure we get the right fit. We maybe cannot afford a high profile name coach and there may not even be the right fit of a high profile coach available while a short list is put together..........hmmm? "Right fit" what a concept that is for UNT, eh? Please, no "damn-yankee" hires who cannot speak "Texanese" and every time they open their mouth piss half the Mean Green Nation off because of some stupid non-Texan like things they would say (like UNT should never want to be in a league like CUSA for one prime example) or who wouldn't know the Washington Monument from the San Jacinto Monument (nor would they know that the San Jacinto Monument is a few feet higher than the Washington Monument (which pissed of the people in Washington D.C. when we finished ours). I suppose they all got over it. BUT.......you oldtimers and many of you youn gun alums get my drift on all this (I think). It's been said before, but somone on the UTEP and Idaho "freakin" Vandal campuses took the bull by the horns and said: IF WE ARE EVER GOING TO MAKE ANY KIND OF IMPACT IN D1-A FOOTBALL, WE CANNOT DO WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING, FOLKS!" (Yes, in deedy, others over-use the word "folks" just like one on this board seems to). GO OUTSIDE THE BOX, UNT'ers! WE JUST SIMPLY CANNOT AFFORD ANOTHER BAD HIRE FOR THIS FOOTBALL PROGRAM AT THIS JUNCTURE OF ITS HISTORY! Sincerely, Jim Plummer aka PMG PS: A HFC who would be a "consistent fund-raiser" who wouldn't mind (at all) going right along side by side with Rick Villarreal nor would be too shy walking into one of those Fortune 500 conference rooms with as much enthusiasm as we all know RV can show talking to that most influential C.E.O. of said Fortune 500 company here in the DFW area (or elsewhere for that matter) and all this........to help get that new stadium money raised. Wouldn't it also be a nice thing if we had a UNT cheerleader type of a Mean Green HFC almost Fry'esque who loves UNT no matter what and might even have some public speaking courses and abilities from his own college experience? (I know, we will need a HGC with a big "S" on his shirt after all of this is cussed and discussed! FWIW, Hayden Fry still loves UNT to this day because of what it mean't for him then and for his future after he left NT. Now that was as good a trade-off of a situation that we ever had in Denton, just wish Fry's team had been in a league that would have had a bowl tie-in because had that been the case..............this program would have never had to go NCAA 1--AA for 12 long years and who knows where it would be ranked today because of that. Anyway, we have a golden opportunity at UNT right now, and the last 25 years of (mostly) left of center "no fit in Denton" hires at suggests how important it is that we really need to run a surprise QB draw for a 99 yard TD this time around in this most crucial hire. Just my .02 from what I've observed for 30 plus years as an NT Ex. GMG!

OK, fellas, I get the message... I am sure this may amaze some of you, but I am not in a celebrative mood at all, but in a mood where I feel empathy for one I have tried my dead level best as one NT Ex, ie, one lone voice to express all the reasons (to the point of ad nausum with many of you) of why I felt DD should be replaced. I have not changed my mind on any of those reasons, but I don't think (when it comes to the nut-cuttin' reality of all this) that any of us would really find any semblance of glory in someone losing their job. All this has most strangely created a bitter-sweet feeling for me--hellsbells, don't get me to try to explain any of this now. I hardly know Rick Villarreal at all, either, but from all I've heard about him from some of you, I don't think this could have been an easy thing for him to do, and I would think he probably even today has a bit of a hollow pit in his stomach, too. For all parties concerned with this very unique chapter of UNT history just have to all move on and move forward....that's all I can really say.

Next year would have been pure "D" hell for Coach Dickey had he stayed for the 2007 season. It was not going to be a comfortable scenario for most concerned (including him expecially in light of his health situation). With GrayEagleOne and his 59 years of following Mean Green football and with his posting a few weeks ago on GoMeanGreen.com that he, too, was through with this had this decsion not been made; nevertheless, that post from GrayEagleOne certainly got my undivided attention and showed me that it wasn't just me and many others I've known for years who had the same concern for all of our alma mater's football future in NCAA D1-A. Many of us have known GrayEagleOne for a big portion of those 59 years he's followed MG football (yes, shaft, go ahead and call me gramps if you wish ; but I do know that GrayEagleOne would not have posted such an ultimatum (which he would have never called it that) but he just wanted to express to our upper echelon leaders just how grave all this had become with even himself as a lifelong supporter of Mean Green football. Many who have been fired in their lives usually had better deals open up for them over the jobs they were terminated; I know, because I've experienced that myself--some of you have to. Some of you young gun alums may also someday have such a similar experience; but trust me, it is never the end of the world. The upside of this termination is that Rick V. along with the other UNT leaders who had to approve this concerning Coach Dickey have most likely added more years to this mans life. These are not subjects, though, I'm sure he would want to discuss at this time since today was the day all this (apparently) materialized. Not one of us likes the entire scenario that led to all of this with Coach Dickey and I certainly not proud of everything I've said or posted, either, and have probably even lost a few casual friendships over some of those things, but being the "part" Irishman that I am, I say and post many things straight from my heart for what has been a passion of my own for a few decades........ ALSO.............I think (now) most would all agree that it was just in the best interest of all concerned (including Coach Dickey and his family) that this decision be made. I would think when all the smoke clears, that even Coach Dickey himself will eventually feel like a 1 ton elephant has been lifted off of him. But................this decision today only takes care of half the problem but all that is for another day once some water runs under the bridge after today's happening; but one can only hope that the next major hiring decison that will be made in the next few weeks takes care of the other half of all this scenario and will unify the Mean Green Nation like never before and make us all feel we can do some catching up to where we were during an era where even some present successful non-BCS schools were using North Texas Mean Green football as their own model for future success. GMG!

FWIW, UNT's dynamic enrollment growth along with Denton and Denton County (and almost a 6 million DFW population 1 hour from Fouts Field) probably insures for UNT a base of fans that not even Quasi Moto could run off as the HFC at UNT and our having such a population-base where we should never have another one of those infamous "pull the plug" type crowds that that famous photo put on this board which looked like that it was only the stadium ushers who showed for that NMSU game in, uh, Darrell Dickey's first year as NT coach. Nevertheless, there are many (already--just look at empty seats, folks ) who have vowed to never support another DD-coached football game and will not until he is no longer the coach at our alma mater. And until some of our leaders start acting like leaders as those from the other 118 NCAA D1-A schools would act like in giving their large majority of fan bases football programs whose trends show that there is noticeabled improvement and because of it their respective football programs will be moving up the NCAA D1-A football ladder. Few from UNT can say that is hardly the case of us. And sorry, Coach Dickey. UNT merely beating a handful of schools in the first few years in a thrown-together league of several schools just out of 1-AA schools is not going to do it for most of the Mean Green fan base any longer. And that even means just winning SBC championships unless...............thats done with an SBC championship football team that (is at least) ranked in the Top 25-30 football schools in 1-A. Hey, if the MAC can do that with their football champions then what would have been wrong with UNT (who had the advantage of having been back in 1-A much longer than the rest of the SBC); anyway, what would have been wrong with our being the pioneering SBC football champion that raised the stakes for the entire league with at least one of our 4 championship and bowl-appearing teams being ranked in the Top 25? If UNT is not shooting for Top 25 and settling for beating our "sister" schools in key SBC matchups and those that have yet to garner any DFW, regional or national respect, then UNT needs to seriously consider droppinng down a division or probably moreso, just getting out of the college football business altogether because of the way our upper UNT leaders have been runnning that business with low goal accomplishments being just enough to satisfy them, but few others. Again, Bobby Ray has lost all semblance of unbias concerning Darrell Dickey and should resign his post because of that fact alone and because of all that his lack of being able to make decisions concerning DD that would have already been made at any other major Texas university. People, 9 years of low profile/low expection DD Ball has shown us all that few of us on GMG.com are hardly making "knee jerk" reactionary posts on what those 9 years have shown us all; plus, we are hardly shootin' from the hip with many of our feelings we post about with all this bottom barrell NCAA D1-A football that we have been getting with signs that show no change in sight for even that. For those of us who've been around the Mean Green scene and around MG football AND BTW...............much longer than Bobby Ray has with the sad (glaring) fact that no one seems to ever remember ever seeing him at NT football games ever until Gov. Perry gave him his BOR appointment at UNT; but let us guarantee off of you young gun alums that we are getting man-handled, molested and raped by our own UNT upper echelon leaders with all this continuance of annual bad coaching and bad recruiting in low places with 1 or 2 from our UNT community who will continue to make us the laughing-stock of the almighty sovereign state of Texas if they are allowed to continue in their roles. We deserve better...

Ditto...

What was previously said in this post is no longer relevant in light of today's decision by Rick Villarreal. GMG!

What was previously in this post is no longer relevant in light of decisions made today by Rick V.

What was previously in this post is no longer relevant... GMG!

MOSTLY FOR NEWER POSTERS AND LURKERS ESPECIALLY FROM CAMPUS--ALL YOU GMG.COM VETS HAVE READ MOST OF THIS BEFORE SO...........SAVE YOUR TIME--GO TO THE FRIDGE AND GET A COLD ONE. MG Insurance Pro, on what basis would you say that the most unpopular football coach in UNT history (that is, with many years on the UNT payroll) & whose non-stop radio comments dissing both his employer and its alums/fans making him most unpopular to a growing army of NT Exes; anyway, on what info or authority might you have (that you can divulge) that says DD will be back for another year at UNT? (I defer to the bottom of this page sentence in Big Green Letters). FWIW, some of us are trying to think of any other major universities with an NCAA D1-A football program who has pro-active upper echelon leaders with full intentions to improve its football product as to rise up among the 119 member D1-A ladder who would even have a need for one minute to be discussing such a ridiculous possibility as giving Darrell Dickey even just one more month after this one an extra year at UNT? So who of you who has some contact with the upper echelon can sit them down over a cup of coffee or a brewskie and talk up some sensible ideas as to give our school's football program a chance to succeed? Will they allow furniture guy influence them as to sellout because of the dangling of the Big Green Carrott? But FWIW...........not even the Houston-based furniture guy can (by himself) fill 15,000 empty seats we've had in 9 years at Fouts with his bud in charge. As they say, money cannot buy everything and it will (certainly) not buy those 15,000 M.I.A. fans especially if they all begin to smell a skunk with how all this is being managed in Denton (and they will all eventually find out because what you do in the dark always gets found out in the daylight. So at UNT............... we just give him one more year (while a positive, upbeat one is waiting in the wings who will be able to deliver us out of this quagmire of SBC/Bottom 25 football? So.............why delay that for whatever reason? our having a head football coach in Denton who in 9 years has a 41 W**62 L career record and whose style has hardly inspired or synergized its fan base past 15K per home game averages even during 4 bowl years. Can any of you think of such a D1-A school operating like this now or in the past except one particular school located in Denton, Texas? Many think we do have some serious leadership problems at UNT where many may find it quite strange as to why they'd even have to give this a 2'nd thought as far as bringing back a coach at the non BCS level who has a W/L record that his last 3-4 years quality of recruiting suggests it might take him another 9 years in Denton to have any semblance of an opportunity to reach .500 in Wins/Losses. And if some of our UNT leaders are having to struggle with what would be a no-brainer decision at all the other 9 Lone Star State-based NCAA D1-A football playing schools and what our leaders have (somewhat) turned into one helluva' rocket science of a problem, then (perhaps) many of the UNT community might even begin to wonder (if many haven't started already); that is, wondering if our present upper echelon leaders may very well have problems making key decisions concerning the academic aspecst of our school as well. With who one or 2 of them are doing their dead level best to grant some form of tenureship with our head football coach, God only knows who they might suggest for tenureship in the academic areas of our alma mater. AND IN CLOSING ..............since UNT's favorite son, ie, Bobby Ray has been chairman of the UNT Board of Regents, just how much has UNT's endowment coffer$ grown might be another question from many he might want one of his special assistants or aides to address to many in the UNT community who would be interested in knowing. If UNT's top leaders are trying their best to make all this very easy for NT Exes to not be impressed enough as to invest in, then "WALA (!)" they are very well on their way of becoming a success in that regard.

DD's re-committment to having several NT coaches recruiting the DFW Metroplex has apparently paid off for dear ol' alma mater, eh, Travis? Hey folks..................................NOT! NOT...................one UNT listing in that Dallas Morning News DFW top 100 list, folks. Now how many more years do some of you need this kind of recruiting until Fouts Field becomes nothing but one helluva' wind-breaker for the western part of our campus? Fact is, another fly on the ceiling said an influential supporter of UNT told our new president in light of those shrinkng numbers of DD apologist that think he needs yet another year to work on that 41 Wins ** 62 Losses career record at UNT ; and all that because they think we cannot afford to buy out his contract................. ..............well, anyway, this particular supporter who is not employed by UNT and does not live in Denton told our new UNT-Denton president: "You folks up here do what you want to do but believe me when I tell you that UNT cannot afford to keep Darrell Dickey even one minute after this season ends." To those who do have the power on the UNT campus, please don't give anyone the kind of answer a U.S. president once gave when asked after he had pulled a real boner that almost cost his presidency why he did so in the first place and his response? "I did it because I could do it." Well, some of you UNT big time power-brokers who might even be visiting this forum again (and we know this is happening) may swagger up to the front of the board room and say the same thing with your boy DD if you were to bring all this DD Ball business back for even just one more year because you can do it? but please be duly noted that there will be ramifcations with those masses who you all would like to help fill those other 15,000 empty seats at Fouts Field. Most would think a 59 year follower of MG football saying if DD is back in 2007 then he as a an almost 6 decade's supporter of NT football will not be back; anyway, such feelings of even that one alum you can probably multiply by the kind of numbers even our NT upper echelon leaders will not want to admit to, but whatever the case and the results, if they lead the way (again) to bring the most unpopular coach who has spent a number of years on the UNT payroll many of us have ever seen, nevertheless, every bit of this will come under their watch. Is this the kind of legacy anyone who attended UNT would want to ever leave for their own alma mater if they ever have plans to come back to visit their alma mater?

But Harry, shaft is actually right, I am truly of the age (I turn 56 on Nov. 24) to be called a "grandpa." I just don't have any offspring (that I'm aware of) to make that a possibility, but I do think I'd made a helluva' grandpa. All those Texas Tales and Yarns I coulda' told a grandson or a grand-daughter as they sat on "ol gramps" knee that would have helped them to fall to sleep for their afternoon nap since anyone on this board would know they would not have been short stories their "gramps" would have been telling them. But let me say this about shaft calling me "grandpa:" That may be the only thing shaft has been right about with one of his post since we've all been reading his lagniape on GoMeanGreen.com! Way to go, shaft-ster, we all knew you had one of those in you. Hope all is well, Harry, and I'm glad you didn't have that wreck thinking about our present predicament with our beloved Mean Green football program. God only knows we've seen enough wrecks in MG Country the last 9 years. Congrats to the great Johnny Quinn, too, and I hope one day he will be able to come home to a MG football program he can even be proud of because there will be 35,000 in the stands and his former team would be ranked #9 in the entire NCAA D1-A. Matter of fact, I hope we can all have such an experience because in my heart of hearts, I really do believe most on this board would really prefer that over what we've been getting, right?

OK, shaft, here is your chance to offer all a real life solution to our problems. So just what would be your plan to get UNT out of this annual NCAA D1-A Bottom 25 co-existance? I know there willl be many on this board who can't wait to hear what your plan of action would be. ............................................................... One quick solution would be Bobby Ray resigning even before his term is up so he doesn't rush a few last minute full of dumb-a$$ very pro-DD percs and all that for what many of know to be the most unpopular (considering all the years spent on the payroll) coach in North Texas' modern football history. It amazes me that even now UNT officials are not out looking for a higher profile replacement for DD, but rather they are wasting more valuable time (apparently) wondering how they can use DD as a bargaining chip to get Mattress Mac to give them a whole bunch of money to build what will probably be a very small NCAA D1-A football stadium when all is said and done. ......................................... You know, make that stadium small as to cause a a seat in that new stadium to be a tougher than hell ticket for fans to buy, right? Gimmee' a freakin' break with that philosophy, too, because that will keep some real money games out of Denton no matter how tough a ticket to buy in a rather smallish stadium would create--people, the larger the Metroplex grows in population, the smaller we think and plan at UNT--all of this defies any semblance of logic, it really does. .......................................... Only at a North Texas would we keep thinking so Small Time, but FWIWI, some jobs up there and those who would attempt to hang onto those jobs depends on UNT staying Small Time and some of you know that to be the truth, too. And our school that now has close to 6 million population within one hour of Fouts Field still had DD's 4 bowl teams still only average....................15,000 fans per home game during that bowl run when recruiting was going south at the same time.. None of whats happening at UNT now makes any degree of sense and those who would support it and not question any of it make even less sense.

Well, from some on this board who would probably really know have said: DD has veto power on any play that Ramone Flanagan sends in so in effect, every play RF sent in Darrell Dickey "seconded the motion" and that play stood. My junior year at NT we played and beat UH (the year B4 they went to the Cotton Bowl) and (of course) the Univ. of Tennessee Volunteer win by the Mean Green that really did cause our school to receive much national attention and made our school the toast of the following Winter NCAA Convention. I know, those from my era are (unequivocally) quite biased to the kind of victories that many of us think started actually giving NT some really bonafide national attention; but those of us from my era also went into most any OOC game coached by Hayden Fry thinking we could win that OOC game--that is not the case any longer in Mean Green Country (and I think you might agree with that, too).

Fair enough, fellow alum! The next few weeks in MG Country and the decisions that just have to be made do have many of us older fart alums a bit testy these days I will admit.

MG Insurance Pro, as I notice you are a new poster to GoMeanGreen.com I know we all welcome you open arms. BUT............surely you've seen DD Ball the last 9 years and know if he were here another 9 that we would probably still get the kind of coaching that we've gotten, uh, the last 9 years? DD Ball to many of us means undisciplined football, undisciplined football players (funky penalties at the funkiest time of the game) and DD Ball represents to many of us one Slick Willie who has many on this board, on another Board and too many (in general) thinking that we are getting something that would be totally acceptable at the other 118 NCAA D1-A outposts (outside the SBC, of course). MG Insurance Pro, Dickey's W/L is so far under .500 after 9 years on the UNT payroll that it would probably take his recruiting of many, many Texas state top 100 type recruits (and with his never-changing style of offense and non-adjustments at halftime) AND (probably) another 9 years in Denton before this kind of head football coach would even reach .500. No, we do not need another week of DD Ball once this season comes to an end (and I don't care if he's garnered some sympathy vote for some unfortunate past health problems of which no one would wish on anyone, either). Fact is, we have an NCAA D1-A football program that some already have or many will distance themselves from as long as Darrell Dickey is the head football coach at the Leading University of the North Texas Metroplex. (BTW, I think the brain child of that phrase no longer work at UNT, either, last I heard). 2 weeks ago on this forum, MGIP, an almost 60 year follower of Mean Green football even stated if Darrell Dickey were back next year as our head football coach, then he would not continue coming to the games at Fouts or (in other words) he would cease his own "almost 5 decade" tradition of coming to Mean Green football games in Denton. To most in the marketing world, that would mean that if such a long time supporter had such strong feelings as that, then UNT leaders can rest assure you can probably multiply that one long time supporter by many numbers of future non-supporters that I don't think even UNT's top leaders would even want to discuss how large those numbers could actually grow to. Another fact is: We do not owe any cushy state of Texas retirements to those who do not produce no matter how long they've been on the UNT payroll not producing. Again, MG Insurance Pro, welcome to this forum of most diverse thought and opinion concerning the one thing we all have in common, ie, the University of North Texas (that we all wish would start acting like "THE" University of North Texas. BTW, care to tell us what era you attended UNT or what year you graduated from our alma mater?

Very good usage of humor, vratpack...Made me even chuckle just a tad--and not even a dimpled one, whoops, sorry, that was a chad. In fact, some in the history of mankind have even used music when all was not so going so good around them, either, inasmuch that Nero used a fiddle while all that was happening around him was burning to the ground. Does anyone smell smoke in Denton just yet? Actually, it was more of a concern with what some leaders of UNT would allow to subtely slip into the operation aspects of our state-assisted university that was of some concern for some of us (such as even any degree of nepotism for starters) and a most unusual way of management happening at UNT such as running a certain program on campus that does command a rather sizeable portion of our school's entire budget that was also a major concern. And.............. if some of us who might have some questions about nepotism, the stewardship of a budget (extended contracts to those not producing) and with such subjects as that that might not get answered from anyone in Denton or from our campus? And as Texas taxpayers that any from that group might enterain any questions from our elected officials down in Austin relating to anything associated with an institution affected by Texas taxpayers, then just maybe we could get a few answers from such elected officials from our own state capital (since it was Governor Perry, cpatrack, who appointed Bobby Ray in the first damn place)! Also, not really concerned or worried if anyone in Austin, Texas, were Mean Green fans. And going by 15K per home game averages @ Fouts Field from even around the Greater Denton area the last 9 years running, I'd seriously doubt there would be many Mean Green auto window stickers seen around Austin, Texas, these days. I would think (and hope), though, that UNT does have a lobbyist or 2 talking up our school with Texas legislators such as NT Athletic Hall of Famer Walt Parker played such a role for our alma mater for years. But go ahead with your own unique style of humor as there seems to be a stronger scent of smoke rising in the air, vpr, while Mean Green football continues in its southbound lane to new destinations even this football program will have never gone before, that is, before all this is over with (under present leadership at the very top). But as they say, humor is laughter for the soul. Did you hear the one about................

Whoever on the UNT campus would be jaded and cruel enough to force all this upon the UNT community for even just one more month after this season officially ends this month should be castrated and then be told there is an immediate opening for a 1'st soprano in the Vienna Boys Choir; and also that there are many NT Exes who will buy their airline tickets for his (their?) trip to Vienna. Sorry if "castrate" bothers some of you, but its something we do quite often out here in the country with some of our beast of burden. I know, in Denton we have a different kind of burden and that's for damn sure. Can you read this? ARE SOME OF OUR ELECT EXTREMELY VISUALLY IMPAIRED? Just looking at our football recruiting the last 3-4 years under one Coach Darrell Dickey, who are we supposed to recruit (insert non-stop "projects") in the next few weeks and months who would turn all this around in just one year (and now even at an SBC level); assuming those who would be our new boy sopranos would be so dumb-a$$ed as to give DD yet another year to go further under .500 win W/L's in a "10" year career in Denton. This is just one helluva' story that many more (especially the media) in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex will start paying even closer attention to if all the right decisions are not made in the next few weeks concerning DD Ball. In 30 plus years of following our alma mater's football program from very close to (now) my first time away from all this sham, I've never seen such a pathetic and unstable situation that has been unraveling B4 all our very eyes for more than just the last 2 years truth be known; and all this which is officially under the watch of our upper echelon UNT leaders. Hey! Do we need to hire any others from SMU or with SMU degrees to help us out in Denton by doing abosolutely nothing pro-active on behalf of Mean Green athletics, specifically football? Actually, Bobby Ray should have resigned the day after he and his family returned from their first vacation with the Dickey family and should have resigned under the "I can no longer be unbias with Darrell Dickey as our head football coach" card and....................."as his real boss" (as our BOR's really are of any of our employees at UNT) "I can no longer be impartial concerning anything that concerns Darrell Dickey." For you who will be future bosses, unwritten Law #1 is do NOT get too close to those who would be your employees. Some say it a bit more crass and I'll clean up the usual wording: Don't make love to those you will probably eventually poop on! Well, to add insult to injury, even nepotism seems to be creeping into our Texas state assisted university with Bobby Ray's own grandson recently on the men's varsity BB team bench (in a MG uniform); Jim "Mattress Mac" McIngvale's nephew now an assistant football coach under his buddy, DD's tutelage and what else do we not know about that would be one of those gray areas of nepotism? YET.................many of us refuse to believe that Bobby Ray ever ran his (what we understand to be) a successful home building business in the same manner he has micro-managed and overseen the UNT athletic program as our "self-appointed" post defacto AD. In just recent days, the more I hear about what Rick V has had to endure under all that Bobby Ray has dished out to hime, the more embarrassed I am for ever having written any post dissing what RV has tried to do at UNT (under most difficult circumstances). This is one helluva' big fat Greek mess we've got ourselves into, folks, with our upper echelon leaders of a major Texas university leading the way. For us older alums who had dreamed things would be much better by the time we reached all our respective middle ages (and up), all this has simply just become one big Mean Green Nightmare on Eagle Drive. Who do we have who can fix all this from our state capital in Austin such as any specific legislators we could all call, write or email? Anyone have some suggestions with all that or some names and addresses from that group?

Anyone else think a Rick Neuheisel-type hire could have recruited a bonafide Texas (or beyond) blue chip QB as to have made the Great Johnny Quinn a 1'st team All America the last 2 years? Oh, I forgot, only schools like, uh, Idaho & UTEP think that big and way outside their usual box of the last few decades. Oh well...............do pardon me (and others BTW) as we all just get excited thinking about such possibilities happening (again) even in Denton, Texas, ie, Mean Green Country.