Huff

I hate to see anybody lose their job but I always thought Matt Simon was a jerk. He constantly complained about things that he did not have (probably with good cause) and referred to coaching in Denton, America in a sarcastic tone of voice. At times he made Darrell Dickey sound like Polyanna. I was glad to see him go from North Texas. I do not wish bad things for the man I just do not want him here.

The top rankings during the Fry years were of our opponents - not of North Texas. Hayden used to have one of the votes on the coaches poll and he would rank some of our opponents as high as second or third so they would be highly ranked when North Texas played them. By doing that he caused people to really sit up and take notice if North Texas played one of the "big boys" tough - or even won the game. He was a slick old devil, wasn't he?????

I, too, have no interest in helping Texas Tech but I do have an interest in taking advantage of them being in a tight spot. They have publicly said that they do not want to play another 1-AA team in 2008. Let's see how badly they want to avoid it. I, too had heard that Tech had no interest in playing us but desperate times call for desperate measures. Let's see how desperate Tech is and what theya re willing to do about it. It only costs a phone call to find out.

I wonder what would happen if Rick V called Tech and offered to cancell our game with Tulsa to go to Lubbock as the first part of a home and home series? Tech would probably love to present problems for Tulsa. There would have to be a little shifting of scheduled games (conference or nonconference) to keep us from having only four home games for 2008. There would have to be an agreement about Texas Tech coming to Fouts Field (not Texas Stadium) and a buyout of about $2 million to keep Tech from welching on the return game - or we could always hope they coughed up the two million bucks. It would sure help out our New Stadium Fund. We all know that it probably won't happen, but what the heck do we have to lose? It is like asking a pretty girl for a date. She can't say "Yes" if you don't ask her.

Ken Bahnsen is one of my favorite people at North Texas but to the best of my knowledge he was never the Athletic Director.

The Athletic Director from 1960 through 1965 (my years at NT) and some beyond that was Dr. Jess Cearley. He was the head of the Men's Physical Education department and had the Athletic Director's job as an additional responsibility. That should tell you a lot about the state of North Texas athletics at that time. I am sure that others can list some of the more current ones.

I have seen models of a "new" North Texas stadium since Hayden Fry first trotted one out in about 1976. What I want to see are some people with shovels in their hands turning some dirt.

I said just about the same thing as this in a thread last week and got a bucket of green Kool Aid dumped on me. I was hoping that Coach Fran would get the SMU job because he runs a more option based offense and we would not be trying to recruit exactly the same kinds of kids. It will take Jones a while to develop a rapport with the Texas high school coaches. Coach Dodge definately has an advantage in that area today. That won't last forever, though. Jones can point to his past success as a head coach at the college level. Coach Dodge can't do that yet......

Some of us old fossils remember the later Hayden Fry years when he pulled us out of the Missouri Valley Conference and went Independent. It was a mess. There are a few teams that can make it as an Independent - Notre Dame, Army, Navy - but North Texas is not one of them.

This is going to make recruiting tougher for North Texas. The two coaches run similar offenses and will recruit from the same pool of kids. They will both try to recruit quarterbacks who are mobile and can throw plus lots of wide receivers and very few running backs. This first year, June Jones won't have any idea where to find schools in Texas and will have very few contacts here. Todd Dodge will have a real advantage in that way. That will change. This first year I would bet that recruits will hear "Do you want to go to North Texas and play for a coach that was 2-10 last year or would you rather come to SMU and play for a coach that was 12-0 and got his team to the Sugar Bowl?" It should be interesting.

A bunch of us thought he was crazy when he left Boswell High School to go to Lewisville. The Farmers had not won many games before he got there but boy did he change that. I would agree that he was an outstanding coach and a really fine person. The world is a poorer place because he is no longer here.

John - Thanks for this information. It sounds like SMU might have their man. I do have one question, though. Where did you get the picture of my former mother-in-law?????

I like Nelson Barnes and have tried to keep up with his career. He played at North Texas for Hayden Fry and coached here under Corky Nelson. Corky let him go from the NT staff. He surfaced at Kansas State with Bill Snyder then went to Texas - I think with John Macovick. He got a Big XII conference championship ring there. He then went to Nebraska under Tom Osborne . He said it was the best experience of his life. The new Nebraska coach let him go after a couple of years. He still had a contract and still got paid by Nebraska. He then coached at a small school program. I THINK it was in North Dakota. He then signed on as one of the defensive coaches at Oklahoma State. I am saddened by the news that he has been let go there, too. I think he is a good man and have always believed he was a good line coach. I do not see a slot for him at North Texas at this time unless Dodge shuffles some coaching duties. I would sure welcome him back, though.

I agree with Island Eagle that this is a tough thing for Coach Mendoza and his family but it had to be done sooner or later. Sooner is better. Coach Dodge is smart enough to know that if he does not get the defense turned around Rick V will be having this same conversation with him in a couple of years.

I am sorry that the young man is hurt but am not sorry to see him stay and graduate in May instead of December. The Spring of your Senior year in high school is a pretty neat time in a kid's life. I am glad that he will be there to enjoy it instead of going off to college to try to compete for a position on the football team.

How in the heck did this thread go from Jessica Simpson to gay? Boy, talk about a change of direction......

Playmaker do you think it would be okay if he escorted them to my house instead of the fast food joint? I would enjoy the eye candy and I am sure that my lovely wife wouldn't mind at all........

I think another factor in their decision is that they now come to the North Texas area to play TCU every other year. They do not need another game in the same area for recruiting purposes as they did when the contract was first signed.

If you want to contribute toward financing a new stadium but do not wish to do it through the Mean Green Club you can always contact the UNT Advancement Office. I have never been asked to give money to build a new stadium by the athletic department but was contacted by the Advancement Office about four years ago. I pledged to give $5000 per year for three years. That pledge has now been completed. I would hope that others would give a lot more than that. I heard a lot of grumbling about Coach Dickey and his "stealth recruiting". Perhaps Rick V is doing "stealth fund raising" for our new stadium.

Jerry Moore is a good person and I am glad to see him do well at his current school. I did not think he did a very good job at North Texas but you sure can't argue with his success at Appalachian State. It is nice to see good things happen to good people.

I do not care about her ability to kick a football but Kathy Ireland makes my team every time......

I had posted earlier that I hoped he was close enough to getting his degree that he could graduate this Spring (or Summer) and go on about his life. Standing around holding a clipboard for one more year would not excite me at all. Does anyone know how close he is to graduating?

John, one of my inside sources told me that they were looking for Jimmy Hoffa.....

I think you are letting Todd Dodge off way too easily when it comes to the failures of our defense. The head coach is responsible for all phases of the game - offense, defense, and the kicking game. Coordinators prepare a game plan for an opponent and go over it with the head coach. The head coach either approves it or sends it back for corrections until the coordinator comes up with something he can approve. Todd Dodge is as responsible for our failures on defense as the defensive coordinator. He is the head coach and is the man who is responsible for the defensive coordinator being in that position. Our failures are his as well as Coach Mendoza's.

At one time I also believed that we would have a new stadium by 2009. I gave some money toward the new stadium project with that thought in mind. That is no longer true. At this time I do not believe that I will see a new stadium at North Texas in my lifetime. I hope I am wrong. I am currently 65 years of age.