StealthEagle84

The article below is a very good read. Many great names come to mind that started as head coaches below the FBS rank. Grant Taeff, Jim Tressel, Brian Kelly, Jim Harbaugh. But as the article points out, the overall record indicates success elsewhere doesn't guarantee success at the FBS level. However, knowing how to build a successful program is virtually the same. "I almost wonder how coordinators who have never had that role of doing it all, how many mistakes they make in year one and year two, and how many of those mistakes not only hurt the program, but hurt themselves from a career standpoint," (Dino) Babers said. "I wouldn’t trade my experience and knowledge I learned at Eastern Illinois for anything. It was invaluable and it was definitely needed for where I wanted to get to.” http://m.trib.com/sports/college/wyoming/coaches-who-have-made-fcs-to-fbs-transition-lay-out/article_2c12eaca-ffa8-5b37-a1c6-65d78552ef7f.html

If this is true, we better hope Tom Herman stays put. The only other openings in the state could be Texas State, UTSA, or UT. He's not high profile enough for UT and I feel like we'd be the better choice between the other two.

Lil Briles job is easy when you have that kind of talent at the wide receiver position. And Stidham very well may be the best QB Baylor has brought in to date. I just don't get the feeling the Lil Briles is ready to be a head coach at an FBS program. He'd get a lot of attention and would probably recruit well but those things to necessarily translate into wins (see Todd Dodge). Mark my words. Thomsen is the best man for this job. He won't grab headlines and get national attention but he is the best fit for what we need. All of these young guns will make waves initially and get some press but that soon fades after you start playing games. We need someone who will win games, period. Thomsen can do that at UNT.

I don't much like the idea of this guy. Yes, he is young and ambitious and runs a pretty good offense but much like his boss, I feel like he would bounce at the first chance given. I could be totally off base with that assumption but I just think he would use UNT as a stepping stone. I also understand that of any coach we bring in though. I feel like we need to bring in someone with a little more experience and someone that can build / develop a coaching staff. This way, he could groom a successor if & when he leaves upon having success at UNT.

I understand the media market and that money drives the wagon, but at what point does that aspect outweigh success on the field? Southern Miss may be in the middle of Nowhere, Mississippi but people around the country know who they are and respect them as a football program. The majority of people around the country probably don't know that Charlotte has a football team and most that do probably don't know that they're an FBS team. On top of that, Charlotte has to compete with the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte Hornets to be relevant in their city. App. St. on the other hand is the main attraction in town and probably has all the support in the world from local businesses and residents. K-State (Manhattan, KS) and Ole Miss (Oxford, MS) are few teams that come to mind as small town college teams that have no problem being relevant on the national stage. Being in a major market may help bring in some dough, but I think winning does an even better job.

I wonder if Appalachian State was ever considered, mainly in lieu of Charlotte. I feel like that would have been a better addition. Appalachian State averaged 23,166 per home game last year vs. Charlotte's 13,272. Their football program has a history of success at the FCS level and tons of people will forever associate them with their upset win over Michigan. Just seems like they would have been better than a startup team.

This one?

While drinking Friday night and talking to my Aggie buddy about the state of UNT football, it dawned on me that all three head football coaches under RV have been fired mid-season. His exact comment was, "Wow, that's where coaching dreams go to die." Hard to disagree with that sentiment. RV has set the precedent and its not a good one. Any prospective head coach will know this and it has to be a turn off to be hired by someone who will put their head under the guillotine in front of the players, fans, or whoever else is watching at that moment when RV has had enough. The bad thing is that it appears that RV will get another chance to behead someone else. If this hire doesn't work out, I hope its RV's head under the ax for everyone to see.

Don't let one game cloud your judgement. The guy has done nothing but win everywhere he's been. And don't knock the strength of schedule and beating teams they're supposed to, that used to be us.

We do not need to hire a "big name" or someone who will "make a splash" or someone that will get "media attention". Why? Because none of those things produce success on the field. We need to hire someone that can win football games, plain and simple. Winning games will cure all the evils of this football program (pessimism, apathy, complacency, etc.). In my opinion, the ingredients for this coach is young(ish), energetic, somewhat naive, from Texas and/or has numerous Texas ties, and a good recruiter. But at the end of the day, I don't care what ingredients go into our new coach, so long as he can win games.

Singletary would not be a good hire. He is very old school, much like McCarney. On top of that, not many kids coming out of high school right now have a clue who he is. Great player, great speaker, great assistant coach but I don't think being a head coach is his forte.

"Villarreal indicated he and the members of UNT’s hiring committee would meet within the next few days to formulate a plan as to how the group with move forward with its search." So this confirms there is in fact a hiring committee?

That is the biggest question. Fritz seems like an obvious candidate on our end but would the move make sense for him? If he keeps winning at Georgia Southern, someone will pick him up pretty quick. I doubt a major P5 school would grab him but a lower level P5 school would most likely give him a shot. I think it really comes down to if he wants to come back to Texas or not. I would like to think a move to UNT would be an upgrade from Georgia Southern but I'm sure he would weigh the difficulties of this job vs. other options that may come available. In order for him to take this job, I would almost have to believe it would be a destination job for him given his age (55). And given the quality of opponents in C-USA right now, it will take a few years to truly compete in this conference. I'm afraid this job wouldn't make much sense though if he has his eyes are on greener pastures down the road.

Are you suggesting we find someone on staff to accuse RV of slapping her backside inside the confines of campus? Bulletproof!

Why McNulty was playing quarterback and not DeMarcusSmith. I feel like our quarterback situation epitomizes why D-Mac is longer our head coach. Oh, and our defense is atrocious. But at least Canales is not being held back Mr. Conservative anymore. Maybe it's bc our quarterback was an actual threat to run and/or throw the ball further than 5 yards from the line of scrimmage.

This is the way to go for something like this. Design the shirt, set the minimum quantity, whoever wants a shirt orders it, pays for it, and gets it shipped straight to them. http://teespring.com

Seeing that 'Mean Green Football' just posted this on their Facebook page, I'll let you assume who will start under center tonight.

Maybe we could bring them both along in the same capacities as they were at ACU.

Willie Fritz (HC @ Georgia Southern / Formerly @ SHSU)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Fritz Chris Thomsen (Airzona St. / Formerly HC @ Abeline Christian) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Thomsen K.C. Keeler (HC @ Sam Houston St.) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Thomsen Ken Collums (Current HC @ Abeline Christian) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Collums Just to name a few that come to mind that fit this criteria.

Athlon Sports article on the top ten coordinators on the rise. Several names with Texas ties, which I think is a must for this next hire. 2. Doug Meacham, Co-Offensive Coordinator, TCU Meacham’s arrival in 2014 was a big reason why TCU emerged as a playoff contender last season and is in the mix once again in 2015. The Horned Frogs averaged only 25.1 points a game in 2013 but jumped to 46.5 last season and 51 per contest in 2015. Prior to joining Gary Patterson’s staff at TCU, Meacham called the plays at Houston in 2013 and worked as an assistant for Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State from 2005-12. 3. Mike Norvell, Offensive Coordinator, Arizona State Norvell has experienced a fast rise through the assistant ranks. After working for one season as a graduate assistant at Central Arkansas in 2006, Norvell was hired by Todd Graham at Tulsa in 2007 and worked with the Golden Hurricane until 2010. The Texas native followed Graham to Pittsburgh in 2011 and to Arizona State in 2012. Norvell has called the plays since coming to Tempe, and the Sun Devils never finished lower than third in scoring offense within the Pac-12 from 2012-14. 4. Lincoln Riley, Offensive Coordinator, Oklahoma Riley is a Mike Leach and Air Raid disciple, and despite the sluggish showing against Texas in Week 6, the first-year coordinator is off to a fast start at Oklahoma. The Sooners are averaging 37 points per game and 6.4 yards per play in 2015. The Texas native worked at Texas Tech under Leach from 2007-09 and was hired by Ruffin McNeill at East Carolina prior to the 2010 season. The Pirates had a prolific offense under Riley, including a No. 2 rank in the American Athletic Conference in 2014 by averaging 35.8 points per game. Riley is just 32 years old and is stock will only increase over the next few seasons. 5. Kendal Briles, Offensive Coordinator, Baylor After Philip Montgomery left Baylor to be the head coach at Tulsa, Briles was handed the keys to a high-powered Ferrari. While his father – Art Briles – is instrumental in the Bears’ offense, this unit is thriving under Kendal’s direction. Through five games, Baylor is averaging 64.2 points a game and ranks first nationally by averaging 9.1 yards per play. The Texas native has worked as an assistant with the Bears since 2008 and is regarded as one of the Big 12’s top recruiters. - See more at: http://athlonsports.com/college-football/college-footballs-top-10-coordinators-rise-2015#sthash.ZuAVjvbq.dpuf

If you can't beat 'em, joint 'em. Just seems like a realistic get and a qualified candidate.

Looks like the package deal is out of the question unless we can pry him away from his new gig. But the guy has a great track record. http://www.acusports.com/news/2014/8/22/GEN_0822145148.aspx

This is probably a long shot and probably not a fan favorite but I thought his name should at least be thrown out there. Chris Thomsen was the head coach at Abilene Christian from 2005-11 and turned them into a winning program / got them on track to move up to the Southland Conference. He is currently serving as the assistant head coach / OL at Arizona State. He is also a Texas native, presumably with Texas ties (currently working for a former Texas high school head coach (Todd Graham)). The upside for me is the player evaluation / player development. Several current and recent NFL players went through that program during his tenure there. "While at ACU, the two-time AFCA Region IV Coach of the Year coached five NFL draft choices (Danieal Manning, 42nd pick, second round by the Chicago Bears in 2006; Johnny Knox, fifth-round pick by the Bears in 2009; Bernard Scott, sixth-round pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2009; Clyde Gates, fourth-round pick by the Miami Dolphins in 2011; Daryl Richardson, seventh-round pick by the St. Louis Rams in 2012); an NFL Pro Bowl selection (Knox in 2009), a Harlon Hill Award winner (Scott in 2008), the award that is the NCAA Division II equivalent of the Heisman Trophy; and a Gene Upshaw Award winner (Sam Collins in 2008), signifying the top lineman in NCAA Division II football." It also appears he recruited Charcandrick West, who looks be the new starting running back for the KC Chiefs (Charles out for the season). If he could recruit that kind of talent to Abilene Christian, he certainly could do the same at UNT. Like I said, probably has little chance but at least worth consideration. http://www.thesundevils.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30300&ATCLID=207911673 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Thomsen

I can handle this team not winning a game the rest of the way out. What I cannot handle is this team not trying and laying down dead, which is exactly what happened this past Saturday. My plea is that you find a way to motivate these kids into playing hard and finding a way to give this fan base something to look forward to. I have all the respect in the world for D-Mac as a man and as a coach, but he lost these players somewhere along the way. Please find a way to have these kids enjoy the remainder of the season. I want this program to succeed at a high level just like everyone else on this board, but don't let these kids lose their love of the game because in reality, that's all they have to play for at this point. If you can manage that, I would also like to see D. Smith at quarterback, a more wide open offense, and maybe, just maybe some trick plays. But for the love of God, please give us something to hold onto, some kind of hope for the future.

Here is where we stack up vs. the rest of the country right now. In the grand scheme of things, SMU and Rice are not world beaters. And with offenses on the horizon like Marshall, WKU, LaTech, and Tennessee, it's hard to stay optimistic. http://stats.ncaa.org/team/index/12240?org_id=497.0 Team Stats - Through games 09/26/2015StatRankValueTotal Offense101358.0Rushing Offense88156.7Passing Offense92201.3Team Passing Efficiency12691.64Scoring Offense12417.7Total Defense116498.0Rushing Defense111224.0Passing Yards Allowed103274.0Team Passing Efficiency Defense124184.88Scoring Defense12143.7Turnover Margin120-1.673rd Down Conversion Pct550.4204th Down Conversion PctT-430.6003rd Down Conversion Pct Defense1270.6284th Down Conversion Pct DefenseT-150.250Red Zone Offense560.857Red Zone DefenseT-330.765Net Punting9036.00Punt ReturnsT-975.33Kickoff Returns6421.56First Downs Offense11359First Downs DefenseT-7078Fewest Penalties Per Game586.33Fewest Penalty Yards Per Game6760.00Time of Possession124 23:31