eulessismore

Pissed? Sometimes anger can be a useful emotion, if directed in the right direction and combined with working and playing hard and smart.

What about this guy? FCS level special teams coach

Benjamin Franklin, the old anti-elitist that he was, would agree with you.

He seems to be a guy who was given a lot of grief as a head coach when his teams played badly, as his North Texas teams did in 1970-1972, at 3-8 twice, and 1-10 his last season, and as his NFL Patriots did in 1990, going 1-15. I think it is interesting that he coached Mean Joe Greene in 1967 and 1968, with North Texas having good seasons at 7-1-1 and 8-2, falling off a little after Greene left, going 7-3 in 1969. Also, he did well enough as DC at New England from 1982 to 1987 that New England went to the Super Bowl in 1985, and Andre Tippett was all-pro during those years. Maybe he did a few things well enough, but his successes and failures seem to track along with the years he had his best players, and when they left. I think he'd probably have a certain pride in having coached Mean Joe Greene for 2 out of the 3 years he played at North Texas.

Well, I guess the math part at least plays to a positive racial stereotype, and of course there is someone who fits the "Asian offensive coordinator" part; Norm Chow, currently OC at UCLA. Norm Chow bio from UCLA website Unfortunately for UCLA, the coaching changes they made last year didn't result in more wins; just the opposite. That might lead to any number of conclusions, such as "It was Rick Neuheisel's (sp?) first year; wait till he gets his recruits on the field", or "Maybe we should start thinking about who our next hc/oc/dc should be". Seriously (although there are many aspects of affirmation action programs I find objectionable), one strategy I've liked, at least in theory, is looking at a wider variety of backgrounds when recruiting staff. And further, as many of you might guess, I think there will be a wider variety of national and ethnic backgrounds for football players and coaches in the future; yes, the Polynesian community continues to make strong inroads, and Navy made a good hire last year with the first Polynesian major college head coach. I have wondered what the future will be like in football for those of Hispanic and Asian backgrounds; I found it interesting seeing the last name "Nguyen" on a Euless Trinity player's jersey this last year; unfortunately for him, he didn't see any real playing time this year. I thought he might have been Dat Nguyen's son, but don't really know. I have noticed that the Hispanic kicker stereotype seems to be reflected on the field, at least for Texas high school football. I don't think it's necessarily a good idea to target a particular minority for hiring as a college head coach, but I do think it's a good idea to consider and interview a large number of coaching candidates from diverse backgrounds when searching for a college football coach. I also consider it a great attribute for that position to be able to work with those from diverse backgrounds and create a team unity that leads to on field success.

Not if it's a reference to the old Army truck; in that case in would be "deuce". Deuce and a half, per wikipedia

Right now, I'm more concerned that we don't have anyone to coach a punter, whether Knott or someone else. I'm just hoping that we can get the right special teams coach in here.

Or it could just be that Vizza and Clements know each from going to the same high school.

Well, I've never called for Dodge to leave, but for adding a special teams coach, and you already called me on that...I'll admit you were right on not needing to add the expense of that new position. I've changed my position from adding a special teams coach to simply replacing the one we had for the last two years, with one who has some collegiate special teams coaching experience. Yes, I think we can get an affordable ST coach from the DII or FBS level of college football. Hmmm, the yellow star? Based on past history, I'll pass.

Man, all this band controversy stuff on a sports board; I just I should be happy now to at least have a minor in music from North Texas, and to sing in the church choir. Reminds me of something I read once about the three main controversies at churches; the choice of music, the temperature at which the temperture is set, and I can't remember the other one.

I understand your feelings, but objectively, FAU and Smelly outcoached and outplayed CM. Central Michigan violated one important principle; don't go all the way downfield piling up yardage and come away with no points. Hmmm, sounds like a team we may know and love.

Merry Christmas all, It's been a singular honor and true pleasure to meet all of you that I did that year, and for all the Mean Green Nation this coming year, I wish that we all receive the joy of winning! Dwayne Taylor

I got to wondering what was behind the Cowboys getting punked so bad on special teams play by Baltimore, and looked up the bio for the Ravens special teams coach on their official site. The guy has 28 years experience, with 8 at the pro level, and coached at lower college levels for 7 or 8 years before going to Western Michigan as a full time assistant, coaching special teams and linebackers. I only hope and pray we can find someone who comes out of NCAA Division II or the FCS level with such credentials. And I think it really helped that he and the Ravens HC John Harbaugh go back a long ways. However, I'd just go for the credentials at this point. Baltimore Ravens special teams coordinator bio

Everything Troy tried worked against us.

I certainly wish that some of the players who have left since TD became head coach at North Texas had stayed, and others had gotten more playing time, but I think it's a real stretch to say that Todd Dodge is the only factor in their departure or lack of playing time. But what do I know; the closest thing to football knowledge I get is attending Euless Trinity games and booster club meetings. I do remember Euless HC Steve Lineweaver mentioning in one of those booster club meetings something to the effect that "if a team isn't meeting expectations, somebody has to take the blame". Ultimately, I would consider the UNT Board of Regents to be accountable for major personnel decisions such at UNT. I haven't quite figured it out for the Dallas Cowboys organization yet, but if I were the owner, I'd consider firing the general manager.

Well, you've always been critical of North Texas for not hiring people with college coaching experience at some level before bringing them on at the D1 level, and Mike Leach coached as an assistant at then 1-AA Cal Poly and JUCO College of the Desert before he got hired on to that pro team in Finland, not to mention getting a degree from the United States Sports Academy. Would it be fair to expect you to work your way up the ranks like he did? Mike Leach bio on Wikipedia

Well, I'm pretty sure he's sick about it, but I haven't heard from him in a while; the boosters' club has not met since before that game. I started wondering during one of those meetings whether it can be a problem when a team expects to never lose (Trinity), as much as when a team never expects to win (North Texas). I can tell you this; Coach Lineweaver has praised this player before for his FBI (football intelligence), which was nowhere to be seen in that video. I do expect, that as usual, Coach Lineweaver is concerned about the young man, but will be in favor of letting the HEB school district, the UIL, and any others impose the appropriate discipline. I mentioned the disappointing nature of the game itself in the other topic on this subject (on the football board). Combined with the news about Scoggins leaving, this was not a real cheery bunch of news for me today, whether about Trinity itself, or Trinity players at North Texas.

Well, Fieilo was a senior, and Trinity lost that playoff game, so I don't see how a lifetime ban would affect him unless you mean he should be banned from collegiate play. I guess that would have to be a call by the NCAA. Of course, I'm very disappointed in this as a Trinity fan, as well as already being disappointed that we lost (and actually were dominated more than the 10 point margin would indicate), played badly, and had stupid (after the whistle, I believe) personal foul penalties that led to 14 Allen points. Still, could anyone here say that they could be more equipped to discipline him than the HEB ISD? And personally (yes, I earlier suggested this on the recruiting forum) was hoping that North Texas could offer Fieilo. At this point, if anyone asked me if I still thought we should offer Fieilo, I would suggest UNT coaches (of course Trinity HC Steve Lineweaver is a big fan of TD) contact Lineweaver and get his opinion. Of course, at this point, I have more questions about some of our players than previously, but still regard Steve Lineweaver as a hero to myself as well as to many here in Euless and around the area.

One is in response to the continued frustration I sense among our members due to such a disappointing season this last year, and another due to the reminder of those who have hurt themselves and others, often in increasing numbers at this time of year. 1. I believe (although I can always be wrong in some cases) that all our members care about UNT and want our football program to thrive, with winning seasons, championships, post season play, winning in post season, and graduating student-athletes who are prepared for the future, and who are a credit to themselves and to North Texas. I think that we just perceive what it will take to get there differently, and that we can disagree in an agreeable manner as to the methodology, knowing that we do care about our alma mater and about each other. 2. It's easy to get busy at this time of year and to forget that many people, including people we love, may get depressed at this time of year for various reasons, and it not be noticed in all the hoopla. Let's all try to reach out to those we encounter at this time of year, especially those who need a little encouragement. Sometimes a kind word or a pat on the back can do a lot of good.

Ah, there's the real question.

Everything you said above makes sense to me. The reason I replied to your earlier post was your statement "The sad thing is, McCarney gets no joy from ISU being torn down". That, to me, sounded like it would be a happier thing (in your opinion) if he were joyful about ISU's apparently bleak football prospects. I can certainly think back on some negative experiences I had with some faculty, staff, or students at North Texas during my time there (I'm not claiming that I was always in the right, mind you), but I can't recall hoping the worst for any of those persons, and certainly not for UNT.

I do think there was improvement in returning kickoffs in the latter part of the season. It was the kickoff return coverage that never improved, and I think we may have been dead last of FBS schools in that category.

Not to torture logic that already looks stretched to me, but why is it sad that this fellow McCarney takes what sounds like "the high road". It sounds like at this point that (a.) he's not bitter, and (b.) he's enjoying professional success. Maybe he's enjoying the best revenge, "living well".

Only if you guarantee sweet sounding music and ferocious sounding crowd noise. And no amplification of either; just great acoustics.

I think that's a reasonable "fudge factor" in large construction projects. However much fuel prices have direct or indirect impacts on the project, costs would have to be estimated from a longer baseline than just the relatively short time those prices have been in decline.