Side Show Joe

I love softball. I'll be at the OU game Saturday. Here is a nice article from d1softball.com. It has some good details about how Baker is investing in softball this season. https://d1softball.com/sweet-motivation-helps-fuel-unt-mean-green/

North Texas was scheduled to host Cal on Sept. 10, 2022. That game is no longer on our future schedule according to fbschedules.com. If that game is gone, someone has some explaining to do. Article about the home and home with Cal https://fbschedules.com/north-texas-schedules-football-series-cal-wyoming/ Schedule https://fbschedules.com/ncaa/north-texas/

Great hire Coach Littrell/Bowen!!!! I knew Eric back when he was at Midwestern State in the early 2000's. He was a great coach and person. The players loved him. I've followed his career since, and he has done an outstanding job over the years. I've been wanting North Texas to hire him since he landed at WKU back in 2005. He knows this area and has inroads into recruiting Texas high schools. Glad to have you at North Texas Eric! Welcome to the Mean Green Family!!!

I agree, and I'll take it a step further. If Seth is setting up the offense so he can have new coaches to micromanage, why did we have to wait months to hire these two guys? Just doesn't make sense to me. I would hope coaches with their level of success and recognition could have been brought in as soon as we knew Reeder and Reffitt were out. Personally, I think FAU is still out hiring us, but we will know once we take the field next season. Have fun down voting.

Remember, those 61 points were scored by basically 5 WKU guys that got no substitutions. That is embarrassing.

Why can't our coaches in the two main sports win big games?!!! We finally get a basketball game on TV, and we blow it! After being up by 15, there is no excuse for losing tonight. I'm tired of excuses. Quit losing!!!

Beck would make a lot of sense. It also explains why we are still waiting for an announcement on the OC hire. FAU hired Mehringer as their new OC (formerly the WR and passing game coordinator at Texas. Was fired on Dec 1). With both Line coaching position open, I would who the new coordinators are looking to hire? Great job of finding a home run OC option TRjD!

Orgeron is a former D lineman. He understands that games are won and lost in the trenches, and really puts a priority on collecting outstanding linemen on both sides of the ball. Riley is a Leach guy. None of the coaches from the Leach coaching tree pay enough attention to the lines. So, LSU is dominating the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. It is that simple.

I disagree. FAU spend more than twice what we spend, and they focus on recruiting locally in Florida, and would have few flights also. What are they doing that we are not?

I agree. I believe we should be hiring on par with FAU. That's why I questioned the Bowen hire. My comment about Rich Rod is based on the likelihood of another P5 snatching him up.

From August, but still interesting. C-USA & Other G5 Texas Programs Listed 12. FAU $339,748 13. Southern Miss $324,634 15. Texas State $294,642 17. ODU $286,487 18. Charlotte $286,370 19. Marshall $283,931 23, UTSA $270,286 25. FIU $258,126 27. Houston $251,975 30. UTEP $245,678 34. Middle Tennessee $203,494 37. WKU $177,709 40. North Texas $150,991 https://watchstadium.com/news/examining-the-college-football-recruiting-investment-by-group-of-five-schools-08-27-2019/

I've found two name that make sense to me... Gunter Brewer- WR Coach at Louisville ($350,000 current salary) Joker Phillips- WR Coach at Maryland ($375,000 current salary) Rich Rodriguez is out as the Ole Miss OC, but we probably don;t have a shot at him. Thought Police, enjoy down-voting this post.

I'm glad to see a C-USA team pull out a bowl win against a respected P5 brand like Miami. But, it does feel like salt in an open wound, considering LA Tech has far fewer resources yet consistently preforms better on the field. I know it is just one season, but our terrible season occurred at the worst possible time, when we were senior heavy and picked to win the division, and contend for the conference title. LA Tech has found the magic formula for being a consistence winner at the G5 level. Littrell may figure it out too. Time will tell. I'm not in panic mode yet, but another down season (sub .500) and many on this board will be calling for bigger changes, especially if LA Tech is bowling again. The new recruiting class looks good, but most of those players are at least a year or two away from making an impact on the field. This team needs immediate help on both lines and at QB. I didn't see enough out of either back-up to make me feel confident in them running the offense next season. We simply can't wait for players to develop. Bowen has been hired as the new DC. At this point we can only hope his system has an immediate positive impact. Hopefully, Littrell can find an OC that can elevate our offense to new heights. If the hire can unify the fan base and generate some positive press for UNT that would be great too. Thought Police, enjoy down-voting my post.

If we are ever going to be a great winning program, than we first have to win against our peers when it comes to hiring coaches, and than win against our peers in the recruiting wars. In my opinion, winning on the field should be the natural result of winning in the first two areas. In my opinion, FAU is currently ahead of us because they have cleaned our clock in coaching hires and recruiting. You can agree or disagree, but the proof is in the results.

Not buying any of that, except that FAU is currently a better job. Even without their coach they are winning. That is what a good program does. I'm watching FAU do to SMU what we should have been able to do to SMU.(currently FAU 45 SMU 21) Littrell's salary $1,865,500 annually, UNT assistant's salary pool $1,775,000 annually, UNT's athletic budget $38,002,376 annually Kiffin's salary $1,432,000 annually, FAU assistant salary pool $1,255,000 annually, FAU's athletic budget $35,275,379 annually And, it's cheaper to live in Denton. As for proven FBS winners "not having a desire to come here", that's just irrational. Of course there are some good former FBS coordinators working as position coaches that would love to have another shot at being a DC, especially since it would mean getting a raise.

No. Fans have a right to express how they feel about a hire. If the administration doesn't want fans "crapping" on their hire, than they should make better hires. Look, I hope Bowen fields a top 10 defense next season. I really do. But, his recent history does not indicate that will be the case. I want proven FBS winners at these coordinator positions. Our program is at a point where we will either correct our misfortunes and get back to bowling, or collapse and be condemned to another decade of bottom-feeding. I'm not happy gambling our future on a "change of scenery" building us a respected defense. The fact that on the same week FAU has apparently schooled us at hiring a guy for the same position really stinks. There is no way to spin it in our favor. I thought Littrell could have found a better DC, and he should have. I doubt their is a UNT fan on this board that actually believes Bowen is better than Leavitt. Can we not hold our coach to the same standard as FAU? Is that really too much to ask? By the way, I didn't give you the down vote. I don't work like that. +1 to even you up.

Interesting. How high up? Athletic department admin or university admin? Kiffin and some on his staff had baggage when FAU hired them. Now they have 2 C-USA titles and we have jack. Liberty hired Freeze (baggage) this year and they are bowling (and winning) as I type this.

I agree.

This is my point. Leavitt is the level of hire we should have aimed for, and why I question the Bowen hire. The down voters on here won't like reading this, but hires like Leavitt are why FAU has two C-USA conference titles and we don't.

We are all in wait and see mode. It's all we can do. I gave you what I believe to be a better hire (Mark Snyder). Do you think Bowen has been a more successful DC?

Sure. Mark Snyder, former Defensive coordinator at Texas A&M (2012-14), Ohio State (2001-04), & South Florida (2010-11). He was also a head coach at Marshall (2005-09). Currently an assistant at Florida State (making $450K), but is probably out of a job now. Great Texas ties, C-USA ties, and has won on in the best FBS conference (SEC).

Sure I have an idea. I just have to look at the collective evidence. Bowen had a really memorable season at Kansas when he was co-defensive coordinator, 13 years ago, back in 2007. But, since then he has had much less success. His defense gave up 30 points a game in his lone season at UNT. And, in his most recent stop as Kansas' DC, their team managed to win 6 games from 2015-2018. Look, I have nothing against him, but based on his recent lack of success, I see nothing wrong with questioning this hire.

It seems some on here lack the ability to remove their green colored glasses, or put down their green Kool-Aid and examine this hire objectively and logically. I'm not saying Bowen is worse than Reff, but we should all ask the question, "Is this the best hire UNT could make?" I say No. we probably could have done better. Let the down votes begin.

I'm not overjoyed by this hire. In Bowen's one season at UNT his defense allowed 30 points a game. And, he wasn't successful as Kansas' DC either, and was demoted after the 2018 season. I guess we just have to hope he has improved. Hopefully Littrell does better hiring an OC, because right now I'm not buying our defense being any better next season. Grade for the hire: C-

Just a guess but I think Littrell might target a known winner from his past... Gunter Brewer- current WR coach at Louisville ($370,000 annually) Brewer was the offensive coordinator at North Carolina from 2012-17. In Littrell's final season at UNC, Brewer's offense scored 40 points or more 7 in games, and the team finished ranked 15th in the coaches and AP Polls. Early in his coaching career Brewer was an assistant coach at Oklahoma State, so he is familiar with recruiting this area. https://gocards.com/staff-directory/gunter-brewer/1592