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Todd Dodge has Austin Westlake in the state semifinals playing against Allen December 12 in Waco. I know we bemoan his tenure here and how he set us back, but he gave us some great players for our 2013 and was a good ambassador for the university. Some guys just aren't suited to be college football coaches....

Has anyone thought about the irony of SMU hiring former high school coach Chad Morris and our hiring of Todd Dodge back 9 years ago? In familiarizing myself with Morris and the direction he intends to take in the SMU rebuilding project, I took in some videos and articles around his introduction to the SMU community and the media in general. I swear to you, you could have taken clips and sound bytes from 9 years ago when Dodge was announced as HC at UNT and matched them up exactly with the Morris talking points. "I'm a Texas high school coach first and proud of it" or "We've had 100's of area high school coaches sending me texts" or "We open our arms to all of the high school staffs to be a part of this" or "I have an obligation to represent the Texas High School Coaches" etc etc... Make no mistake, there is a lot in common in what SMU AD Rick Hart is trying to do now compared to what UNT AD Rick Villarreal was trying to do almost a decade ago. And honestly, there are some differences. Morris was a heralded college assistant at Clemson and one of the highest paid in the country. Dodge had a quick cup of coffee as an assistant at North Texas before going back into the high school arena. Morris is making reportedly $2+ million a year at SMU and Dodge was making $331,448 a year at UNT. Morris has assembled a very impressive staff with college experience, including recruiting guru Van Malone as well as some young assistants he worked with at Clemson. Dodge brought in mostly high school assistants from Southlake Carroll. I have to say, it's hard not to be impressed with Morris. He is an extremely passionate speaker, and by all accounts very personable and intelligent with a math degree from A&M. He has stated very clearly that it will take all of SMU, including faculty, students and alumni to get the program where they want it to be. But I also find it interesting that he says the reason he took the SMU job was to "get back to my roots" and it was "just a great fit"... come on Chad, SMU gave you a $1+ Million dollar raise and set up your family for life... not that he didn't already have a nice paycheck at Clemson but - let's be honest - the money played a pretty significant role in getting him back here. Let's just say I don't think he would be taking $331,448 a year to rebuild the Ponies. That said, I do think Morris will do good things at SMU. It's a good academic school that has a lot of tradition and it's sitting in huge city and plethora of good recruiting prospects. As a UNT fan you are constantly plagued with the "what ifs". What if we had forced Dodge to hire college assistants? Did he stipulate that he had to remain loyal to his high school staff? Or was our budget such that we we're ok with him bringing in guys who would not command a lot of money? Or was it a mixture of both? What if he had been given more direction and support from coaches with college experience who knew the ropes? Since UNT has a 20-year or whatever contract with SMU, we will get to watch what Morris is able to accomplish on the field of play. We will get to see how the recruiting picks up and how his uptempo offense and blitzing defense fairs as the years go by. Other than our game with SMU, I wish their program well. They have the same challenges all of us non p5's face. I do think Morris can do some really good things there. But, every time I look at or hear Morris speak it will remind me of the opportunity we lost with the Todd Dodge hire. A hire and direction which BTW many of us (including myself) were 100% behind at the time.

Throughout Todd Dodge’s football career, he’s experienced everything there is to when it comes to recruiting. In 1981, he was the target. As a state championship winning quarterback out of Port Arthur, he ended up playing for Texas. “I tell players all the time, … back in 1980, 81 when I was getting recruited, literally, the recruiting process started around January 1 and it lasted about one month,” Dodge said. “There were no games that you went to, there were no camps, there were no junior days. You found out, basically, your coach told you when the season was over with, ‘Oh, by the way, these guys like you.’ He probably already set up your visits for you and here’s your four, five visits. So it was only about a one month process.” Two and a half decades later, he was the parent of a highly sought-after recruit when colleges from all over the state were after Riley Dodge. Todd coached Riley at Southlake Carroll, where he led the Dragons to a state championship over Westlake High School. “I went through it with my son Riley, who’s 26 years old right now, and it just seems like yesterday that he was going through the process,” Dodge said about his son who is currently on the football staff at Texas. Riley was originally committed to follow in his dad’s footsteps and play for Texas, but instead, he ended up just following his dad. After coaching his son to the 2006 state championship, Todd became the head coach at The University of North Texas where Riley ended up playing from 2008-2009. Read more: http://kxan.com/2015/01/27/todd-dodge-has-unique-perspective-on-recruiting/

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/tony-sanchez-reportedly-set-to-be-unlv-coach-135941511.html Complete with a mention of Coach Dodge. I'm so sorry UNLV fans. Best of luck with your next hire in 2018.

UNLV reportedly will hire as its football head coach Tony Sanchez, head coach at wildly-successful Bishop Gorman High of Las Vegas. That Gorman program is very collegiate, drawing athletes from all over its area, with excellent facilities and even a few choices for game-night uniforms a la Oregon and others. �• UNLV probably knows about this: Todd Dodge, who was hired by the University of North Texas after coaching Southlake Carroll High to four Texas state championships, was 6-37 at North Texas. read more: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/shower-644749-game-rivers.html

Since Dodge took over in May for Darren Allman, who left the program to take the head coaching job at Colleyville Heritage High School in the Metroplex, he has brought back several familiar faces to the Chaparral football program. “Since we’ve been here, the very first coach, Kenneth Dabbs, has been here to talk to these players,” Dodge said. “I’ve had Coach (Derek) Long and Coach (Ron) Schroeder come visit with this program. Those men are very important to the history of Westlake football, and I want our players to know who they are. They deserve to be a part of this, and I want them to be honored the way they should be honored.” Hager said it’s a welcome sight. “Coach Dodge is very family-oriented; I can’t stress that enough,” Hager said. “I love it. This is what Westlake football is all about.” Read more: http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/todd-dodge-era-begins-at-westlake/ngzt6/

"We've hired two outstanding coordinators," Perry said. "We had some really good coaches here and we've really just added to that. Our knowledge level and experience level has just gone up tremendously. We've got good people, good plans and good ideas. I'm real excited about the future." Olson coached with Perry at Bastrop High School, where Perry held the same position he now does in Mineral Wells from 2008-12. Olson also coached with Perry at Plano East and spent time at Cedar Ridge, a successful 5A school in Round Rock. Olson also played quarterback under well-known high school football coach Todd Dodge at the University of North Texas, further deepening his knowledge of the spread offense. - See more at: http://www.mineralwellsindex.com/localsports/x997999637/Perry-announces-new-coordinators-other-hires#sthash.ckKfbQ9Q.dpuf

I stated how impressed I was about how Dodge handled what had to be an absolutely miserable situation towards the tail end of his stint as head coach at UNT. You could draw an analogy to the bunker in the last days of the third reich.. especially in years 3 and 4. Dodge could have easily pointed at the administration, fans or lack thereof and made this an even more ugly situation...but he didn't, he took responsibility and handled it as good as anyone could. I really respected him for the way he handled this as I stated in an earlier post. But I also think it needs to be stated for the record, part of the problem with the Dodge regime was the arrogance it displayed in from the day he arrived at North Texas. Perhaps arrogance is too strong a word. I think it was a mixture of arrogance, naivety and contradiction. I also think he received poor advice from those closest around him. I get the loyalty aspect of wanting to reward the assistant coaches who helped you to succeed but to think they would succeed was extremely naive. Whether that decision was driven by finances or just stubborn loyalty is a question we probably will never learn the answer to. Probably a mix of both. Dodge chose to keep his home in Southlake. Every other UNT coach before him took up camp in Denton. Some told me there were financial reasons to keep his Southlake home. The bottom line was he never truly tried to build alliances in the City of Denton, with the students and the fans. Dodge chose to close off access with the media. Sure, he did the press conferences, Fall barbeques etc that were required but it was the bare minimum. One of his henchmen even ran off fans who tried to witness a practice. But there was an arrogant attitude that swept through the entire athletic department when Dodge was here. Dodge could not delegate and by the time he realized this it was too late. I'll never forget watching Dodge calling off offensive signals from the sidelines. Why this could not have been delegated to an assistant coach or a backup QB is beyond me. Watching Mac has opened my eyes to how a head coach should delegate to his assistants yet keep on top of ALL positional areas. Dodge's focus was offense and offense alone. Dickey was pretty good at that too he just had a revolving door of assistants to deal with it seemed every year. The Dodge contradiction was in full display in that embarrassing road loss to OU. Dodge refused to delegate any of the offense yet he would allow his inept defensive coordinator free reign and a terribly flawed defensive gameplan. Then defensive coordinator Ron Mendoza was continuing to place his cornerbacks in man coverage after the Sooners has already exploited us for multiple deep touchdown passes. Rumor has it that the OU coaching staff was snickering in the press box.. It had to be one of the most embarrassing games I have ever watched as a North Texas fan. I still will always think of Dodge as a class act in terms of how he handled his eventual firing. I just want to say for the record that there were things he did when he got here which led to his eventual demise. He needs to be held responsible for this. I harbor no ill will towards him now, the past is the past and it is time to move forward. I wish him and his family the best at Austin Westlake.

from press release: Todd Dodge has been named Eanes ISD Athletic Director and Head Football Coach at Westlake High School, announced Superintendent Dr. Nola Wellman today. Dodge, who currently heads the Marble Falls High School football program, has almost 30 years of coaching experience at the high school and collegiate levels. “Coach Dodge brings a wealth of achievements to a well-established and historically successful program,” said Dr. Wellman. “As a coach and leader, he exemplifies the character and values that are consistent with those of Westlake High School. His ability to instill those characteristics in the young men he coaches is admirable.” Dodge served as the head coach of Southlake Carroll High School from 2000 to 2006, leading the Dragons to four Class 5A state titles and one state runner-up finish. The school compiled a 98-11 overall record with Dodge at the helm, and he was named National Coach of the Year twice. Prior to Marble Falls, Dodge held coaching stints at the University of Pittsburgh and University of North Texas, as well as Fossil Ridge and Cameron Yoe high schools. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Education from the University of Texas at Austin, where he majored in History with a minor in Health. Before graduating in 1986, Dodge was a three-year starter as quarterback for the Longhorn football team. He and his wife Elizabeth have two grown children, Riley (25) and Molly (20). Dodge will meet his new players Friday and is expected to officially start Monday, May 5.

The Eanes school district could select a lone finalist by next week, according to communications director Claudia McWhorter. Eanes school district policy requires the district to post the job for 10 school days, but state law and district policy does permit the district to make a hire before the 10 days have expired if there is an immediate need for a certified position during the school year, and athletic director falls under that provision. Due to the immeidate need, the school board does not have to approve the hire. Rampant rumors about the hiring of Todd Dodge as Westlake’s new head football coach could be moving beyond speculation. Dodge is the current head football coach and athletic director at Marble Falls High School. Read more: http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/new-westlake-head-football-coach-could-be-known-by/nfmLL/

I couldn't help but think about Coach Dodge, who has rightfully taken a lot of the blame for the downward spiral we dealt with and appear to have finally overcome. A lot of the best players on the team were Dodge recruits which had been pointed out here. I can't help but think/hope that he was watching the game intently -- pulling for the Mean Green and his players and their families... Same thing can be said for Riley... Todd Dodge handled a unfortunate situation with a lot of dignity and I will always remember that. I hope he got some satisfaction from seeing some of his recruits play so well in a New Years Day Bowl game on national TV.

"Bigs...not sure what you mean... I would like Tulane to win every game, but I also look at the teams in an objective manner... If this game was to be played in 2014, I would switch the numbers in a heart beat..Todd Dodge the previous coach at UNT brought in some good players....as far as I am concerened Todd should be the OC at Tulane..." Read more: http://gotula.net/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=457

I had been meaning to post on this for awhile and finally got a chance to. Dodge/Chico won 3 games in 2010 and when you look back at it, wow that record could have been so very different... 2010 UNT Football Season Sept. 4 Tigers at Clemson Tigers Memorial Stadium, Clemson, SC Lost 35-10 --- A pretty good showing against a superior opponent as I recall. Sept. 11 Owls Rice Owls Fouts Stadium, Denton, TX Lost 32-31 --- You lose to Rice by 1! point at home for goodness sakes. Should have been a W. Sept. 18 Black Knights at Army Black Knights Michie Stadium, West Point, NY Lost 24-0 --- Sept. 25 Owls at Florida Atlantic Owls FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, FL Won 21-17 --- Oct. 2 Ragin' Cajuns Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns Fouts Stadium, Denton, TX Lost 28-27 --- Are you freaking kidding me? Another 1-point loss? Oct. 9 Indians Arkansas State Red Wolves Fouts Stadium, Denton, TX Lost 24-19 --- This time a 5-point loss at home. Ugh. Oct. 16 Golden Panthers Florida International Golden Panthers Fouts Stadium, Denton, TX Lost 34-10 --- Oct. 23 --- Open Date --- --- Oct. 30 Hilltoppers at Western Kentucky Hilltoppers H. Ind. - L.T. Smith Stadium, Bowling Green, KY Won 33-6 --- Nov. 6 Trojans Troy Trojans Fouts Stadium, Denton, TX Lost 41-35 --- A SIX point loss at home. Nov. 13 Blue Raiders at Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium, Murfreesboro, TN Won 23-17 --- Nov. 20 Warhawks at ULM Warhawks Malone Stadium, Monroe, LA Lost 49-37 --- a 12 point loss at home... Nov. 27 Wildcats Kansas State Wildcats Fouts Stadium, Denton, TX Lost 49-41 --- an 8 point loss against a Big 12 opponent... I guess my point is, 2010 could have been an 8 win season had the ball rolled UNT's way... or at the very least a 6-win season... I think we all know that our chances in C-USA are good, but we likely won't steamroll anyone. We are like #1 in the country in forced turnovers and that is earned but the odds are against us keeping that pace up. My point is, we should temper our enthusiasm with the cold hard reality that a few mistakes or letdowns at key times will lose games that you should have won. Had Todd Dodge beaten Rice, ULL, Arkansas State and Troy games 4 games lost by a combined 13 POINTS he very well may still be the coach at North Texas now because we would have won 7 games and possibly gone bowling especially with a huge performance to end the season against K-State.

Let me preface this by saying I have nothing but respect for Todd Dodge and the way he handled the situation he was in at UNT. Unlike Dickey - he left his post with class and dignity. I think we all wish him and his family well at Marble Falls. The problem is he should have left a year earlier than he did; and I believe had we been able to make that change we would be a much stronger program now - and we wouldn't be leaving the Sun Belt in the manner as it appears that we may this season. Dodge's record in his first three UNT seasons (2007-10) was 2-10, 1-11, 2-10... Dodge was dismissed in October of 2010 (his 4th season) after going 1-6. Everyone, including Todd Dodge knew that after year three things were likely not going to turn around. I think Dodge was surprised that UNT granted him the fourth year rather than just pay out his 5-year guaranteed contract and move on. But, either one or some combination of Dr. Bataille and or The Board of Regents chose not to do this, and I don't know if we will ever know exactly why. Some cite that giving Dodge an additional year would help them put together a more respectable package for the new coach, and allow for a significant increase in assistant salaries which were woefully light. Whatever you think the reason was, one thing is clear. A college football coach cannot recruit quality high school athletes when they know his contract term is not going to be renewed. 7 years of osing football hurts recruiting without a doubt but when parents know a coach will likely not be there for their son's 4-5 university experience they most often will take a pass. After two consecutive losing seasons Dodge was in a hole and he knew that time was not on his side. Especially with UNT's biggest capital expenditure ever - a new stadium - on the horizon. So Dodge did what any other coach would do in that situation, he sold out juco. Unfortunately when he rolled the dice it was UNT's chips on the craps table. Dodge thought if he didn't win in 2009 (year 3) he would be gone...so in his 2009 signing class out of 21 he signed 8, again almost half of the entire class. Then, likely surprised that he was being given a pass for year 4 out of 22 signees 10 were jucos, again almost 50% of the entire class. This is - in my opinion - the MAIN reason we are struggling as a program right now. As Tasty and others point out, it's certainly not the ONLY reason. Read more: This post has been promoted to an article

Per Football Scoop: Texas A&M: Riley Dodge has joined the staff as an offensive graduate assistant Shout out to member HookNBull for the lead! http://www.footballscoop.com/the-scoop/