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“When Jay called and said the ’46 team was going to be inducted, I got emotional,” Taylor said as he fought back tears. “They really deserve it.” Over the years, the crowd that watched Odessa High win its first and only state football championship and the rosters for the Bronchos and San Antonio Jefferson have gotten smaller. Taylor said during a phone call there are no surviving members from the state championship 1946 team. Taylor explained that College Football Hall of Famer Hayden Fry, who died in 2019, was the last surviving member of the ‘46 team. Fry coached at SMU and North Texas before his 20-year run at the University of Iowa, where he won multiple championships, Big Ten titles and reached the Rose Bowl on three occasions. Fry saw 28 of his assistants become head coaches, including Bob Stoops, Bill Snyder, Bo Pelini and Bret Bielema. “We should never forget that team,” Taylor said. “There are very few people that remember these guys. I don’t want Odessa to forget how great this team was and that they brought the first state championship title to Odessa.” link: https://www.oaoa.com/local-news/odessa-athletics-hall-of-fame-1946-ohs-football-team-was-one-for-the-ages/

I found this yesterday while perusing the UNT archives and found it interesting: https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1040494/m1/

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/14120644/kirk-ferentz-bob-stoops-iowa-legendary-1983-staff-make-impact-2015-playoff-race Coach Fry had a helluva staff back in '83. Here is the part about Mac. Dan McCarneyIowa defensive line coach: 1983 Iowa State head coach: 1995-2006 North Texas head coach: 2011-2015 Career record: 79-116 It was such an amazing group of people. Coach probably saw things in all of us that we didn't even see in ourselves. He had such an ability to empower you. He had what he expected, what needed to get done, but he let you do it in your own personality. I don't remember one time in 11 years him ever chewing one of us out individually. He's say things like, "A couple of you guys better get your butts in gear and do a better job of recruiting." And of course you are you thinking, "Well, who the hell are those couple of guys?" So he obviously kept everybody on edge. None of us, I think, would have ever become a head coach if not for Hayden Fry and the opportunity he gave us. You don't want to sit around and pat yourself on the back, but I think he just saw there was loyalty, there definitely had to be some talent there and there were guys who really responded to challenges and obstacles. I never ever wanted him to let him down, to regret hiring me. Coach Fry would tell us, "I don't want guys on this staff who don't want to be head coaches." I don't think any of us doubted we all had that down deep, but we didn't sit around talking about it. We were too consumed with our day-to-day responsibilities. There are only 128 Division I [FBS] head coaches in America. And to look at all of us that got opportunities to become had coaches, it's really amazing, it really is.

IOWA CITY, Ia. – Legend has it that Hayden Fry threatened to fire Dan McCarney and Kirk Ferentz one day at practice. "True story," McCarney said. "I remember it like it was last week. Kirk and I still laugh about it. But we weren't laughing at the time." It's a story that McCarney, now the head football coach at North Texas, and Ferentz, in his 17th season as Fry's successor at Iowa, might chat about when they shake hands before Saturday's 2:30 p.m. kickoff in Kinnick Stadium. "Coach Fry was pretty fired up," Ferentz recalled. It was 1981, Fry's third season at Iowa. McCarney was his defensive line coach. Ferentz was in his first season as the offensive line coach. Fry believed that the best way to develop a team was to have the starters practice against reserves. "I wanted the No. 1s to get used to winning," Fry said. "I did it from a psychological standpoint, to create a winner. I wanted them to feel good about themselves." But McCarney and Ferentz got together and changed things up one day. read more: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/sports/college/iowa/football-rick-brown/2015/09/23/brown-day-hayden-fry-nearly-fired-mccarney-ferentz/72626890/

Hi Guys, I just wanted to provide a brief first hand account of the induction of Hayden Fry into the SMU Hall of Fame last night. I am pleased to report that there were no less than ten North Texas alumni, former players, and staff on hand to represent the Mean Green in celebrating Coach Fry's amazing 40+ years in Football. We made our presence known as we proudly displayed the Flying Worm on our jackets, and loudly cheered for the former NTSU coaching great. Even 3x Pro Bowler Jerry Ball took notice. He asked me after the ceremony, "What's with all the green stuff??" The highlight of the evening had to have been the opportunity to present both Coach Fry and Coach McCarney, who was also there to cheer on his mentor, with one of the lime green lapel pins that we had custom made for the event. Hayden is still as humorous an ornery as ever. The entire Fry family was very very nice, and all of the assembled Ponies were extremely gracious in welcoming a group of Eagles into their stable. It was a great night all around! Go Mean Green!! This post has been promoted to an article

North Texas began fall practice Monday talking a lot about change, just as it has since the end of a milestone season. Several of the standouts who helped lead the Mean Green to a win over UNLV in the Heart of Dallas Bowl were long since gone when UNT’s returning players sprinted onto the field at the Darrell R. Dickey Football Practice Facility. UNT coach Dan McCarney took time out for one of his long-standing traditions before heading out to begin addressing all those changes and challenges. McCarney picked up the phone and called Hayden Fry. “I talk to coach Fry every year before my first practice,” McCarney said. “I said, ‘Coach, guess what? Thirty-five years ago you and I got together. How time flies.’ I have not lost one bit of energy, excitement or love of the game. I said, ‘I sure enjoyed it with you and hope that I can go out and enjoy it with my guys today.’ It was great to talk to him. I love him.” Read more: http://www.dentonrc.com/sports/colleges/north-texas-headlines/20140805-football-call-to-fry-now-part-of-unt-preparations.ece

Among the dozens of Iowa athletics-related photos in my dad's basement is the above picture of Hayden Fry's 1983 coaching staff. It might be weird for anyone, even the most hardcore of Iowa fans, to have a framed photograph of a bunch of position coaches for a team that went 9-3 and lost the Gator Bowl 31 years ago, but that wasn't just any staff. Hayden Fry's 1983 staff was arguably the greatest collection of coaching talent in the history of the game, a group that would go on to win a staggering 722 games as head coaches, including 32 bowl wins, 9 BCS bowl wins, 35 top 25 finishes (and 22 in the top 10), and 15 major conference titles. And that's not even including Fry's successes. Here are their stories, starting from Hayden and going clockwise........ Read more: http://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2014/6/20/5823870/the-base-of-the-tree-hayden-frys-1983-coaching-staff This post has been promoted to an article

Happy birthday Green Grenade! Thanks for all your contributions to the program and this site!!

“His team will be well-prepared and you’ll be able to see a great product because he’s going to put a good product on the field, a team that will compete and compete at a high level,” said Louisville coach Charlie Strong, who was defensive coordinator for Florida for two of the seasons McCarney was on staff. “Dan’s been around football a long time. He understands where he’s walking into. He knows he’s going to see an SEC opponent.” North Texas is 3-33 all-time against SEC teams. A North Texas team coached by Hayden Fry beat Tennessee 21-14 in 1975. McCarney was on Fry’s staff later at Iowa in 1979 and then worked under Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin. Those building jobs along with his time at Iowa State prepared him for North Texas, which is 2-1 for the first time since 1994. The Mean Green showed fight in coming back from a 20-3 deficit to beat Ball State 34-27 on Saturday at home. “When you have that experience as an assistant, as a coordinator as a head coach, it’s always inside you, a fire burning inside you that it would be fun to do it again,” he said. “We got a chance to go to the top of the mountain as an assistant at Florida with Urban [Meyer] and win a national championship, memories I’ll cherish forever.” Getting bowl eligible is a big goal for a program at a school with an enrollment of 36,206 that hasn’t gone to the postseason since the 2004 New Orleans Bowl. “There’s been so many bad years,” McCarney said. “We’re just trying to give our fans hope, make it relevant again, make it exciting, make it fun. We’ve got to put a good product on the field for people to come back and support us. There’s 12 Division I schools in the state of Texas. This university has been a great choice academically all over the state of Texas. It’s been a last resort place to come to in football for a number of years. … Slowly, but surely we’re taking some positive steps.” Read more: http://onlineathens.com/breaking-news/2013-09-16/north-texas-coach-mccarney-no-stranger-level-sec-competition

Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/06/thoughts-on-unt-heading-to-iowa-in-2015.html/