Kendal Briles -- North Texas Head Coaching Candidate

NT91 · November 3, 2015

No

VideoEagle · November 3, 2015

Love to have him. Experience at both UH and Baylor. He's participated in more bowl games than NT! And some business experience in sports management before coaching.

Mike Jackson · November 3, 2015

I am sorry by 32 is just too young for this program at this time. If we were still in the Sun Belt trying to move up I could see someone with his background being very successful here. That UNT is gone, just like half of Fouts Field. Inexperience means you don't have the connections to bring talent younger than yourself that have accomplished anything. We just don't need a head coach, we need a rock solid coaching staff. And no good OC or DC with more experience than Kendal is going to come here over other stops. He is a splash hire but I don't think he offers the legitimacy and stability we need right now. I want to the almost 40 year old coach who could convince someone like Briles (without the family name) to go in here and implement their unique variation of the spread offense. Sorry, but I just don't trust a 32 year old to manage a program full of 20 year old young men.

Cr1028 · November 3, 2015

In what universe do you think UNT and Baylor are parallel in the football recruiting?

Latif Nurudeen

I am sorry by 32 is just too young for this program at this time. If we were still in the Sun Belt trying to move up I could see someone with his background being very successful here. That UNT is gone, just like half of Fouts Field. Inexperience means you don't have the connections to bring talent younger than yourself that have accomplished anything. We just don't need a head coach, we need a rock solid coaching staff. And no good OC or DC with more experience than Kendal is going to come here over other stops. He is a splash hire but I don't think he offers the legitimacy and stability we need right now. I want to the almost 40 year old coach who could convince someone like Briles (without the family name) to go in here and implement their unique variation of the spread offense. Sorry, but I just don't trust a 32 year old to manage a program full of 20 year old young men.

I was only 34 when I got my Head Coaching gig. I can score but my defense is not great.

Marty · November 3, 2015

Kendall is very intriguing. I watched him all through high school, a fiery competitive player. He knows that offense inside and out. Would like him to bring in seasoned college assistants though if he is hired.

outoftown · November 3, 2015

No. Just No. A Power 5 coordinator might maybe be enough qualification. But not someone who has been a coordinator for less than a season at a place that has very different recruiting advantages and who has not made himself.

Give me a succesful FCS HC on the up ahead of this every day.

Edited November 3, 2015 by outoftown

mgfan · November 3, 2015

I would feel more comfortable if he was more proven outside of Baylor. I think Applewhite has proven more at Houston. Harder place to recruit than Baylor IMO.

Dr. Seuss · November 3, 2015

He has always had his dad and a job at a P5. He has no idea how hard it will be at UNT.
No thank you.

When you get older, you will realize that 32 isn't experienced. At all.
In what universe do you think UNT and Baylor are parallel in the football recruiting?
These "insider" lists are silly. I bet none of these cats are the next head coach.

Everyone says 32 isn't experienced, but he's the son of a coach. That itself is experience that not a lot of coaches have. Usually coaches sons are damn good coaches/players. They understand a game a different level.

Saying he's has everything at his finger tips and he just relies on his dad? Yes, his dad hired him in 2008 but is that a bad thing? Mike Zimmer, HC of the Minnesota Vikings hired his son as a LB coach for the Vikings, he's in his 30's. Again, thats the NFL, not college football. Before Art was hired, the last time Baylor went to a bowl game was 1994, I believe UNT beat Baylor or lost a close game to them in the early 2000's? Hate to break it to you but Baylor wasn't good. He was able to be apart of a coaching staff that started with nothing, again, they were the laughing stock of the Big 12 when Briles was hired into a top 5 team. Isn't that the type of experience we're looking for? A coach thats seen a program go from the bottom to the top. Briles should be one of our top targets and if you can't look past his age, well, you have more issues to worry about.

You have questions about his recruiting? Again, he started with nothing and helped bring them to where they're at today.

Limited coaching experience. All of his experience and success in coaching has been on his daddy's coat tails. Never faced any adversity in his short stint at BU and has all the recruiting advantages at his fingertips .

Todd Dodge - Southlake Carroll
-Great offensive mind
-Massive talent pool to accumulate great players
-Fantastic booster support
-Inherited a successful program(won three state titles before he got there, had very few losing seasons)
-Helped create a nationally recognizable program

Kendal Briles - Baylor
-Great offensive mind
-Massive talent pool to accumulate great players
-Fantastic booster support
-Brought a terrible program from the ashes(One can attribute the majority of this to his father though, so it's hard to find where to place credit here)
-Helped create a nationally recognized program
This situation looks oddly familiar...

Of course ones going to say that a majority of it should be attributed to his dad but lets think about this again. Because he was just a young position coach, he did a majority of the recruiting. He was able to find the players his dad wanted and watch/learn/teach the tools to become a great players. To me, thats the kind of experience we're looking for.

MeanGreenTexan · November 3, 2015

I think his downside is that he only understands Art's system. He has ZERO experience outside of Art's system, so he has no other philosophies to draw from.
When Baylor experiences a tough game, their adjustments are: Mash the gas a little harder offensively & pray our defense does not give up more points. With that system and the players they have acquired, these in game 'adjustments' usually work for Baylor.

Now, imagine next season under Briles, the Mean Green are in a tight one in Houston VS Rice. Briles knows he needs to mash the gas a little harder... because, well, that's all he knows. ...But we don't have the horses to do this and we wind up with a bunch of 3-&-outs or turnovers.

If you all think McCarney is stubborn, imagine a guy who only knows 1 way to do things.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm just not as impressed with Briles' resume as I am with others.

Ben Gooding · November 3, 2015

I think his downside is that he only understands Art's system. He has ZERO experience outside of Art's system, so he has no other philosophies to draw from.
When Baylor experiences a tough game, their adjustments are: Mash the gas a little harder offensively & pray our defense does not give up more points. With that system and the players they have acquired, these in game 'adjustments' usually work for Baylor.
Now, imagine next season under Briles, the Mean Green are in a tight one in Houston VS Rice. Briles knows he needs to mash the gas a little harder... because, well, that's all he knows. ...But we don't have the horses to do this and we wind up with a bunch of 3-&-outs or turnovers.

If you all think McCarney is stubborn, imagine a guy who only knows 1 way to do things.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm just not as impressed with Briles' resume as I am with others.

Mccarney knew 1 way of doing things so I'm not sure what you're talking about. His 1 way of doing things as led to a career losing record.

SilverEagle · November 3, 2015

Love to have him. Experience at both UH and Baylor. He's participated in more bowl games than NT! And some business experience in sports management before coaching.

That would sound much more impressive if he was the one totally, or even mostly, responsible for those bowl trips. Besides, the same statement could be made for a certain coach that was recently fired here.

And some business experience in sports management before coaching.

Is he also going to be in charge of the MGC? Hmmmm, come to think of it, even with the little amount of time he would have to devote to running the MGC, he would probably be much better at it than Mandy McKinley.

Ben Gooding · November 3, 2015

That would sound much more impressive if he was the one totally, or even mostly, responsible for those bowl trips. Besides, the same statement could be made for a certain coach that was recently fired here.
Is he also going to be in charge of the MGC? Hmmmm, come to think of it, even with the little amount of time he would have to devote to running the MGC, he would probably be much better at it than Mandy McKinley.

Point is, this hire increases donor levels and ticket sales. It creates excitement and UNT needs something to be excited about.

SilverEagle · November 3, 2015

Point is, this hire increases donor levels and ticket sales. It creates excitement and UNT needs something to be excited about.

Yeah, I understand that. A certain High School coach hired here supposedly did the same thing. Well, I heard he did. But then, do we really get honest numbers from the athletic department.....even in good times? His hire produced the largest turn out for a spring game that I have ever seen.

And yet.................

MeanGreenTexan · November 3, 2015

Mccarney knew 1 way of doing things so I'm not sure what you're talking about. His 1 way of doing things as led to a career losing record.

That's the point. However, McCarney coached under Fry and Alvarez before taking on his own job. He then coached under Leavitt & Meyer before coming to UNT. He had quite a bit to draw from, mostly his own head coaching experience... which Briles does not have.

And, by the way... in case you never heard, he won a national championship as an assistant coach while at Florida. All Briles has done is score a ton of points, get ranked really high, then choke.

Point is, this hire increases donor levels and ticket sales. It creates excitement and UNT needs something to be excited about.

Honest question: Were you here, or recall when Todd Dodge was hired? Everything you're saying was said when Dodge was hired.

HarringtonFishSmeller · November 3, 2015

No...32 and already drawn NCAA focus on his recruiting tactics...twice, 2014 and 2015:
http://www.si.com/college-football/2015/09/11/baylor-bears-kendal-briles-tate-wallis-suspended-lamar-ncaa-penalty
http://collegefootball.ap.org/article/baylor-suspends-kendal-briles-1-game-ncaa-violation

His dad's handling of the Boise State DE transferwho had assaulted his girlfriend there then another at Baylor is also a bad example. We can win without drawing the NCAA or any other scrutiny. The Briles appear to willing to stretch the rules.

Because he would likely treat this as a stepping stone job, whatever violations he accrued here would be left behind for us to handle while he moves on. That's what those guys do.

Dr. Seuss · November 3, 2015

I think his downside is that he only understands Art's system. He has ZERO experience outside of Art's system, so he has no other philosophies to draw from.
When Baylor experiences a tough game, their adjustments are: Mash the gas a little harder offensively & pray our defense does not give up more points. With that system and the players they have acquired, these in game 'adjustments' usually work for Baylor.
Now, imagine next season under Briles, the Mean Green are in a tight one in Houston VS Rice. Briles knows he needs to mash the gas a little harder... because, well, that's all he knows. ...But we don't have the horses to do this and we wind up with a bunch of 3-&-outs or turnovers.

If you all think McCarney is stubborn, imagine a guy who only knows 1 way to do things.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm just not as impressed with Briles' resume as I am with others.

I can understand that. I don't think he'll be a micromanager like Mac. I think, I could be wrong but a younger HC like Briles would hire an experienced DC and let him do his job. Brides would be focusing on the Offense and other HC duties. What kind of DC wouldn't want that type of freedom?

Honest question: Were you here, or recall when Todd Dodge was hired? Everything you're saying was said when Dodge was hired.

Here's the difference-- Dodge didn't bring in the right staff. I'm just saying, I don't think any current OC would bring in a HS staff.

"Point is, this hire increases donor levels and ticket sales. It creates excitement and UNT needs something to be excited about."

Any new HC should do all of the things Ben listed, thats happens everywhere, not just at UNT. Guess what, all of these things happened when Mac was hired too.

Censored by Laurie · November 3, 2015

All Briles has done is score a ton of points, get ranked really high, then choke.

ya. at Baylor. Baylor. that school that hadn't been to a bowl game in 26 years, that UNT drubbed 52-14 and who had gone 18-40 under it's previous coach. let's maybe not discount his achievements just because he's lost by a total of 11 points in his last two bowl games.

and dismissing a candidate because he's 32 or because he's only worked for his father is foolish and myopic.

aztecskin · November 3, 2015

I would seriously question his ability to put together a great supporting staff.
What are his connections outside of Baylor?
Would he just be leaning on his Dad to help him fill a staff?
I was told he would want a better job or his Dad's.
His offense would be great. He could recruit like crazy. He could make us a trendy pick for the second tier recruits. His vertical offense would fit Smith.
Not sure I trust him running the day to day stuff of a program.

I also am meh on this.

TheColonyEagle · November 3, 2015

I don't know why people think it's easy to recruit to Baylor. Maybe it's easier now but they had to start somewhere to get the talent in there to get to where they are now.

That guy is the Big 12 recruiter of the year in a conference with UT, OU, OSU, and other programs that have had a much easier situation to recruit to than Baylor.

We need TALENT. And a system that can take advantage of that talent. Kendall Briles would bring both.

For those that are afraid he would only be here for 3 years......we should only hope so because that means our program's arrow is undoubtably pointed UP.

Ben Gooding · November 3, 2015

Yeah, I understand that. A certain High School coach hired here supposedly did the same thing. Well, I heard he did. But then, do we really get honest numbers from the athletic department.....even in good times? His hire produced the largest turn out for a spring game that I have ever seen.
And yet.................

That's the point. However, McCarney coached under Fry and Alvarez before taking on his own job. He then coached under Leavitt & Meyer before coming to UNT. He had quite a bit to draw from, mostly his own head coaching experience... which Briles does not have.
And, by the way... in case you never heard, he won a national championship as an assistant coach while at Florida. All Briles has done is score a ton of points, get ranked really high, then choke.
Honest question: Were you here, or recall when Todd Dodge was hired? Everything you're saying was said when Dodge was hired.

I understand all of this and that is why I think it is important to know who he will bring in as his OC and DC. And I don't care if his dad is helping him staff North Texas. That is free consulting for North Texas from a pretty knowledgeable coach in Art Briles. If Kendal's recruiting tactics are in question that means they are being examined and apparently nothing is being done about it. There is a fine line to walk on anything and Kendal is walking that line within the rules. We need a guy that will walk that line. We haven't had one here, ever.

And no, I wasn't here for the Todd Dodge experiment. Rick Villareal let Dodge bring in whoever he wanted. In this scenario that needs to be micromanaged a little closer as stated above and as I've said 10 times now if in fact Briles does end up coming here.

As far as Mccarney goes....the guy is a loser in the literal sense. Everywhere he has gone as the HC he has lost. He was brought up in the coaching ranks with mediocrity all around him at Iowa and Wisconsin. He instilled the same mediocrity concepts at Iowa State and then of course here at North Texas. That shit doesn't fly anymore. Fundamentally sound defense doesn't win championships anymore. Recruiting does.

Dr. Seuss · November 3, 2015

I don't know why people think it's easy to recruit to Baylor. Maybe it's easier now but they had to start somewhere to get the talent in there to get to where they are now.
That guy is the Big 12 recruiter of the year in a conference with UT, OU, OSU, and other programs that have had a much easier situation to recruit to than Baylor.
We need TALENT. And a system that can take advantage of that talent. Kendall Briles would bring both.
For those that are afraid he would only be here for 3 years......we should only hope so because that means our program's arrow is undoubtably pointed UP.

Thank you, at least someone on this board has some brains.

SilverEagle · November 3, 2015

As far as Mccarney goes....the guy is a loser in the literal sense. Everywhere he has gone as the HC he has lost. He was brought up in the coaching ranks with mediocrity all around him at Iowa and Wisconsin. He instilled the same mediocrity concepts at Iowa State and then of course here at North Texas. That shit doesn't fly anymore. Fundamentally sound defense doesn't win championships anymore. Recruiting does.

Well he was just really old school, and obviously not able (or willing) to learn anything more complicated than what came out of the Woody Hayes era. That story that was published the week of the Iowa game was a good example. He was a young assistant under Fry. But did he pay attention to Fry's methods and soak up new ideas, like young coaches are supposed to do? Hell no! He and his buddy decided to run 1st against 1st in drills after he was taught, and then ordered, not to. And he almost lost his first coaching job as a result. What a knuckle head.

MeanGreenTexan · November 3, 2015

I understand all of this and that is why I think it is important to know who he will bring in as his OC and DC. And I don't care if his dad is helping him staff North Texas. That is free consulting for North Texas from a pretty knowledgeable coach in Art Briles. If Kendal's recruiting tactics are in question that means they are being examined and apparently nothing is being done about it. There is a fine line to walk on anything and Kendal is walking that line within the rules. We need a guy that will walk that line. We haven't had one here, ever.
And no, I wasn't here for the Todd Dodge experiment. Rick Villareal let Dodge bring in whoever he wanted. In this scenario that needs to be micromanaged a little closer as stated above and as I've said 10 times now if in fact Briles does end up coming here.
As far as Mccarney goes....the guy is a loser in the literal sense. Everywhere he has gone as the HC he has lost. He was brought up in the coaching ranks with mediocrity all around him at Iowa and Wisconsin. He instilled the same mediocrity concepts at Iowa State and then of course here at North Texas. That shit doesn't fly anymore. Fundamentally sound defense doesn't win championships anymore. Recruiting does.

Oh wow. I have to disagree with this.
'Mediocrity' does not enshrine coaches into the College Football Hall of Fame. Some education for you:

http://www.footballfoundation.org/Programs/CollegeFootballHallofFame/SearchDetail.aspx?id=90056
"Fry is best known for sparking a resurgence at Iowa, where his teams were 143-89-6 over 20 seasons. In 1981, he coached the Hawkeyes to their first winning season in 19 years with a Big-Ten co-championship and a birth in the Rose Bowl, the school's first bowl appearance in 23 years. Fry won two other Big Ten titles, sending the Hawkeyes to Pasadena. At Iowa, he had ten ranked teams and made 14 bowl appearances."
http://www.footballfoundation.org/Programs/CollegeFootballHallofFame/SearchDetail.aspx?id=90208
"Barry Alvarez set a record as having the highest all-time bowl winning percentage (.727) for coaches with at least 11 bowl appearances. Alvarez compiled a 118-73-4 record while at Wisconsin and captured three Big Ten Championships. "

Of course, McCarney was with those two guys for quite a while, and was ingrained with their styles. The game passed him by, we're in agreement there, but you can't really drag his mentors through the mud. McCarney was feast or famine. Unfortunately for him, he had more famine years...

Also, I doubt Arty will let his boy take more than 1 guy off the Baylor staff (he'd already be losing his OC), so Baylor would not be "helping him staff NT". And if you're ready to sign Briles on the dotted line and he says, "I'll be bringing in such-&-such as my OC & DC", and Rick Villareal does not like those guys, what then?

Edited November 3, 2015 by MeanGreenTexan
needed to highlight what I 'disagree with'.

Dr. Seuss · November 3, 2015

Also, I doubt Arty will let his boy take more than 1 guy off the Baylor staff (he'd already be losing his OC), so Baylor would not be "helping him staff NT". And if you're ready to sign Briles on the dotted line and he says, "I'll be bringing in such-&-such as my OC & DC", and Rick Villareal does not like those guys, what then?

I don't think @bengooding ever said that. More as in he'll ask his dad for help in regards to what kind of coach he should hire. Using his dad as a mentor.

LongJim · November 3, 2015

He was brought up in the coaching ranks with mediocrity all around him at Iowa and Wisconsin. He instilled the same mediocrity concepts at Iowa State and then of course here at North Texas. That shit doesn't fly anymore. Fundamentally sound defense doesn't win championships anymore. Recruiting does.

Can you elaborate on "mediocrity concepts"? And the notion that "fundamentally sound defense" doesn't win championships? What type of defense *does* win championships, in your opinion?