Mike Canales ready to be a head coach

[oldguystudent]

Mike, he's not actively campaigning. He didn't bring any of the topics he's quoted on himself. He is however directly answering questions asked of him during press conferences. Check the video record from Monday.

Nov. 8, 2014

Was that Southern Miss when my high school classmates rage quit Oak Street and proceeded to get divorced?  That was freaking epic.

[drex]

So he goes 4-0 in the next four weeks.  Then what happens?

[EagleMBA]

So he goes 4-0 in the next four weeks.  Then what happens?

If that happened, USC would be beating down his door to make an offer.

[untjim1995]

So he goes 4-0 in the next four weeks.  Then what happens?

If we win out, he's our coach...and deservedly so. He would have beaten a team we hadn't beaten yet in UTSA, the CUSA West leader, La Tech, on the road, beat P5 giant Tennessee on the road, MUTS on the road, and in-state rival UTEP at home.

And if I go buy the right lottery ticket, I will be retired...both have equal opportunities of occurring.

Edited November 5, 2015 by untjim1995

[Graddean]

I don't understand something that maybe someone can explain.  What is wrong with Canales campaigning for the job.  Is it because it is public and should be done behind closed doors.  Is he supposed to stand in the corner and say "Aw, gee shucks, I sure would like the job, but I will not say anything."  

How many of us have put in a good word for a friend or a friend's child?  How many of us have had friends go to bat for us?

 

[MeanGreenTexan]

So he goes 4-0 in the next four weeks.  Then what happens?

Then what happens?

[forevereagle]

Then what happens?

You will probably have hemorrhoids. 

[HarringtonFishSmeller]

I Like Mike.

But, the reality is...he helped put together the mess we have at quarterback.  He's been here six seasons.  Only one quarterback has work out "well" in the time span, Derek Thompson.  And, in the end, he only delivered one winning season.

I Like Mike.

But, not as the guy who has anything to do with deciding anything about the quarterback.  Next coach keep him on as a co-offensive coordinator?  Maybe.  Philip Rivers, some people say.  Rivers was already at NC State when Canales arrived, okay?  Canales didn't recruit Philip Rivers.  Let's recap Rivers' college career a little:

2000, Canales NOT his coach:  3,054 yards, 25 TDs, 10 Ints
2001: Canales his coach: 2,586 yards, 16 TDs, 7 Ints
2002: Canales his coach: 3,353 yards, 20 TDs, 10 Ints
2003 Canales NOT his coach: 4,491 yards, 34 TDs, 7 Ints

Okay?  Philip Rivers was one of those guys who was just a Natural, alright?  I mean, as a true freshman the guy was throwing for 3,000 and 25 TDs.  True freshman...while Canales was NOT his coach!  I mean, it would be like saying Darrell Royal and Fred Akers made Earl Campbell what he was or Bob Stoops made Adrian Peterson what he was.  It's total bullsh*t.  Some guys are just Naturals.  And, they are Naturals in every sense - born with the size, speed, strength AND determination to succeed!

I Like Mike.

But, there has to come a point where you look at what has happened on offense for six years.  You must look at the sheer number of quarterback that never developed.  I mean, Mike had to have been part of the recruiting process.

Let me tell you what I think Mike's quarterback problem is:  he is too soft.  Okay, there...I said it.  We have had any number of guys here who were pretty good high school quarterbacks, but who were in no way inclined to put in the work off the field!  How do you not pick that up in kids year after year after year?

I Like Mike.

But, I think at some point as a coach, I know sometimes as a coach, you have to get in a players face and say, "You work or you walk.  Everyone is dealing with problems, school workload, and whatever is happening back at home.  Get your head straight."

At some point, you have to believe in the old adage, "it's the stick or the carrot."  Well...unfortunately, you have to give some kids the stick to motivate them because the carrot isn't enough.  They just want to be given the carrot.  It doesn't work that way. 

We have had way too many quarterbacks sign under Canales and not turn into anything.  Too many. 

I Like Mike.

I lobbied for the hiring of Mike in 2010.  But, the race has now been run.  We have seen the results.  Mike is a great guy personally.  He is a motivator of kid, yes.  But, you are talking about the personality of most coaches at that level who succeed.

We are not going to win any other game, except maybe UTEP, and so Mike's head coaching record will, at that point, be either 3-9 or 4-8.  

Look, I created a post asking if we should keep him if he could go even 4-3.  Then, we saw that Smith is no different than McNulty in any way, shape, or form except that he can run against UTSA.  His passing is as bad.  His reading of defenses is as bad. 

So, four wins is a pipe dream.  And, even getting to two wins will be somewhat miraculous, given that beating injury-depleted UTSA took a defensive touchdown and a blocked and returned two point conversion.  I mean, be real here.

I Like Mike.

 

 

Edited November 5, 2015 by HarringtonFishSmeller

[Christopher Walker]

Was that Southern Miss when my high school classmates rage quit Oak Street and proceeded to get divorced?  That was freaking epic.

Ha! That was FAU. But that marital-rage-quit night was amusing for sure.

[UNT90]

omg! You're right again! Can you give me a lottery number? Savant!

I would, if I felt you were deserving... 

[MeanGreenTexan]

omg! You're right again! Can you give me a lottery number? Savant!

Wouldn't be surprised to see Canales go 3-1 or 2-2. And if he does, then he deserves a legitimate shot at this HC job.

We'll feel really dumb if he goes somewhere else and becomes a fantastic HC.

As if the WKU and Marshall games magically don't count?    2-2 is borderline acceptable.   MT is not very good this year.   UTEP should be a win.

C'mon people!!!

[Withers940]

omg! You're right again! Can you give me a lottery number? Savant!

Wouldn't be surprised to see Canales go 3-1 or 2-2. And if he does, then he deserves a legitimate shot at this HC job.

We'll feel really dumb if he goes somewhere else and becomes a fantastic HC.

 

[southsideguy]

half the battle is winning the games you should win.

[rcade]

Okay, so, if he wins MT & UTEP then he goes 3-4 with a team that won no games prior.

3-4 is a 43% winning percentage. Would you want UNT to hire a coach who won 43% of his games if his name wasn't Mike Canales?

[greenminer]

@oldguystudent has instantly jumped into my top 5 favorite poster list.

I find his posts fascinating and would like to know, how may I subscribe to your newsletter, sir?

[MeanGreenTexan]

@oldguystudent has instantly jumped into my top 5 favorite poster list.

I find his posts fascinating and would like to know, how may I subscribe to your newsletter, sir?

line starts back there, buster.

[untjim1995]

omg! You're right again! Can you give me a lottery number? Savant!

Wouldn't be surprised to see Canales go 3-1 or 2-2. And if he does, then he deserves a legitimate shot at this HC job.

We'll feel really dumb if he goes somewhere else and becomes a fantastic HC.

If Chico becomes a head coach at some point in the future and becomes fantastic, it will be because the place he went to was serious about winning at football.

[greenminer]

3-4 is a 43% winning percentage. Would you want UNT to hire a coach who won 43% of his games if his name wasn't Mike Canales?

I understand that you have to look at his record, but like a NCAA record stat that has an asterisk next to it, there are other circumstances.

While I think it has to be considered, I don't think his record is a deal breaker like it would be with another coach.  It is pretty obvious to me, IMO, that he has instantly taken the systems he inherited and made them better.  Players play harder, practices have picked up and fans alike are inspired by him.

Re: playcalling: it has questionable moments, but overall average point output is increasing and - for example - there is no way that trick play with Ivery gets called under Mac's watch.  If you want to argue about points in garbage time, I think the same can be said about Mac's per game average.  If someone has the time, I would be very interested in a couple of stats for comparison: plays per point, and yards per play.  Separate those stats between the two regimes and see how they stack up.  It might provide more insight; it might not.

Recruiting, specifically QB signees and development, is a concern but there seems to be a lot of back and forth and mis/information about Mac controlling that too.  Very similar to the playcalling/gameplanning discussion.

We may never know.  I knew people would warm up to him if he won a few games; I just didn't think it would be this quick after his first W.  I would feel better if he won at least 2 more.

[rcade]

While I think it has to be considered, I don't think his record is a deal breaker like it would be with another coach.  It is pretty obvious to me, IMO, that he has instantly taken the systems he inherited and made them better.  Players play harder, practices have picked up and fans alike are inspired by him.

I like Canales. But I don't think turning a total disaster into a partial disaster is enough to justify the $700,000-or-higher salary UNT can afford to pay. He would have to turn UNT into a good team for me to think he's worthy of consideration. That would require winning everything but the Tennessee game and playing well in that loss.

But we're 29-point dogs to La Tech. We're probably not having feel-good conversations about Canales next week.

The only way I see Canales being a viable option is if we get into the dire situation where nobody we want is willing to come here.

[greenminer]

I like Canales. But I don't think turning a total disaster into a partial disaster is enough to justify the $700,000-or-higher salary UNT can afford to pay. He would have to turn UNT into a good team for me to think he's worthy of consideration. That would require winning everything but the Tennessee game and playing well in that loss.

But we're 29-point dogs to La Tech. We're probably not having feel-good conversations about Canales next week.

The only way I see Canales being a viable option is if we get into the dire situation where nobody we want is willing to come here.

My thinking is this: take the coach you want, with the salary you want, and put him in Canales' situation.  Does he do any better?

That's why I submit that you don't hold his record as a deal breaker.

[MeanGreenTexan]

My thinking is this: take the coach you want, with the salary you want, and put him in Canales' situation.  Does he do any better?

That's why I submit that you don't hold his record as a deal breaker.

well, so far 2 lopsided losses versus the top 2 C-USA teams and 1 really tough win VS the worst team in C-USA....   I think there are many many coaches out there who could do that.  Why not wait to see Chico's finished masterpiece before asking if anyone could do better?

[EagleMBA]

I like Canales. But I don't think turning a total disaster into a partial disaster is enough to justify the $700,000-or-higher salary UNT can afford to pay. He would have to turn UNT into a good team for me to think he's worthy of consideration. That would require winning everything but the Tennessee game and playing well in that loss.

But we're 29-point dogs to La Tech. We're probably not having feel-good conversations about Canales next week.

The only way I see Canales being a viable option is if we get into the dire situation where nobody we want is willing to come here.

Cliche Alert! The devil you know is better than the devil you don't know.

No learning curve for Chico. Not advocating here, just trying to look at positives.

[rcade]

To be fair, we pretty much dominated the UTSA game. Had DaMarcus not had that questionable fumble or we not miss the chip shot, it's a three possession game.

This is like losing 38 to 14 and saying "take away just four plays and we win that game 14-10."

Those plays happened. UTSA gave up points on big plays too. Both teams were extremely inept through long stretches of the game.

Suggesting we dominated the game isn't borne out in the stats. They had 31 first downs to our 19, 475 total yards to our 371 and 15 more minutes of possession.

[MeanGreenTexan]

To be fair, we pretty much dominated the UTSA game. Had DaMarcus not had that questionable fumble or we not miss the chip shot, it's a three possession game. Not sure the game was ever in doubt. Nervous, sure, but that was just because of our history this year. I love that going into UTSA they were "the best 1-5 team" and talk about how dangerous they are. 

Were you really watching this game??

If homeboy didn't fumble McClain's scoop&score...  If doofus didn't get his extra point blocked...    This game can be played all day long.  
 

Fact is, the game was grinded out.  It absolutely was in doubt...  especially when they started moving the ball at will in the 2nd half (taking the lead in the 4th quarter) but kept shooting themselves in the foot to the tune of 9 points for the Mean Green.  Those 9 points, by the way, were more than the difference in the game.

[oldguystudent]

 how may I subscribe to your newsletter, sir?

Unfortunately, my newsletter is on indefinite hiatus as my typesetter left me for a lucrative career in seatback installation.