Could UNT opt for an NFL assistant?

Harry · November 18, 2015

UCF: With Danny White landing the AD job, the Orlando Sentinel is now reporting that St. Louis Rams quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke is interested in the head job at UCF. Weinke, the former Florida State quarterback, spent five years as the director of football at IMG in Bradenton, FL.

read more: http://footballscoop.com/the-scoop/

GMG edit: I know people say, why post stuff on UCF, but there are some similarities. They are replacing an older coach. Weinke is young but it is also interesting in that he is coming from the NFL. Some folks had mentioned Derek Dooley assistant with the Cowboys awhile back and the option of UNT bringing in a qualified NFL assistant is certainly a possibility. Dooley was the head coach at Tennessee and La. Tech so he knows the ropes.

oldguystudent · November 18, 2015

This whole thing has gotten so internal class war, bitter fan base, cloak and dagger swept away in the dark of night secrecy, it's just plain difficult for me to care anymore.

All of the fan speculation, based on no legitimate information at all, is entirely ill informed and entirely unheard (most likely rightly so) by the deciding powers that be.

Throw Gumby and Pokey out there in compromising positions for all I care anymore. It's gonna make some happy and others angry. Only time will tell if it works out in the long run.

Eagle-96 · November 18, 2015

Former UNT linebacker Jeff Rodgers is an NFL special teams coordinator and has been for several years.

Edited November 18, 2015 by Eagle-96

rcade · November 18, 2015

GMG edit: I know people say, why post stuff on UCF, but there are some similarities. They are replacing an older coach.

As a Floridian for 18 years now, I find a lot of similarities between UCF and UNT. Both are enormous public universities in major cities whose football programs are toiling in the shadow of multiple entrenched, well-established P5 rivals. Both recently built stadiums and developed bigger aspirations for football. Both underperform relative to the size of their alumni base and student enrollment. At 59,000 students, UCF is the second-biggest university in the U.S. Someday they're going to play like that.

We've never played them. If we ever start scheduling competently, it would be nice to get them for a home and home.

Edited November 18, 2015 by rcade

Stan R · November 18, 2015

This whole thing has gotten so internal class war, bitter fan base, cloak and dagger swept away in the dark of night secrecy, it's just plain difficult for me to care anymore.
All of the fan speculation, based on no legitimate information at all, is entirely ill informed and entirely unheard (most likely rightly so) by the deciding powers that be.
Throw Gumby and Pokey out there in compromising positions for all I care anymore. It's gonna make some happy and others angry. Only time will tell if it works out in the long run.

While I agree with you, there were legitimate concerns about each of the hires made (in particular T.Dodge and Mac) that turned out to be crucial factors in their failures. Granted, not everyone was screaming about them at the time, but I can tell you in both of the hires there were some queasy feelings many had about both once the discussion played out on the board. They went something like this:

Dodge:

- Uh oh, wait he's bringing his high school assistants. That's not a great idea.
- But hey! It will work out, he's an offensive genius! He's just bringing in guys he's comfortable with.
- Look at the recruits rolling in!! His defense will be better in year 2. Give his high school guys some time. They're learning "on the job".

Mac:

- Hmm well the recruiting classes are pretty good! What, no 3 star defensive lineman? Hmm well, that will improve. Oh these 2 star guys MUST be good. He was at Florida so he MUST know how to find diamonds in the rough out of these 2 star guys. NEXT year's defensive recruits are going to be SWELL!

In the end there WERE signs that these were busts, and early. A competent AD will address these things which were red flags WITH HIS COACHES. Was that done? I have no idea but I'm starting to think that no, nothing was done or at least no actions taken that would address these issues.

That is the recurring theme which we've seen far too often. Do ADs have no teeth when it comes to changing behavior of their coaches??? Is firing the only action that they can take?

I just can't believe that is the case.

rcade · November 18, 2015

Mac:
- Hmm well the recruiting classes are pretty good! What, no 3 star defensive lineman? Hmm well, that will improve. Oh these 2 star guys MUST be good. He was at Florida so he MUST know how to find diamonds in the rough out of these 2 star guys. NEXT year's defensive recruits are going to be SWELL!

Good post.

The main criticism against McCarney that I remember from GMG was about his winning percentage as a head coach, which was 39.7%. Some fans were afraid of bringing someone in who lost 6 out of 10 games.

His winning percentage at UNT was 40.7%.

El Paso Eagle · November 18, 2015

Dodge:
- Uh oh, wait he's bringing his high school assistants. That's not a great idea.
- But hey! It will work out, he's an offensive genius! He's just bringing in guys he's comfortable with.
- Look at the recruits rolling in!! His defense will be better in year 2. Give his high school guys some time. They're learning "on the job".

I believe this is the biggest mistake RV has made (IMO) - He should not have allowed this. If this was a "game breaker" from Dodge's side then the hire should never have been made.

untjim1995 · November 18, 2015

Derek Dooley would be a great person to talk to about our opening. He's probably more qualified for this job than any of the P5 OCs we are talking about wanting. This guy won at La Tech, before falling down at Tennessee. There's no shame in that. He figured out a way to help La Tech win, as well as to stay within budget by assuming AD duties, as well.

It'd be a huge mistake not to at least talk with Dooley.

forevereagle · November 18, 2015

His winning percentage at UNT was 40.7%.

Would have been worse had he been allowed to finish the season.

MeanGreenTexan · November 18, 2015

I believe this is the biggest mistake RV has made (IMO) - He should not have allowed this. If this was a "game breaker" from Dodge's side then the hire should never have been made.

Todd Ford was not an issue here.

Mendoza was horrendous. Recall, Dodge brought in DeLoach to remedy that, and he sucked just as bad.

There were more issues with Dodge's tenure than just his assistant coaches.

eulessismore · November 19, 2015

Good post.
The main criticism against McCarney that I remember from GMG was about his winning percentage as a head coach, which was 39.7%. Some fans were afraid of bringing someone in who lost 6 out of 10 games.
His winning percentage at UNT was 40.7%.

You can't say we didn't know what to expect.

greenb.o.g. · November 19, 2015

OK ... so going back to the original question on this thread, yes, UNT could hire an NFL assistant.

First choice: Dirk Koetter

Second choice: Jeff Tedford (okay, CFL head coach, but same difference)

FirefightnRick · November 19, 2015

Good post.
The main criticism against McCarney that I remember from GMG was about his winning percentage as a head coach, which was 39.7%. Some fans were afraid of bringing someone in who lost 6 out of 10 games.
His winning percentage at UNT was 40.7%.

What I remember was his domestic violence issue coming up first every time you google searched him. A few posters always had an issue to make out of Jim Leavitt's locker room accusation, that happened to turn out to be a fabrication,.... but didn't seem to be bothered about Mac slapping his first wife around.

Rick

eulessismore · November 19, 2015

Derek Dooley would be a great person to talk to about our opening. He's probably more qualified for this job than any of the P5 OCs we are talking about wanting. This guy won at La Tech, before falling down at Tennessee. There's no shame in that. He figured out a way to help La Tech win, as well as to stay within budget by assuming AD duties, as well.
It'd be a huge mistake not to at least talk with Dooley.

Well, I just looked at his Wikipedia page, which looks like it's written by friends and family, but still shows 1 winning record in 6 years and a won loss percentage about the same as coach Mac's, so I'm wondering which opening you're talking about. Have we announced that we'll be hiring an AD?

MDH · November 19, 2015

Could probably get Pat Hill pretty cheap - he recruited and developed more NFL players than any other in G5 and more than most in P5

Dr. Seuss · November 19, 2015

Could probably get Pat Hill pretty cheap - he recruited and developed more NFL players than any other in G5 and more than most in P5

OL coach/ Assoc. HC.. YES!!! Not as HC. Offensive HC(Riley/Wilson), OC/QB/PGC coach, OL/Assoc. HC (Hill)

Edited November 19, 2015 by Dr. Seuss

untjim1995 · November 19, 2015

I mentioned Pat Hill the other day...he may just be done with college coaching now that he is in the NFL, but he was a damn good coach at Fresno State. He and Dooley would both be good coaches to talk to, IMO.

But again, RV is doing the hiring--this isn't going to end well.

Eagle-96 · November 19, 2015

What I remember was his domestic violence issue coming up first every time you google searched him. A few posters always had an issue to make out of Jim Leavitt's locker room accusation, that happened to turn out to be a fabrication,.... but didn't seem to be bothered about Mac slapping his first wife around.
Rick

This is what I remember as well. The coaching record was reason for pause but then everyone looked at his ability to get a program like Iowa State to bowl games and ignored the record. But then the domestic abuse issues came to light and some did not want to be associated with that. That too was overlooked. Fast forward a few years and domestic violence in football has come to the forefront with Rice, Hardy, Peterson, etc... I am not sure hiring Mac would pass muster in today's environment.

Christopher Walker · November 19, 2015

Ew, gross.

MDH · November 19, 2015

I mentioned Pat Hill the other day...he may just be done with college coaching now that he is in the NFL, but he was a damn good coach at Fresno State. He and Dooley would both be good coaches to talk to, IMO.
But again, RV is doing the hiring--this isn't going to end well.

He only had a one year stint back in the NFL with the Falcons post Fresno. As of this year he is the ESPN radio commentator for Fresno St games