Sidway: Darvin Kidsy worked out with football team amid potential felony charge

[Graddean]

47 minutes ago, GMG24 said:

anyone can be kicked for anything. Violation of Team Rules, dont have to be specific just violation of team rules. 

From team activities, yes; however, the LOI does give the player some contractual rights that would require to keep on scholarship until the end of the semester.  He could be dismissed from the University which would require following whatever steps laid out in the student handbook.

[Eagle-96]

50 minutes ago, HarringtonFishSmeller said:

Wait...shouldn't Littrell be the one telling Kidsy not to work out?  Who is the head coach, Villarreal or Littrell?

Having a very difficult time believing the current staff knew nothing about the situation with Kidsy.  This was big news.  How is it that this decision gets punted to the AD and the staff is clean?

If this is the way this staff will operate, the "we saw nothing, we heard nothing" unless is came from the AD...that's going to be a problem.

It's what OU did with their RB that broke the girl's face two summers ago.  He was suspended during the 2014 season, made an Alford plea in October/November (?) of 2014, then rejoined the team for the spring workouts in 2015.

But, Bob Stoops wasn't hiding behind his AD's skirt.  Not sure why we're happy to have Littrell & Staff hide behind Villarreal's:

http://newsok.com/article/5292921

So, again, is Littrell the head coach or is he not?  If so, he can't just pass on being fully involved in the teams doings - on and off the field. 

RV is the head of, and the mouthpiece of, the athletic department. That is why he made the initial statement passing responsibility off to the University. That is also why he responded to Sidway on 01/26. At any other time I would expect Littrell to handle this(keep in mind he still has to run the decision by RV as he is his boss). This is the final stretch of the recruiting season so I don't see it as Littrell hiding behind RVs skirt. I am quite sure that RV said that he would handle it then dropped the ball yet again. This is not on Littrell. 

[UNT90]

9 minutes ago, Eagle-96 said:

RV is the head of, and the mouthpiece of, the athletic department. That is why he made the initial statement passing responsibility off to the University. That is also why he responded to Sidway on 01/26. At any other time I would expect Littrell to handle this(keep in mind he still has to run the decision by RV as he is his boss). This is the final stretch of the recruiting season so I don't see it as Littrell hiding behind RVs skirt. I am quite sure that RV said that he would handle it then dropped the ball yet again. This is not on Littrell. 

No doubt that this is the most likely scenerio. 

[HarringtonFishSmeller]

17 minutes ago, Eagle-96 said:

RV is the head of, and the mouthpiece of, the athletic department. That is why he made the initial statement passing responsibility off to the University. That is also why he responded to Sidway on 01/26. At any other time I would expect Littrell to handle this(keep in mind he still has to run the decision by RV as he is his boss). This is the final stretch of the recruiting season so I don't see it as Littrell hiding behind RVs skirt. I am quite sure that RV said that he would handle it then dropped the ball yet again. This is not on Littrell. 

So, why, in the case of the Oklahoma running back, did HEAD COACH Bob Stoops, Athletic Director Joe Castiglione, and Preisdent David Boren ALL meet with the district attorney, then release a statement from Stoops and the AD?

Sorry.  For me, the head football coach is involved in and responsible for all things football related.  And, on something as serious as a felony crime committed by one of his players, he's out there with the university and athletic department.

If Littrell needs the Athletic Director to babysit his players for him, and clean up after their messes alone, we're in for a rocky tenure.  That's not the way it's handled where the big boys play. 

This combined with the lack of recruiting pop are making me wonder whether or not Littrell is ready for prime time.  Designing an offense is one thing; being able to handle team discipline is another.  A head coach has got to have the ability to grasp and do both. 

Does Littrell want this job or not?  Is he capable of it? 

As of today, I still see that Littrell has never commented publicly on Kidsy.  That's a problem. 

Also, it's Littrell who tells the strength and conditioning coach who is and who is not to be working out with the team, not the other way around.  Littrell is the head coach, not the strength and conditioning coach.  This makes me think there are communication problems between Littrell and the S&C coach as well.

Sorry, guy, to me, Littrell can't stand around grinning while there is a felony arrest of one of his players.  He's a head football coach now, so he needs to take off his assistant coach diapers and put on the big boy pants.

Edited January 27, 2016 by HarringtonFishSmeller

[untjim1995]

8 minutes ago, Ryan Munthe said:

Now we're a big boy program like TCU?

Just without the wins or the money...

[Eagle-96]

1 hour ago, HarringtonFishSmeller said:

So, why, in the case of the Oklahoma running back, did HEAD COACH Bob Stoops, Athletic Director Joe Castiglione, and Preisdent David Boren ALL meet with the district attorney, then release a statement from Stoops and the AD?

Sorry.  For me, the head football coach is involved in and responsible for all things football related.  And, on something as serious as a felony crime committed by one of his players, he's out there with the university and athletic department.

If Littrell needs the Athletic Director to babysit his players for him, and clean up after their messes alone, we're in for a rocky tenure.  That's not the way it's handled where the big boys play. 

This combined with the lack of recruiting pop are making me wonder whether or not Littrell is ready for prime time.  Designing an offense is one thing; being able to handle team discipline is another.  A head coach has got to have the ability to grasp and do both. 

Does Littrell want this job or not?  Is he capable of it? 

As of today, I still see that Littrell has never commented publicly on Kidsy.  That's a problem. 

Also, it's Littrell who tells the strength and conditioning coach who is and who is not to be working out with the team, not the other way around.  Littrell is the head coach, not the strength and conditioning coach.  This makes me think there are communication problems between Littrell and the S&C coach as well.

Sorry, guy, to me, Littrell can't stand around grinning while there is a felony arrest of one of his players.  He's a head football coach now, so he needs to take off his assistant coach diapers and put on the big boy pants.

1. Did you stop to think about the hierarchy in the UNT Athletic Department? Like it or not, RV is Littrell's BOSS. If RV wants to be the spokesman for the athletic department then that is his prerogative. If he tells Littrell that he will handle it then that's what Littrell has to follow. Apparently it is different at OU.

2. We're not the big boys. We are one of the worst G5 teams in the country and are light years behind the big boys in terms of fund raising, athletes, booster club membership, attendance, etc...

3. Littrell has been on the job for less than two months and you are ready to judge that he is not ready for prime time? I'm glad you don't run the department.

4. Again, RV is the boss and he calls the shots whether you, Littrell, or anyone else likes it. If RV says Kidsy can't workout with the team then that's what goes. 

 

[EagleMBA]

1 hour ago, Eagle-96 said:

RV is the head of, and the mouthpiece of, the athletic department. That is why he made the initial statement passing responsibility off to the University. That is also why he responded to Sidway on 01/26. At any other time I would expect Littrell to handle this(keep in mind he still has to run the decision by RV as he is his boss). This is the final stretch of the recruiting season so I don't see it as Littrell hiding behind RVs skirt. I am quite sure that RV said that he would handle it then dropped the ball yet again. This is not on Littrell. 

Agree! The fish rots from the head down.

[UNT90]

1 hour ago, Ryan Munthe said:

Now we're a big boy program like TCU?

Except with a terrible AD and the worst football team in FBS.

Other than that, spot on, Ryan

[HarringtonFishSmeller]

55 minutes ago, Eagle-96 said:

1. Did you stop to think about the hierarchy in the UNT Athletic Department? Like it or not, RV is Littrell's BOSS. If RV wants to be the spokesman for the athletic department then that is his prerogative. If he tells Littrell that he will handle it then that's what Littrell has to follow. Apparently it is different at OU.

2. We're not the big boys. We are one of the worst G5 teams in the country and are light years behind the big boys in terms of fund raising, athletes, booster club membership, attendance, etc...

3. Littrell has been on the job for less than two months and you are ready to judge that he is not ready for prime time? I'm glad you don't run the department.

4. Again, RV is the boss and he calls the shots whether you, Littrell, or anyone else likes it. If RV says Kidsy can't workout with the team then that's what goes. 

 

If that's the case, then why were Dodge and McCarney responding publicly within 48 hours - and, sometimes the same day - of a player's arrest?  Is Littrell on a shorter leash with Villarreal than Dodge and McCarney.  I doubt it.  He's certainly being paid more than Dodge or McCarney. 

Rick Villarreal is not the head football coach.  The strength and conditioning coach is not the head football coach.  Seth Littrell is the head football coach, and he hasn't spoken about the Kidsy's arrest, and Kidsy was still engaged in player activities.

Sorry, man, evidence is the other way on this one.  At UNT, the head coach has been the one out in front of these type of events.  At other schools as well. 

 

 

[GOMG2013]

Questions

Is Sidway supposed to be the beat writer for the team?  I was under the impression that since he was on top of the coaches hiring, it seemed like he had some inside access.

I thought beat writers usually reported things that make the team look good.

Is this news?  It's worth discussing, but not enough to make the team look bad and possibly lose access to other info during the season.

[Quoner]

13 minutes ago, HarringtonFishSmeller said:

If that's the case, then why were Dodge and McCarney responding publicly within 48 hours - and, sometimes the same day - of a player's arrest? 

 

Could Vito using traditional SID channels for comments in past stories vs. Sidway having what seems like a direct line to RV be causing the difference in how quickly and from who the quote comes from?

[Eagle-96]

18 minutes ago, HarringtonFishSmeller said:

If that's the case, then why were Dodge and McCarney responding publicly within 48 hours - and, sometimes the same day - of a player's arrest?  Is Littrell on a shorter leash with Villarreal than Dodge and McCarney.  I doubt it.  He's certainly being paid more than Dodge or McCarney. 

Rick Villarreal is not the head football coach.  The strength and conditioning coach is not the head football coach.  Seth Littrell is the head football coach, and he hasn't spoken about the Kidsy's arrest, and Kidsy was still engaged in player activities.

Sorry, man, evidence is the other way on this one.  At UNT, the head coach has been the one out in front of these type of events.  At other schools as well. 

 

 

Bottom line. RV is the boss. If he says he wants to handle it then he handles it(whether he follows through or not). As for this situation, I think that Littrell is busy doing what he NEEDS to be doing right now and that is dedicating 100% of his time to recruiting. You are reading way too much into the fact that Littrell hasn't spoken about Kidsy yet. Way way too much. It appears RV has dropped the ball AGAIN. Littrell is not the droid you're looking for.

[UNTFan23]

43 minutes ago, GOMG2013 said:

Questions

Is Sidway supposed to be the beat writer for the team?  I was under the impression that since he was on top of the coaches hiring, it seemed like he had some inside access.

I thought beat writers usually reported things that make the team look good.

Is this news?  It's worth discussing, but not enough to make the team look bad and possibly lose access to other info during the season.

Impossible to tell at this point (the story doesn't mention how Sidway/The NT Daily found out) but maybe a student inside the athletic department saw Kidsy working out with the team and so that person threw Sidway a heads up, which got the story rolling.

Beat writers should cover their beat, warts and all.

[GOMG2013]

23 minutes ago, UNTFan23 said:

Beat writers should cover their beat, warts and all.

Well, if his beat is UNT football, there's plenty of things that he should be looking into.  We have a brand new coaching staff...it's recruiting season...what are the players that are still on the team doing? Oh yeah...they are lifting weights...found that out in a story about Kidsy...what is Alec up to?  Was Bryce lifting?  What will our offense look like?  What kind of defense will we run?  

 

[BillySee58]

29 minutes ago, GOMG2013 said:

Well, if his beat is UNT football, there's plenty of things that he should be looking into.  We have a brand new coaching staff...it's recruiting season...what are the players that are still on the team doing? Oh yeah...they are lifting weights...found that out in a story about Kidsy...what is Alec up to?  Was Bryce lifting?  What will our offense look like?  What kind of defense will we run?  

 

He's the beat writer for FC Dallas, the MLS team. He's the sports editor for the NT Daily, the student paper.

[UNT90]

2 hours ago, Quoner said:

Could Vito using traditional SID channels for comments in past stories vs. Sidway having what seems like a direct line to RV be causing the difference in how quickly and from who the quote comes from?

Sidway keeps writing stories like these and access will stop. Quickly.

1 hour ago, GOMG2013 said:

Well, if his beat is UNT football, there's plenty of things that he should be looking into.  We have a brand new coaching staff...it's recruiting season...what are the players that are still on the team doing? Oh yeah...they are lifting weights...found that out in a story about Kidsy...what is Alec up to?  Was Bryce lifting?  What will our offense look like?  What kind of defense will we run?  

 

Anything to keep focus somewhere else besides Rick Vilkarreal...

[Aigle Vert]

4 hours ago, HarringtonFishSmeller said:

If that's the case, then why were Dodge and McCarney responding publicly within 48 hours - and, sometimes the same day - of a player's arrest?  Is Littrell on a shorter leash with Villarreal than Dodge and McCarney.  I doubt it.  He's certainly being paid more than Dodge or McCarney. 

Rick Villarreal is not the head football coach.  The strength and conditioning coach is not the head football coach.  Seth Littrell is the head football coach, and he hasn't spoken about the Kidsy's arrest, and Kidsy was still engaged in player activities.

Sorry, man, evidence is the other way on this one.  At UNT, the head coach has been the one out in front of these type of events.  At other schools as well. 

 

 

Littrell was still in North Carolina at the time of the alleged incident.

Edited January 28, 2016 by Aigle Vert

[GangGreen]

Since we're holding Dodge up to such high disciplinary standards, remember that time he drug tested the entire team and the majority of them failed? How many players were kicked off the team? I forget.

Edit: Just looked it up, it was 15 or 16. My memory sometimes exaggerates.

Edited January 28, 2016 by GangGreen

[rcade]

Keeping a athlete away from team activities while he is facing a felony criminal indictment should be the easiest thing in the world. Send an email to all coaches and trainers and tell them. If the athlete needs a keycard to get into any team facilities turn it off or confiscate it.

RV's inability to do this makes it look like he isn't even trying any more.

The four words the NCAA likes to use when dropping the hammer on a school are "lack of institutional control." Dealing properly with an athlete in trouble with the law is an example of institutional control.

[meangreen16]

6 hours ago, GOMG2013 said:

I thought beat writers usually reported things that make the team look good.

If beat writers only reported good things then Vito would have nothing to write about. 

[rcade]

16 hours ago, GOMG2013 said:

I thought beat writers usually reported things that make the team look good.

"Usually" is not "always."

If all you want is positive news, stick to meangreensports.com.

An athlete continuing with team activities while facing felony criminal charges is news.

[HarringtonFishSmeller]

14 hours ago, Aigle Vert said:

Littrell was still in North Carolina at the time of the alleged incident.

He wasn't still in North Carolina when the warrant for Kidsy's arrest was issued on January 8th; nor on the 15th when he was arrested.

Also, it's 2016, not 1916.  Littrell has a twitter account, an e-mail account.  If he wanted to be really "old school," I'm sure the athletic department has a fax machine.  He is fully capable of making a statement about what happened and the current discipline and future discipline might be.

He's the head coach.  It's his player.  He needed to suspend Kidsy and keep him away from the team.  

Finally, everyone needs to drop the "he's a new coach" bit.  He played at the University of Oklahoma.  He's been at Texas Tech, Arizona, Indiana, and North Carolina.  He knows that coaches get out in front of these things, even if to say the cursory things that are always said.  He's not some wide-eyed babe in the woods.

He's a head coach,so he needs to drop the assistant coach posturing.  If he didn't want to be THE public face of the team - in good times and bad - he shouldn't have applied for the job.

 

 

18 hours ago, Eagle-96 said:

Bottom line. RV is the boss. If he says he wants to handle it then he handles it(whether he follows through or not). As for this situation, I think that Littrell is busy doing what he NEEDS to be doing right now and that is dedicating 100% of his time to recruiting. You are reading way too much into the fact that Littrell hasn't spoken about Kidsy yet. Way way too much. It appears RV has dropped the ball AGAIN. Littrell is not the droid you're looking for.

So, RV wasn't the boss when Todd Dodge and Dan McCarney were here?

Maybe Littrell should have just be hired as recruiting coordinator if he can't handle all of the on and off field responsibilities of a head coach.  Perhaps, the recruiting coordinator for Emporia State, where we are currently picking off recruits.

It's concerning that many of you think a head football coach can't do two things at once.  And, making a simple statement, then telling the coaching staff, this player is suspended?  That's far easier than convincing a kid to come to Denton...even when it's only Emporia State he's battling.  Do you you honestly think that is too much for poor coach Littrell right now?  If so, it's a problem.

[Eagle-96]

1 hour ago, HarringtonFishSmeller said:

So, RV wasn't the boss when Todd Dodge and Dan McCarney were here?

Maybe Littrell should have just be hired as recruiting coordinator if he can't handle all of the on and off field responsibilities of a head coach.  Perhaps, the recruiting coordinator for Emporia State, where we are currently picking off recruits.

It's concerning that many of you think a head football coach can't do two things at once.  And, making a simple statement, then telling the coaching staff, this player is suspended?  That's far easier than convincing a kid to come to Denton...even when it's only Emporia State he's battling.  Do you you honestly think that is too much for poor coach Littrell right now?  If so, it's a problem.

I'll make this easy for you:

1. NOBODY but RV and Littrell knows what RV(or Smatresk for that matter) told Littrell in regards to any public statements about Kidsy. If RV told Littrell to say nothing about Kidsy and that he(RV) would handle it then it is Littrell's job to SAY NOTHING. People who want to keep their jobs tend to follow their bosses orders. Again, I don't know if that was said, but if so then Littrell did the right thing.

2. Things change in every job, including the UNT athletic department. It is possible that the protocol for this type of incident has CHANGED since Dodge and Mac were here. Those regimes weren't the most successful so it is plausible that a lot of things changed.

3. Nobody on here is saying Littrell can't do two things at once. Only you are saying that. He is capable of doing many things probably but right now recruiting should be priorities 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. That's not a difficult concept.

4. We are not battling Emporia State. We will likely offer a PWO to Pirtle. Take it or leave it. He can choose to have his college paid for at a DII school or roll the dice at UNT. If he chooses Emporia then good luck to him.

[Silent Eagle]

1 hour ago, HarringtonFishSmeller said:

He wasn't still in North Carolina when the warrant for Kidsy's arrest was issued on January 8th; nor on the 15th when he was arrested.

Also, it's 2016, not 1916.  Littrell has a twitter account, an e-mail account.  If he wanted to be really "old school," I'm sure the athletic department has a fax machine.  He is fully capable of making a statement about what happened and the current discipline and future discipline might be.

He's the head coach.  It's his player.  He needed to suspend Kidsy and keep him away from the team.  

Finally, everyone needs to drop the "he's a new coach" bit.  He played at the University of Oklahoma.  He's been at Texas Tech, Arizona, Indiana, and North Carolina.  He knows that coaches get out in front of these things, even if to say the cursory things that are always said.  He's not some wide-eyed babe in the woods.

He's a head coach,so he needs to drop the assistant coach posturing.  If he didn't want to be THE public face of the team - in good times and bad - he shouldn't have applied for the job.

 

 

So, RV wasn't the boss when Todd Dodge and Dan McCarney were here?

Maybe Littrell should have just be hired as recruiting coordinator if he can't handle all of the on and off field responsibilities of a head coach.  Perhaps, the recruiting coordinator for Emporia State, where we are currently picking off recruits.

It's concerning that many of you think a head football coach can't do two things at once.  And, making a simple statement, then telling the coaching staff, this player is suspended?  That's far easier than convincing a kid to come to Denton...even when it's only Emporia State he's battling.  Do you you honestly think that is too much for poor coach Littrell right now?  If so, it's a problem.

Are you going to tell us that Everett Withers would have handled this differently? 

[HarringtonFishSmeller]

3 hours ago, Silent Eagle said:

Are you going to tell us that Everett Withers would have handled this differently? 

The list is longer than just Everett Withers.

On 1/27/2016 at 2:28 PM, Eagle-96 said:

1. Did you stop to think about the hierarchy in the UNT Athletic Department? Like it or not, RV is Littrell's BOSS. If RV wants to be the spokesman for the athletic department then that is his prerogative. If he tells Littrell that he will handle it then that's what Littrell has to follow. Apparently it is different at OU.

2. We're not the big boys. We are one of the worst G5 teams in the country and are light years behind the big boys in terms of fund raising, athletes, booster club membership, attendance, etc...

3. Littrell has been on the job for less than two months and you are ready to judge that he is not ready for prime time? I'm glad you don't run the department.

4. Again, RV is the boss and he calls the shots whether you, Littrell, or anyone else likes it. If RV says Kidsy can't workout with the team then that's what goes. 

 

I'll make it super easy for you: 
-Littrell is the head coach, not Villarreal. 
-Littrell is the head coach, not Zack Womack. 
-It's 2016, not 1916; Littrell can communicate with the outside world about the football program.
-Prior head coaches here - as well as head coaches all across America - routinely suspend players arrested on felony charge and make the suspensions public. 
-Littrell isn't a child who needs his hand held.  He's been at FBS programs as a player and coach for the better part of the last two decades.  These type of arrests aren't new to him.
-He is held to the standard of a head coach now, not an assistant.  He can't get away with sitting back and not responding to crime committed by players on his roster.