UNT has Landed Next DC

[bstnsportsfan3]

I don’t get the concern about sending him into retirement. He is basically retired now and is choosing to get back into coaching. If that doesn’t show you he will care about this job I’m not sure what will

[tmjerm]

34 minutes ago, bstnsportsfan3 said:

I don’t get the concern about sending him into retirement. He is basically retired now and is choosing to get back into coaching. If that doesn’t show you he will care about this job I’m not sure what will

Precisely. People act like they think he’s suiting up or some such. 

[wardly]

Bennett said the mistake he made at SMU was honoring scholarships offered by his predecessor  to incoming freshmen. The talent was not up to the level that he knew SMU needed.

[jtm0097]

He should be able to recruit DFW, East Texas, and Central Texas well. I'm interested to see what kind of talent he recruits.

[DeepGreen]

5 hours ago, wardly said:

Bennett said the mistake he made at SMU was honoring scholarships offered by his predecessor  to incoming freshmen. The talent was not up to the level that he knew SMU needed.

He may be shocked when he lands in Denton.

[NT93]

Solid hire.  I hope for a drastic improvement next year, but realistically I know that may not happen.  I’m not sure we have the players to be elite, but I know we can be better than last year.

[meanrob]

53 minutes ago, DeepGreen said:

He may be shocked when he lands in Denton.

My thoughts exactly 

[SMUleopold]

9 hours ago, wardly said:

Bennett said the mistake he made at SMU was honoring scholarships offered by his predecessor  to incoming freshmen. The talent was not up to the level that he knew SMU needed.

That might explain the winless season in his second year. 

That doesn't explain the 1-11 record his sixth year. 

[Got5onIt]

Alright. No excuses from here on out. 

[cogido]

On 1/16/2021 at 4:05 PM, MeanGreen22 said:

Wonder what the contract will be? I bet Phil would be more of a stop gap to get the D on track and save Seth’s job. Tough to get other coaches to leave their post when the HC future is uncertain. 

Three maybes:

1.   Bennett likes living in Texas

2.   Needs to get back in the saddle and get rid of rust

3.   Might he see a potential Head Coach job lining up here sooner rather than later.

I bet Wren feels good about this hire too,    I do.

[GrayEagle]

I don't think that age is that much of a factor.  As someone pointed out, John Skladany is probably the best DC in the last ten years and he was 64 when he came here.  Bennett didn't retire because he had lost interest in the game or couldn't get a job; he retired for health reasons.  That was apparently the reason that he only lasted the one year at Arizona State.  He is now healthy again and ready to go to work.  His best work was at Baylor where he was essentially fourth in the Big XII against a lot of formidable offenses.  I'm hoping that he can get us to at least fourth in CUSA.  With our offense that should be enough for some consecutive winning records.

[DentonLurker]

This hire gives me a lot of hope. He had good defenses at Baylor against offenses that are way better than anything he'll go against in CUSA. That reason alone makes me optimistic. 

[wardly]

9 hours ago, cogido said:

Three maybes:

1.   Bennett likes living in Texas

2.   Needs to get back in the saddle and get rid of rust

3.   Might he see a potential Head Coach job lining up here sooner rather than later.

I bet Wren feels good about this hire too,    I do.

I think that this was a hard job to sell to a young up and comer. If Littrell gets the boot at the end of 2021 season Bennett can go back to rocker.

[DeepGreen]

9 hours ago, GrayEagle said:

John Skladany is probably the best DC in the last ten years and he was 64 when he came here.

Refresh my memory.  What happened to Skladany?  Why did he leave UNT?

Edited January 18, 2021 by DeepGreen

[GrayEagle]

14 minutes ago, DeepGreen said:

Refresh my memory.  What happened to Skladany?  Why did he leave UNT?

John Skladany retired in 2014; the year before McCarney was fired.  

[UNTLifer]

49 minutes ago, wardly said:

I think that this was a hard job to sell to a young up and comer. If Littrell gets the boot at the end of 2021 season Bennett can go back to rocker.

I disagree.  Almost every assistant coach is on a one year contract and they all have an ego/confidence where they believe they have the ability to turn a program around.  Most defensive coaches want the ability to run their own system and be a DC.  Now, it could have hindered the ability to hire someone that is currently a DC at another program, but I think too much is being made about 2021 being a "make or break year" for Littrell.

[MeanGreen22]

52 minutes ago, UNTLifer said:

I disagree.  Almost every assistant coach is on a one year contract and they all have an ego/confidence where they believe they have the ability to turn a program around.  Most defensive coaches want the ability to run their own system and be a DC.  Now, it could have hindered the ability to hire someone that is currently a DC at another program, but I think too much is being made about 2021 being a "make or break year" for Littrell.

I mean yes and no. I remember in Charlie Strong’s presumed “last year”, they struggled to find anyone to take the OC job. The Tulsa OC initially turned the job down but then the Texas brass basically put an all out blitz to get him in. So yeah, it can be done, but it makes it extremely difficult to get someone that has something to lose. 
 

That said, I think Phil Bennett is a hell of a hire. And I think the defense should be drastically improved next year. 

Edited January 18, 2021 by MeanGreen22

[MCMLXXX]

Spoke with a friend who played for SMU (under Forrest Gregg) who thinks Phil Bennett is a good DC and described him  as "very passionate & a players coach". 

He was surprised by the Siggers transfer because he believes SMU "has a crowded backfield."

When SMU does not have a home game he often comes to UNT games with me and wears green UNT gear and cheers us on.  

[El Paso Eagle]

Getting someone to leave a good situation is alway hard. I would think most coaches would weigh what the positive impact will be when they succeed at the new job. If they don't have confidence in themself to turnaround a problem then they are probably not going to last long anywhere.

However, in our case I agree with the comments that Seth had to make a hire that looks to be safe. PB brings the experience and knowledge to make us a better team. Will be interesting to see the assistants they add and how our player adapt and hopefully buy-in. 

[UNTLifer]

When should we expect the official announcement from the department?

[SilverEagle]

What was the health issue that caused Bennett to leave ASU?

[TheReal_jayD]

24 minutes ago, SilverEagle said:

What was the health issue that caused Bennett to leave ASU?

Back and neck surgery I believe 

[DentonStang]

Phil Bennett has forgotten more about football than anyone on this board has ever known. 

 

And he will literally tell you that when you question any of his poor-outcome decisions at booster functions.

Edited January 18, 2021 by DentonStang

[outoftown]

I am cautiously optimistic on this hire. Skladany was the oldest of NTs last three DCs and clearly the best one, so age is not all that meaningful in that regard. That said, I would assume that he will not be the carrying recruiting -traveling and social media all the time- and that this will have to be done by someone else. Still, I think it is reasonable to hope he will do better already with the talent that is here, and with where recruiting has gone in the past few seasons I would assume that NT simply is not that dependent anymore on the DC doing as much heavy lifting in recruiting.

With all that said.... nobody ever really knows if this works out ahead of time, so i will be open minded in both directions.

Edited January 18, 2021 by outoftown

[UNT 90 Grad]

1 hour ago, outoftown said:

I am cautiously optimistic on this hire. Skladany was the oldest of NTs last three DCs and clearly the best one, so age is not all that meaningful in that regard. That said, I would assume that he will not be the carrying recruiting -traveling and social media all the time- and that this will have to be done by someone else. Still, I think it is reasonable to hope he will do better already with the talent that is here, and with where recruiting has gone in the past few seasons I would assume that NT simply is not that dependent anymore on the DC doing as much heavy lifting in recruiting.

With all that said.... nobody ever really knows if this works out ahead of time, so i will be open minded in both directions.

Don’t count him out on social media.  Even Skladany does make the occasional Facebook post. 

(BTW:  Don’t read anything into this pic.)

Edited January 19, 2021 by UNT 90 Grad