DRC: Summer magazines set low expectations for UNT

Brett Vito · July 15, 2021

MGNation92 · July 15, 2021

I expect we'll have a new head coach next season. No excuse for the highest paid coach in the conference to have three straight losing seasons

I hope I'm wrong, but with our schedule, I think Littrell is done here

PlummMeanGreen · July 15, 2021

Again, Phil Steele’s College FB magazine & (maybe) DCTF magazine did their homework but not sure about all the other college FB magazines. The ones I’ve seen couldn’t touch Phil Steele’s who kept a running list of FBS schools portal transfers up until the day his magazine went to print.
UNT’s big money guys (2 of their names are on the IPF); that is, those who’ve invested the most in this football program will have much say on Littrell’s future in Denton & that works to his advantage.
I think SL needs to win a minimum of 5 games to be secure about his future & with all the new talent if just half of them come thru then I think Littrell will have gotten us thru this patch & be here as long as he wants so—-shouldn’t we just let the 2021 season be fully played out so we can all see what happens together? 🤢

❇️🦅❇️GMG!

Edited July 15, 2021 by PlummMeanGreen

greenminer · July 15, 2021

Hypothetical: if we win 6 and one of them is a bowl victory, do you keep SL?

UNTLifer · July 15, 2021

Yep, these magazines are spending a lot of time researching the teams in CUSA. Hell, DCTF can't even get our two-deep correct or the information attached to the correct player.

MGNation92 · July 15, 2021

13 minutes ago, greenminer said:

Hypothetical: if we win 6 and one of them is a bowl victory, do you keep SL?

I'd say so, but history shows us if we get to a bowl game with Littrell, we're gonna lose by 30 points

Mean Green 93-98 · July 15, 2021

1 hour ago, greenminer said:

Hypothetical: if we win 6 and one of them is a bowl victory, do you keep SL?

I think a lot of it has to do with clear signs of progress. If he only wins 5, but we have zero blowout losses and the defense is coming around, he'll probably be back for 2022. I would think a bowl win guarantees he returns for 2022, unless Wren has a replacement he's itching to get in here.

GrandGreen · July 15, 2021

1 hour ago, greenminer said:

Hypothetical: if we win 6 and one of them is a bowl victory, do you keep SL?

Have you looked at the buyout it would take to terminate Littrell?

It would take a real embarrassment of a season for NT to even think about buying that contract.

StealthEagle84 · July 15, 2021

I don't blame the public at large for being down on UNT right now. But I think we may end up surprising some folks this season. We have a lot of young talent that will be given a chance to shine, especially on the offensive side of the ball. If we can find a way to stop opposing teams 3 to 4 times per game (which was basically all PB did at Baylor), we'll have a chance every week. I truly believe our offense will be progressively better than 2020.

greenminer · July 15, 2021

1 hour ago, GrandGreen said:

Have you looked at the buyout it would take to terminate Littrell?

It would take a real embarrassment of a season for NT to even think about buying that contract.

If there is enough want, someone will find enough money.

I've seen enough the last 10 years, both in Denton and around CFB, to feel comfortable saying that.

NorthTexasWeLove · July 16, 2021

Cute French tuck.

Anyway, this season is sink or swim time. I know so many people are defensive of SL, but the evidence is clear. So I'll save my time on not posting the defying scores, big game blunders and the utter negligence on defense. Just, put up or shut up.

UNT18Grad · July 16, 2021

Don't think we are quite there this year, but if some guys step up (defense and consistent QB play) and we stay healthy we could surprise some teams. Once these underclassmen get another year or two under their belt we are going to be a problem for almost anyone we play.

Edited July 16, 2021 by UNT18Grad

untjim1995 · July 16, 2021

AS I mentioned several weeks ago, this upcoming season for Seth Littrell is as intriguing as any I have ever seen for a head football coach at a FBS school. He could:

1.) Get Fired and have two years worth of salary (2.6 million) bought out

2.) Win enough to not get fired, nor extended, because his buyout is still huge.

3.) Win enough to get an extension

4.) Win enough to get hired away

Its very rare to see a head coach with almost every possible scenario he could face all be real possibilities after one season, but I'll be damned if SL isn't in that spot.

97and03 · July 16, 2021

I am more interested in how we lose than how many. Same record with this schedule but with competitive games and beating bad teams would be a stark improvement. I want to see real improvement from the offense (not just stats) and at least ten points per game less on D.

Udomann · July 16, 2021

On 7/16/2021 at 2:00 PM, untjim1995 said:

AS I mentioned several weeks ago, this upcoming season for Seth Littrell is as intriguing as any I have ever seen for a head football coach at a FBS school. He could:

1.) Get Fired and have two years worth of salary (2.6 million) bought out

2.) Win enough to not get fired, nor extended, because his buyout is still huge.

3.) Win enough to get an extension

4.) Win enough to get hired away

Its very rare to see a head coach with almost every possible scenario he could face all be real possibilities after one season, but I'll be damned if SL isn't in that spot.

I'm not so sure about #4. While you are right, it is possible, I think it's HIGHLY improbable unless he just puts up some beyond insane numbers this year. Even with a strong winning season, there's enough question marks that any relevant program is going to wait and see what happens next...

Edited July 19, 2021 by Udomann

untjim1995 · July 17, 2021

15 hours ago, Udomann said:

I'm not so sure about #4. While you are right, it is possible, I think it's HIGHLY improbably unless he just puts up some beyond insane numbers this year. Even with a strong winning season, there's enough question marks that ay relevant program is going to wait and see what happens next...

Agreed—but it’s possible if we win 9 or more games and win something of worth, like CUSA West and a bowl win, For example…

GrayEagle · July 19, 2021

I didn't see a magazine that knocked our offense. In spite of the loss of our consensus All-American receiver they all praised the offense. The success of North Texas football depends on the defense. I firmly believe that we will be improved with Bennett running the defense but is it enough to keep the current staff? Only time will tell.

PlummMeanGreen · July 19, 2021

We’ve kept coaches on the North Texas payroll who were way under .500 in career wins & losses & then stuck em’ in the NTATHLETICHOF for being good ol’ boys (I guess) & unless I’m looking at a wrong statistic sheet, SL as of now is still at an even .500 in career wins & losses.

Who knows, maybe if SL leaves UNT 20 or so under .500 that could clinch it for his getting a venue named after him? 🙄

Last UNT head football coach who left over .500 hasn’t as much had a broom closet named for him & he even gets a bad wrap because he took our favorite school out of an imploding Missouri Valley Conference that today is not even on the NCAA FBS radar. So just who eventually wins this war—-OldDenton or NewDenton? I know who better by-God win it (& so do most of you who are able to get visions of J.C. Matthews off your minds).
••• Whatever the situation, what Wren Baker, Lovelace, McNatt, Kuehne & similar come up with will more than be good enough for most of us.

🦅

Edited July 19, 2021 by PlummMeanGreen

97and03 · July 21, 2021

On 7/19/2021 at 3:19 AM, GrayEagle said:

I didn't see a magazine that knocked our offense. In spite of the loss of our consensus All-American receiver they all praised the offense. The success of North Texas football depends on the defense. I firmly believe that we will be improved with Bennett running the defense but is it enough to keep the current staff? Only time will tell.

I think the national press looks at the stats and says “good offense” while those that closely follow the team like Brune recognize the shortcomings and see the padded stats.

Got5onIt · July 21, 2021

Seth will coach out his contract. Lil’ ol’ UNT can’t afford a $3million dollar buyout. He’ll finish his career around .500 with 3 straight Bowl losses .

untjim1995 · July 21, 2021

8 hours ago, Got5onIt said:

Seth will coach out his contract. Lil’ ol’ UNT can’t afford a $3million dollar buyout. He’ll finish his career around .500 with 3 straight Bowl losses .

I think that this is what everyone fears…but the buyout of DMac of $2.1 million gives us hope.

I want SL to stay because he has shown the ability to turn this around again, not because it costs too much to fire him. But I recognize that there’s a benefit/cost analysis that the admin is using (hopefully). If SL stays here after winning 4 or less this year, the writing is on the wall that this is all about cost. And that will almost assuredly make 2022 his last year, as a cost first view just isn’t a way for success to happen. That’s the worst case scenario I fear the most.

greenminer · July 21, 2021

8 hours ago, Got5onIt said:

Seth will coach out his contract. Lil’ ol’ UNT can’t afford a $3million dollar buyout. He’ll finish his career around .500 with 3 straight Bowl losses .

8 minutes ago, untjim1995 said:

I think that this is what everyone fears…but the buyout of DMac of $2.1 million gives us hope.

BINGO! I'll say it again...

On 7/15/2021 at 6:26 PM, greenminer said:

If there is enough want, someone will find enough money.

I've seen enough the last 10 years, both in Denton and around CFB, to feel comfortable saying that.