UAB and La Tech are MUST WINS

MGNation92 · September 14, 2021

8 hours ago, TheReal_jayD said:

I'd be ecstatic if we hired Briles. Sure there's baggage, and a lot of ethical questions, and he's probably a genuine piece of garbage, but it would be the first time we've ever shown we were truly serious about a winning football program.

In a time where re-alignment is inevitable, we need to be in the best position possible, and three straight 4 win seasons with Littrell is about as bad of a look as we could have. Considering the recent success with basketball, as well as other sports, we need to have a successful football program. It's the only way forward, and Seth Littrell will not be a part of that plan.

If Wren is as good as we think he is, he needs to shit or get off the pot. Hire a proven winner, like you did with McCasland, and make yourself known to the college football world. People like to talk about SMU being the one to keep us from the AAC, but the reality is they don't have to do anything, because we're doing it to ourselves.

MeanGreenTexan · September 14, 2021

1 hour ago, MGNation92 said:

I'd be ecstatic if we hired Briles. Sure there's baggage, and a lot of ethical questions, and he's probably a genuine piece of garbage, but it would be the first time we've ever shown we were truly serious about a winning football program.

In a time where re-alignment is inevitable, we need to be in the best position possible, and three straight 4 win seasons with Littrell is about as bad of a look as we could have. Considering the recent success with basketball, as well as other sports, we need to have a successful football program. It's the only way forward, and Seth Littrell will not be a part of that plan.

If Wren is as good as we think he is, he needs to shit or get off the pot. Hire a proven winner, like you did with McCasland, and make yourself known to the college football world. People like to talk about SMU being the one to keep us from the AAC, but the reality is they don't have to do anything, because we're doing it to ourselves.

I think $2million/season shows NT is plenty serious. Don't you?

You know what hiring Briles would show everyone though? ...That we're not so different from SMU ethically. And right now, when pieces are moving around, the last thing NT needs is a black eye from an ethical standpoint when our current ethical record is pretty spotless.

Can you imagine the AAC conversation? I can:
"Motion to consider UNT joining our conference..."
"Smatresk & Baker have a nice thing going there. Great overall program. Great school academically. I like what they bring to the table!"
"Yeah, but their football is kinda dragging right now. Will they bolster our league's reputation, or hurt it?"
"Well, they fired their football coach and hired Art Briles... so they should start winning at any moment."
"Well, Memphis/Tulsa/Tulane/South FL... what do y'all think?"
"Did you say Art Briles? We don't want anything to do with that guy, or an institution that stoops down low enough to hire him. He would bring immediate scrutiny to our conference, and we don't need that."
"All in favor? <Crickets> <SMU - Devilishly smiling>"
"Motion to consider UNT: Denied.  Next up: UTSA!..."

HHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRDDDDD Pass on Art Briles.

Edited September 14, 2021 by MeanGreenTexan

MGNation92 · September 14, 2021

3 hours ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

I think $2million/season shows NT is plenty serious. Don't you?

You know what hiring Briles would show everyone though? ...That we're not so different from SMU ethically. And right now, when pieces are moving around, the last thing NT needs is a black eye from an ethical standpoint when our current ethical record is pretty spotless.

Can you imagine the AAC conversation? I can:
"Motion to consider UNT joining our conference..."
"Smatresk & Baker have a nice thing going there. Great overall program. Great school academically. I like what they bring to the table!"
"Yeah, but their football is kinda dragging right now. Will they bolster our league's reputation, or hurt it?"
"Well, they fired their football coach and hired Art Briles... so they should start winning at any moment."
"Well, Memphis/Tulsa/Tulane/South FL... what do y'all think?"
"Did you say Art Briles? We don't want anything to do with that guy, or an institution that stoops down low enough to hire him. He would bring immediate scrutiny to our conference, and we don't need that."
"All in favor? <Crickets> <SMU - Devilishly smiling>"
"Motion to consider UNT: Denied.  Next up: UTSA!..."

HHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRDDDDD Pass on Art Briles.

If they were serious they would've fired Littrell after last year.

Doesn't have to be Briles, he was just the coach in question. Want to be serious? Want to show you're ready to have a high level G5 program?

Go steal away Billy Napier, Skip Holtz, Bill Clark etc at the end of the season, Pay Littrell's buyout, and put yourself in the best position possible for the future. No more "oh look he was an awesome p5 OC with a bunch of 4/5 star studs at every position". Get a HC that's built a program and won with that program.

But we're UNT, and we'd rather look like we care, than actually care about having a successful football program. Mason Fine and Graham Harrell are gone folks. Littrell lost his golden ticket. Maybe Phil Bennett will save him from being fired but I doubt it. Three straight straight 4 win seasons is where we're headed, so where do I donate for the banner?

MeanGreenTexan · September 14, 2021

17 minutes ago, MGNation92 said:

If they were serious they would've fired Littrell after last year.

Doesn't have to be Briles, he was just the coach in question. Want to be serious? Want to show you're ready to have a high level G5 program?

Go steal away Billy Napier, Skip Holtz, Bill Clark etc at the end of the season, Pay Littrell's buyout, and put yourself in the best position possible for the future. No more "oh look he was an awesome p5 OC with a bunch of 4/5 star studs at every position". Get a HC that's built a program and won with that program.

But we're UNT, and we'd rather look like we care, than actually care about having a successful football program. Mason Fine and Graham Harrell are gone folks. Littrell lost his golden ticket. Maybe Phil Bennett will save him from being fired but I doubt it. Three straight straight 4 win seasons is where we're headed, so where do I donate for the banner?

All 3 of those guys are pipe dreams.
It's not really looking like Skip is going anywhere. He doesn't have to.
Billy Napier is just biding time before his P5 job comes along.
Bill Clark stuck with UAB during the worst of times. He's not taking a lateral move in the same conference.

It would be nice to be able to money whip coaches already on our level... but I don't think we're able to do that. Think about a guy like Jim McElwain from CMU. MAC to C-USA would be a step up, and coaching in Texas might be good for McElwain... but CMU is paying him almost as much as we're paying Littrell.

greenminer · September 14, 2021

baggage, ethical questions, piece of garbage...but he wins and that's what we need.

I guess as long as he can win, doesn't endorse cocaine, or kill a few innocents, then y'all are coolcool with this? It's becoming clear where your lines are in the sand, and that they move depending on your desire to win.

MGNation92 · September 14, 2021

18 minutes ago, greenminer said:

baggage, ethical questions, piece of garbage...but he wins and that's what we need.

I guess as long as he can win, doesn't endorse cocaine, or kill a few innocents, then y'all are coolcool with this? It's becoming clear where your lines are in the sand, and that they move depending on your desire to win.

Meanwhile we have people who think we need to relegate ourselves to FCS in football in order to be successful.

Art Briles will probably never coach FBS football again and that's fine, but if we want to actually make a name for ourselves, we need to find somebody who's had multiple years of success as an FBS head coach. Hugh Freeze had a lot of questions, and look where he's taken Liberty. There are several MAC and Sun Belt head coaches that have winning records after 4-5 years with their respective programs.

Knowing our history, after another 4 win season, Wren will think the buyout for Seth is too high and let him stay to fail another year. If we don't want to be in the worst conference in FBS, then we need to make impactful hires that produce results.

MeanGreenTexan · September 14, 2021

5 minutes ago, MGNation92 said:

Meanwhile we have people who think we need to relegate ourselves to FCS in football in order to be successful.

Art Briles will probably never coach FBS football again and that's fine, but if we want to actually make a name for ourselves, we need to find somebody who's had multiple years of success as an FBS head coach. Hugh Freeze had a lot of questions, and look where he's taken Liberty. There are several MAC and Sun Belt head coaches that have winning records after 4-5 years with their respective programs.

Knowing our history, after another 4 win season, Wren will think the buyout for Seth is too high and let him stay to fail another year. If we don't want to be in the worst conference in FBS, then we need to make impactful hires that produce results.

If this is the case, Wren needs to be gone too.
I'm sorry, but after back-to-back 4-win football seasons, if he doesn't have the foresight to line up everything he needs to move on after this season, he's not the right guy for the AD job either.

Udomann · September 14, 2021

Briles most important role for now, or the future, is to be an example of what not to do. His precedent sets the boundary on coaching accountability and should be considered untouchable by any FBS team.

How much is Bill Clark making with UAB? He seems to be a passionate, fantastic, and experienced coach. Downside is recruiting experience in Texas, which is a sport of its own. Maybe a few extra dollar bills would help...?

MeanGreenTexan · September 14, 2021

12 minutes ago, Udomann said:

Briles most important role for now, or the future, is to be an example of what not to do. His precedent sets the boundary on coaching accountability and should be considered untouchable by any FBS team.

How much is Bill Clark making with UAB? He seems to be a passionate, fantastic, and experienced coach. Downside is recruiting experience in Texas, which is a sport of its own. Maybe a few extra dollar bills would help...?

$1.45mil/yr base. Just under $300k less than Littrell's base. It's a lateral move for him. It's not happening.

untjim1995 · September 14, 2021

So much to consider:

Bill Clark at UAB seems like Gary Patterson at TCU--just likes it there and the community loves him back. Could see him make the jump to a place like Florida State or Miami or even Tennessee someday.

Skip Holtz has the La Tech precedent that probably keeps him in Ruston. Coaches hired away from here never seem to do well at Power Schools. That said, Skip Holtz is my pick to replace Sonny Dykes at SMU when Tech finally calls him home.

Art Briles will never be a head coach here--as in NEVER. Kendal Briles could be, but Daddy Briles is persona non grata. Unless your school is very conservative, like Liberty, Briles won't ever be allowed to coach at any place with any hint of liberal views.

Seth Littrell--he has to win 3 more games, which gets him to 4. That will be enough to convince UNT to give him one last chance instead of buying out he and his staff for over $3million. I wish it wasn't true. but I just think the revenue lost in 2020 due to COVID has to be matched with saving somewhere and this will be it.

If somehow SL does get fired, I fear the hire of Phil Bennett here. I really do. He has been a solid DC pretty much anywhere he has been. But he was amongst the worst head coaches I've ever seen, not taking advantage of SMU and being in Dallas the way June Jones, Chad Morris, and Sonny Dykes have done.

I also believe that Graham Harrell will be a big name for a new head coaching job here if SL gets fired in the next couple of years. Not sure how I feel about it, but I think its very possible that he has the right decision-makers behind him.

Udomann · September 14, 2021

4 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

$1.45mil/yr base. Just under $300k less than Littrell's base. It's a lateral move for him. It's not happening.

Certainly a lot of us would do a lot more for 300k... but I agree. He's got a comfy ride into retirement there with a group that loves him. I wouldn't leave that.

UNTLifer · September 14, 2021

Any coach from a conference opponent isn't coming to Denton.

We are 1-1. Let's beat UAB's ass and go from there.

GrandGreen · September 14, 2021

2 hours ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

If this is the case, Wren needs to be gone too.
I'm sorry, but after back-to-back 4-win football seasons, if he doesn't have the foresight to line up everything he needs to move on after this season, he's not the right guy for the AD job either.

2 hours ago, MGNation92 said:

Knowing our history, after another 4 win season, Wren will think the buyout for Seth is too high and let him stay to fail another year. If we don't want to be in the worst conference in FBS, then we need to make impactful hires that produce results.

I have a lot more faith than this. Baker will make the decision based on the progress of the program, not loyalty to Seth or any other coach.

How NT finishes the football season will determine if Littrell stays.

Baker's career is on the line just as much as the coaches.

Edited September 14, 2021 by GrandGreen

GRN-WHT · September 19, 2021

On 9/13/2021 at 11:21 AM, PlummMeanGreen said:

I think those who keep grieving over the SMU loss & don’t come to Apogee this Saturday because of it are going to miss one helluva’ college football game.

🦅❇️🦅

Haha, not so much.

UNTLifer · September 19, 2021

2 minutes ago, GRN-WHT said:

Haha, not so much.

I felt just like @PlummMeanGreenbut we throw a pic on our first offensive play and our defense just gave up. Much like last week after watching the offensive shit the bed over and over.

All About UNT · September 19, 2021

3 minutes ago, UNTLifer said:

I felt just like @PlummMeanGreenbut we throw a pic on our first offensive play and our defense just gave up. Much like last week after watching the offensive shit the bed over and over.

This. Our D is vastly improved... but they know the Offense is SHIT. We saw the same thing in 2014 when our D was able to hang for only so long before realizing that Andrew McNulty and Josh Greer weren't going to move the ball down-field.

Cr1028 · September 19, 2021

2 minutes ago, All About UNT said:

This. Our D is vastly improved... but they know the Offense is SHIT. We saw the same thing in 2014 when our D was able to hang for only so long before realizing that Andrew McNulty and Josh Greer weren't going to move the ball down-field.