My Coaching Wish List at the Moment

[TheReal_jayD]

As we set here at 1-4 with 4 consecutive losses. With nothing to blame but poor Quarterback evaluation/development, lack of solid roster management, poor assistant coach hires and a lack of the ability to get team prepared for big games (or any game at the moment). We are just 5 sleeps away from our next game. We are double digit underdogs for the fifth week in a row. The thing that makes it so much worse is both our rivals are undefeated. So, I am already looking forward to the inevitable when Wren pulls the trigger, and we begin our search for the next coach of the Mean Green. I think the Job will be MUCH more sought after than it was when we hired Seth. The roster is much better, just very young in terms of eligibility. Football facilities are much improved. Also, North Texas has one of the largest football budgets in all G5. Not to mention it is located right outside of DFW. I am going to break my list into a couple different categories. I do want to add that I think there are several very talented assistant coaches on this staff. Would not be upset if new coach decided to hold some over.

 

Hire a setting FBS head coach

1) Skip Holtz-La Tech - Hire one of the most successful coaches in C-USA. 8 Bowl victories.

Head coaching record    

Connecticut:      34–23   22–18  

East Carolina:     38–27   28–12                 

South Florida:    16–21   5–16     

Louisiana Tech: 63–44   42–21  

Total:    151–115

2) Todd Graham-Hawaii – DFW native. Multiple Successful FBS Stops. Relationship with Bennett. May be able to keep him on to finish out his contract. 5 Bowl Wins

Head coaching record                   

Rice:      7–6        6–2       

Tulsa:    36–17   22–12                                

Pittsburgh:          6–6        4–3                      

Arizona State:    46–32   31–23                 

Hawaii: 8–7        5–5       

Total:    103–68               

3) Shawn Clark-App State –. 2 Bowl wins in 2 years. We saw one up close.

Head coaching record                                 

Appalachian State:          14–4      7–2       

Total:    14–4     

4) Blake Anderson-Utah State– Had a lot of success at Arkansas State even though it seemed his assistant coaches were constantly rotating due to lower budget. 2 Bowl Wins 2 Conference Championships.

Head coaching record   

Arkansas State: 51–37   38–18  

Utah State:         3–2        1–1       

Total:    54–39  

5) Jamey Chadwell- Coastal Carolina- I am sure he will have P5 interest, but it is worth a call.

Head coaching record

North Greenville:             22–14                                               

Delta State:        3–7        1–4                                     

Charleston Southern:     35–14   16–5                                                  

Coastal Carolina:              25–17   14–12  

Total:    85–52  

P5 Coaches on the Hot Seat. I believe they are worth giving a second shot. Every year there is surprising firings. Especially now where at most P5s you must win early and often.

1) Neal Brown- West Virginia

Head coaching record

Troy:      35–16   23–9                                   

West Virginia:    13–15   7–13     

Total:    48–31  

2) Scott Frost- Nebraska

Head coaching record

UCF:      19–7      12–4                                                  

Nebraska:           15–24   10–20  

Total:    34–31  

3) Justin Fuente- Virginia Tech

Head coaching record    

Memphis:           26–23   17–15   * Did not coach bowl game                                       

Virginia Tech:     41–28   26–17  

Go to The FCS Ranks

1) Colby Carthal-SFA

Head coaching record

Texas A&M–Commerce:               59–18   35–8                                                  

Stephen F. Austin:           11–14   4–6       

Total:    69–32  

2) KC Keeler- Sam Houston State

Head coaching record                   

Rowan:                88–21–1              38–7                                   

Delaware:           86–52   49–41  

Sam Houston:    69–22   48–11  

Total:    243–95–1          

Hire an Assistant Coach

1) Graham Harrell-USC Not much needed to be said here. He has been successful at USC. He is a TXHSFB legend. Is he ready to be a head coach?

2) Jeff Lebby- Ole Miss He has led some of the most explosive offenses in the country the last few years. He is a solid recruiter. Texas native. Think is offense is special enough he could lead a quick turnaround.  Has worked under some successful head coaches including Bob Stoops, Art Briles and now Lane Kiffin.

 

 

 

With all that said I am excited to see which direction Wren goes. I have faith in Wren and Jared. I’ll Hang Up and Listen. Go Mean Green.

[dml7007]

All of those are good candidates.   But I hope that we win this week and go on a run that is the start of something special.  If not then we have faith that Wren will do what is best for the program.  

[TheReal_jayD]

10 minutes ago, dml7007 said:

But I hope that we win this week and go on a run that is the start of something special.

That would require one of the 8 QB on the roster to figure it out. The OC to show up before halftime. I hope you are right. I am just not seeing it at the moment. I see us being 1-6 before we get to a winnable game.

[greenminer]

I like to keep tabs on assistants/coordinators in the T10.

Put Mike Yurcich's name in the hat.  OC at Penn State.

[greenminer]

14 minutes ago, dml7007 said:

But I hope that we win this week and go on a run that is the start of something special.

I was of this mindset.  It melted away 2 games ago.  We have too much evidence now to suggest it will never happen.

Would love to be wrong.

As of now, I'm just keeping an eye on Wren for any signs (speech/behavioral/ANYTHING) that indicates what direction he goes.

[El Paso Eagle]

Holtz and Keller are tops on my list. I would love to duplicate what LA Tech has. If you watch the Sam Houston games they are very well coached in all phases of the game.

As far as P5 assistants I would prefer to have someone who has had to develop talent and not always working with 4 and 5 start players

Edited October 11, 2021 by El Paso Eagle

[Wag Tag]

Traylor, Norvell ( FSU fires him) Todd Graham. I feel that Traylor will get other looks, but there is not a G5 program in his backyard geographically that can offer what we have. I believe the next guy must have head coaching experience. 

[Tom McKrackin]

49 minutes ago, Wag Tag said:

Traylor, Norvell ( FSU fires him) Todd Graham. I feel that Traylor will get other looks, but there is not a G5 program in his backyard geographically that can offer what we have. I believe the next guy must have head coaching experience. 

If you stipulate that it means we get a bounce back candidate.  Period.

[TheReal_jayD]

1 hour ago, El Paso Eagle said:

Holtz and Keller are tops on my list. I would love to duplicate what LA Tech has. If you watch the Sam Houston goes they are very well coached in all phases of the game.

As far as P5 assistants I would prefer to have someone who has had to develop talent and not always working with 4 and 5 start players

This. We just are one mental error after another. Both these teams don't have anymore talent than we have. They are just some more better coached.

[NM Green]

After watching BYU Utah State the other day I feel Anderson is a solid personality for UNT. He and Wells are friends so when Sonny goes to Lubbock to replace Wells bring Anderson and Wells to Denton. The guy wins, is fiery and knows our part of the country well. 
 

Scott Frost can build a UCF juggernaut in North Texas. 
 

Keeler has sustainability, experience and that inspirational personality. 
 

I want hunger experience and big vision creation from our next guy. Scott Frost might lead my trio of 3.

GMG
 

 

[TheReal_jayD]

1 hour ago, Wag Tag said:

Traylor, Norvell ( FSU fires him) Todd Graham. I feel that Traylor will get other looks, but there is not a G5 program in his backyard geographically that can offer what we have. I believe the next guy must have head coaching experience. 

Traylor has been a favorite of mine since he was a head coach at Gilmer high school(about 25 mins from my hometown). He is destined for a P5 job. He could be a potential replacement for several of the names on my list. Alot of P5 schools would die for his txhsfb connections. No way he lands at UNT at this point. Todd Graham is one of the highest on my list if I had to rank them. I didn't put Norvell just for the reason I am not sure about his team building. He inherited a lot at Memphis.

[NorthTexasSportsNetwork]

I’m sorry but I can’t see Holtz leaving La Tech. Him and Caldwell would move up to a higher rank, and sadly we aren’t higher up at the moment. 
The rest of the list is great, and I want someone with energy, passion, and no mumbles 

[El Paso Eagle]

4 minutes ago, TheReal_jayD said:

Traylor has been a favorite of mine since he was a head coach at Gilmer high school(about 25 mins from my hometown). He is destined for a P5 job. He could be a potential replacement for several of the names on my list. Alot of P5 schools would die for his txhsfb connections. No way he lands at UNT at this point. Todd Graham is one of the highest on my list if I had to rank them. I didn't put Norvell just for the reason I am not sure about his team building. He inherited a lot at Memphis.

I think Traylor is best suited to coach in Texas with his HS connections. Think he might sit back and wait for Houston, Tech, Baylor, or TCU to open up. A flyer might be LSU if Coach is let go.

[Mike Jackson]

18 minutes ago, dml7007 said:

All of those are good candidates.   But I hope that we win this week and go on a run that is the start of something special.  If not then we have faith that Wren will do what is best for the program.  

Keeping SL past a loss against Marshall this week (unless it is close loss on gimme FG, dropped TD pass, or turnover inside the 10 yard line) is pointless.  Start your formal search now and hire the best available.  I am not banking on hopes on P5 coach fired at the end of this season turning our program around.  Beyond tired of waiting for SL to win something significant.  An extension with a raise wasn’t warranted.  An extension with 2 years tacked on at the previous salary and some perks maybe.

[Wag Tag]

5 minutes ago, TheReal_jayD said:

Traylor has been a favorite of mine since he was a head coach at Gilmer high school(about 25 mins from my hometown). He is destined for a P5 job. He could be a potential replacement for several of the names on my list. Alot of P5 schools would die for his txhsfb connections. No way he lands at UNT at this point. Todd Graham is one of the highest on my list if I had to rank them. I didn't put Norvell just for the reason I am not sure about his team building. He inherited a lot at Memphis.

I think for Traylor to get the most benefit out of his recruiting connections staying in the SW area would be a big plus. The only P5 at this time would be TT. I think they will go after Dykes with a lifetime deal from all the oil money. 

[BillySee58]

9 minutes ago, NorthTexasSportsNetwork said:

I’m sorry but I can’t see Holtz leaving La Tech. Him and Caldwell would move up to a higher rank, and sadly we aren’t higher up at the moment. 
The rest of the list is great, and I want someone with energy, passion, and no mumbles 

Passion can’t be understated. Feels like Littrell has been on auto pilot since he turned down K-State and got the big raise.

[Marty]

Carthel is intriguing. He's been very successful at the FCS level. He has to know almost every high school coach in the state. My nephew coached against him in the LSC, says Carthel has that edge about him. Will push the rules to the limit to win. I heard Carthel say in an interview last year that UNT would be a place he'd like to coach some day.

Edited October 11, 2021 by Marty

[BillySee58]

A bounce back coach I’d be interested in is Kevin Sumlin. He recruits Texas extremely well and knows how to run a G5 program. 

Edited October 11, 2021 by BillySee58

[El Paso Eagle]

2 minutes ago, BillySee58 said:

A bounce back coach I’d be interested in is Kevin Sumlin. He recruits Texas extremely well and knows how to run a G5 program. 

I worry about coaches who are used to working with 4 and 5 star players. I'm not even close to understanding the whole star system, and of course 5 stars and 4 stars "should" have more "ready-to-go" potential, but with 3 stars it seems that the bigger key is to determine which players have the most potential for growth as opposed to players who might have, or been close to peaking in HS. I think it is more important than ever to have a coach and staff who can develop players

[Green Lantern]

Norvell, Leavitt, Frost, Brown, Fuente, Brohm - should all be on the short list assuming they become available. 

[Cr1028]

46 minutes ago, NM Green said:

After watching BYU Utah State the other day I feel Anderson is a solid personality for UNT. He and Wells are friends so when Sonny goes to Lubbock to replace Wells bring Anderson and Wells to Denton. The guy wins, is fiery and knows our part of the country well. 
 

Scott Frost can build a UCF juggernaut in North Texas. 
 

Keeler has sustainability, experience and that inspirational personality. 
 

I want hunger experience and big vision creation from our next guy. Scott Frost might lead my trio of 3.

GMG
 

 

Scott Frost didn’t build UCF, George O’Leary did. Frost rebuilt it after one down season.

[TIgreen01]

Give me Keeler.  I want a winner. Period

[Glory to the Green]

Shawn Clark, Scott Frost, or Neal Brown would take the talent on this roster to the next level.  Too much ability on this roster to keep losing. I’m not sure what the problem is, but it doesn’t feel as if our current head coach is the solution. 
 

That being said, I hope I’m wrong and this team runs the table!  GMG!

[BillySee58]

35 minutes ago, El Paso Eagle said:

I worry about coaches who are used to working with 4 and 5 star players. I'm not even close to understanding the whole star system, and of course 5 stars and 4 stars "should" have more "ready-to-go" potential, but with 3 stars it seems that the bigger key is to determine which players have the most potential for growth as opposed to players who might have, or been close to peaking in HS. I think it is more important than ever to have a coach and staff who can develop players

That’s why I like that he had great success at a G5 program in Houston, and built them up to a 13-win season before heading to A&M.

[greenminer]

38 minutes ago, El Paso Eagle said:

I worry about coaches who are used to working with 4 and 5 star players. I'm not even close to understanding the whole star system, and of course 5 stars and 4 stars "should" have more "ready-to-go" potential, but with 3 stars it seems that the bigger key is to determine which players have the most potential for growth as opposed to players who might have, or been close to peaking in HS. I think it is more important than ever to have a coach and staff who can develop players

You're thinking A&M-Sumlin.  I'm thinking Houston-Sumlin.