Things are looking up

[JT Hammons]

I know a lot of you seem down about things but there are a lot of us out here really excited about this team and especially this coaching staff and all of the experience they bring to the table.  The new offensive line coach Randy Clement is considered one of the top line coaches in the nation.  He will bring a lot of discipline and toughness to the offense.

Mike Bloesch is a young and bright offensive coordinator and QB coach.  Ask around, and you will find he is highly respected as a coach and man. Phil Bennett is possibly one of the top defensive minds in the country right now.  Patrick Cobb is a rising star in the coaching ranks and his affiliation with UNT is a plus.

But the biggest piece to all this is of course Seth Littrell.  Do you understand that in just 6 seasons, Seth Littrell has taken UNT to 5 bowl games?  That is almost a 100% bowl record folks!  That has to give him the highest winning percentage in the history of the program.   Littrell inherited Mcarney's 1-11 team back in 2016 and immediately took that team to a bowl game.  POssibly one of the greatest turnarounds in UNT history.  He's broken many ceilings for UNT in his time here, beating an SEC team on the road, recruiting future Hall of Famer Mason Fine to become a 4-year starter and breaking all kinds of records.  He is loved by his players as evidenced just recently as KD Davis returned to play for him despite being wooed by UT and A&M and wheel barrels of cash.   Littrell has never broken any rules and has never spoken a bad word about UNT as many past coaches like McCarney, Dickey and others have.  Littrell was offered the job at a Big 12 school and opted to stay at UNT even though all of his closest advisors thought he was crazy not to take it.

People say his recruiting has gone down, but the fact is he has not received the support he needs from the AD to be more successful.  He has not received an extension that he deserves and other teams we recruit against know this and use it against us.   With that he still managed to recruit some very good talent including QB Gunnell who may be a starter from day 1.

I see some of the negative posts on here and my message to all of you is be careful what you wish for.  You have a very good coach that is loyal and would like to stay here for a very long time.  How about we give him 100% support this year and tell the rest of the world he's our guy.

[MeanGreen_MBA]

7 minutes ago, JT Hammons said:

I know a lot of you seem down about things but there are a lot of us out here really excited about this team and especially this coaching staff and all of the experience they bring to the table.  The new offensive line coach Randy Clement is considered one of the top line coaches in the nation.  He will bring a lot of discipline and toughness to the offense.

Mike Bloesch is a young and bright offensive coordinator and QB coach.  Ask around, and you will find he is highly respected as a coach and man. Phil Bennett is possibly one of the top defensive minds in the country right now.  Patrick Cobb is a rising star in the coaching ranks and his affiliation with UNT is a plus.

But the biggest piece to all this is of course Seth Littrell.  Do you understand that in just 6 seasons, Seth Littrell has taken UNT to 5 bowl games?  That is almost a 100% bowl record folks!  That has to give him the highest winning percentage in the history of the program.   Littrell inherited Mcarney's 1-11 team back in 2016 and immediately took that team to a bowl game.  POssibly one of the greatest turnarounds in UNT history.  He's broken many ceilings for UNT in his time here, beating an SEC team on the road, recruiting future Hall of Famer Mason Fine to become a 4-year starter and breaking all kinds of records.  He is loved by his players as evidenced just recently as KD Davis returned to play for him despite being wooed by UT and A&M and wheel barrels of cash.   Littrell has never broken any rules and has never spoken a bad word about UNT as many past coaches like McCarney, Dickey and others have.  Littrell was offered the job at a Big 12 school and opted to stay at UNT even though all of his closest advisors thought he was crazy not to take it.

People say his recruiting has gone down, but the fact is he has not received the support he needs from the AD to be more successful.  He has not received an extension that he deserves and other teams we recruit against know this and use it against us.   With that he still managed to recruit some very good talent including QB Gunnell who may be a starter from day 1.

I see some of the negative posts on here and my message to all of you is be careful what you wish for.  You have a very good coach that is loyal and would like to stay here for a very long time.  How about we give him 100% support this year and tell the rest of the world he's our guy.

I like your thinking

[greengal]

Agree - he is our coach and we need to support him.

[MGNation92]

He's 37-38 overall.

He's only had two winning seasons out of six, and the last three have been under .500.

He's never been competitive in championship games. Losses in bowl games are 13 points, 28 points, 39 points,20 points, and 7 points. His lone conference championship game was lost by 24 points.

His conference recruiting rankings from 247 are as follows:

2016 - 8th out of 14 teams

2017 - 11th out of 14 

2018 - 8th out of 14

2019 - 4th out of 14

2020 - 2nd out of 14

2021 - 1st out of 14

2022 - 10th out of 14

Which averages out to 6.2 out of 14, basically middle of the road. 

Out of teams most on here consider Rivals he is

1-5 Against SMU

1-5 Against LaTech

4-2 Against UTSA

Anecdotal evidence is nice, but the numbers don't lie. At best he is a mediocre coach who lucked out in getting the greatest QB and WR in school history for 4 years.

We can continue to accept mediocrity (something we've done as a university for way too damn long), or we can hold our coach to a higher standard, especially as we venture into a much stronger conference. 

The writing is on the wall. Seth might be here when we go to the AAC, but I can guarantee it won't be for long. 

[drex]

Again, I ask the question...does Seth really want to be here?  I think not.

[Cr1028]

2 hours ago, JT Hammons said:

I know a lot of you seem down about things but there are a lot of us out here really excited about this team and especially this coaching staff and all of the experience they bring to the table.  The new offensive line coach Randy Clement is considered one of the top line coaches in the nation.  He will bring a lot of discipline and toughness to the offense.

Mike Bloesch is a young and bright offensive coordinator and QB coach.  Ask around, and you will find he is highly respected as a coach and man. Phil Bennett is possibly one of the top defensive minds in the country right now.  Patrick Cobb is a rising star in the coaching ranks and his affiliation with UNT is a plus.

But the biggest piece to all this is of course Seth Littrell.  Do you understand that in just 6 seasons, Seth Littrell has taken UNT to 5 bowl games?  That is almost a 100% bowl record folks!  That has to give him the highest winning percentage in the history of the program.   Littrell inherited Mcarney's 1-11 team back in 2016 and immediately took that team to a bowl game.  POssibly one of the greatest turnarounds in UNT history.  He's broken many ceilings for UNT in his time here, beating an SEC team on the road, recruiting future Hall of Famer Mason Fine to become a 4-year starter and breaking all kinds of records.  He is loved by his players as evidenced just recently as KD Davis returned to play for him despite being wooed by UT and A&M and wheel barrels of cash.   Littrell has never broken any rules and has never spoken a bad word about UNT as many past coaches like McCarney, Dickey and others have.  Littrell was offered the job at a Big 12 school and opted to stay at UNT even though all of his closest advisors thought he was crazy not to take it.

People say his recruiting has gone down, but the fact is he has not received the support he needs from the AD to be more successful.  He has not received an extension that he deserves and other teams we recruit against know this and use it against us.   With that he still managed to recruit some very good talent including QB Gunnell who may be a starter from day 1.

I see some of the negative posts on here and my message to all of you is be careful what you wish for.  You have a very good coach that is loyal and would like to stay here for a very long time.  How about we give him 100% support this year and tell the rest of the world he's our guy.

I agree with all but two of the things you said. Nobody knows if Bloesch is a bright qb coach because to this point he has only been a line coach.

I also disagree that he (Littrell) should’ve been given an extension simply for recruiting purposes. Every coach in the state and the conference knows his tenure here is on thin ice due to his failure to get over the hump. An extension would’ve done little or nothing to change that perception. He should be grateful that Wren is not RV because RV would’ve fired him this season when he was sitting at 1-6. I’m glad Littrell is here and he is one of the best coaches we have ever had but he has to get his players to capitalize on their big game opportunities. I am excited for this season but if he wins or loses this season it’ll be due to his coaching and ability to adjust. I truly hope we break through this season so he can prove the haters all wrong.

Edited June 29, 2022 by Cr1028

[UNT Texas Hooligan]

39 minutes ago, JT Hammons said:

I know a lot of you seem down about things but there are a lot of us out here really excited about this team and especially this coaching staff and all of the experience they bring to the table.  The new offensive line coach Randy Clement is considered one of the top line coaches in the nation.  He will bring a lot of discipline and toughness to the offense.

Mike Bloesch is a young and bright offensive coordinator and QB coach.  Ask around, and you will find he is highly respected as a coach and man. Phil Bennett is possibly one of the top defensive minds in the country right now.  Patrick Cobb is a rising star in the coaching ranks and his affiliation with UNT is a plus.

But the biggest piece to all this is of course Seth Littrell.  Do you understand that in just 6 seasons, Seth Littrell has taken UNT to 5 bowl games?  That is almost a 100% bowl record folks!  That has to give him the highest winning percentage in the history of the program.   Littrell inherited Mcarney's 1-11 team back in 2016 and immediately took that team to a bowl game.  POssibly one of the greatest turnarounds in UNT history.  He's broken many ceilings for UNT in his time here, beating an SEC team on the road, recruiting future Hall of Famer Mason Fine to become a 4-year starter and breaking all kinds of records.  He is loved by his players as evidenced just recently as KD Davis returned to play for him despite being wooed by UT and A&M and wheel barrels of cash.   Littrell has never broken any rules and has never spoken a bad word about UNT as many past coaches like McCarney, Dickey and others have.  Littrell was offered the job at a Big 12 school and opted to stay at UNT even though all of his closest advisors thought he was crazy not to take it.

People say his recruiting has gone down, but the fact is he has not received the support he needs from the AD to be more successful.  He has not received an extension that he deserves and other teams we recruit against know this and use it against us.   With that he still managed to recruit some very good talent including QB Gunnell who may be a starter from day 1.

I see some of the negative posts on here and my message to all of you is be careful what you wish for.  You have a very good coach that is loyal and would like to stay here for a very long time.  How about we give him 100% support this year and tell the rest of the world he's our guy.

 

I respect everything you said but this part here puzzles me. In 2019, he was given a contract extension through 2023 which made in the highest paid coach in the conference at the time. Since then, he has gone 14-21, 2 bowl losses and one of the years not making a bowl. He also has some of the best facilities in the conference in a football recruiting hotbed yet our recruiting has begun to sputter out. He's gotten destroyed in just about every bowl game and conference championship he has been in and has an overall losing record. What about anything above screams of a coach deserving an extension? He may be loyal but winning matters. I think keeping a coach on after consecutive 4-8, 4-6, and 6-7 seasons shouts loyalty. He's had all of the tools in the world, including continual support from the AD and President while others were calling for his head, to be successful and he has not delivered. He's our guy for at least one more year but there's a reason he is on the hot seat and why some of us don't share the same optimism of things really looking positive for this program. 

Edited June 29, 2022 by UNT Texas Hooligan

[UNT Texas Hooligan]

28 minutes ago, MGNation92 said:

He's 37-38 overall.

He's only had two winning seasons out of six, and the last three have been under .500.

He's never been competitive in championship games. Losses in bowl games are 13 points, 28 points, 39 points,20 points, and 7 points. His lone conference championship game was lost by 24 points.

His conference recruiting rankings from 247 are as follows:

2016 - 8th out of 14 teams

2017 - 11th out of 14 

2018 - 8th out of 14

2019 - 4th out of 14

2020 - 2nd out of 14

2021 - 1st out of 14

2022 - 10th out of 14

Which averages out to 6.2 out of 14, basically middle of the road. 

Out of teams most on here consider Rivals he is

1-5 Against SMU

1-5 Against LaTech

4-2 Against UTSA

Anecdotal evidence is nice, but the numbers don't lie. At best he is a mediocre coach who lucked out in getting the greatest QB and WR in school history for 4 years.

We can continue to accept mediocrity (something we've done as a university for way too damn long), or we can hold our coach to a higher standard, especially as we venture into a much stronger conference. 

The writing is on the wall. Seth might be here when we go to the AAC, but I can guarantee it won't be for long. 

The numbers don't get much clearer than this. No idea why anyone believes these are anywhere near worth deserving of another year at the helm let alone another extension. Show his overall numbers against teams with a winning record and it's borderline unforgiveable that he still has a job going into this season. 

[GrandGreen]

Littrell is exactly were he should be at this time.  The contract extension was deserved although not earned at this point with a less than .500 record the last 3 years.  

Giving him a new contract to help recruiting is insane.  One problem with that is no one knows with any degree of certainty how NT is doing in recruiting.   To base any decision on how 247 rates a recruit is at best problematic.   Also you are comparing his recruiting with an unknown coach.  

Littrell and the NT football team IMO will have to have a much better year than the past two for Seph to be retained for the 2023  season.  Littrell will have to finish strong next year and I think he will be gone if he doesn't get 7 wins. 

[DentonLurker]

I think the day and age of contract extensions being used to help with recruiting has run its course. With transfer rules the way they are and the ability schools have shown to come up with buyout money when it's needed, it just doesn't mean what it used to. Also, athletes have a lot more access to information than they used to, thanks to social media. You just can't really pull anything over on them anymore.

[untphd]

He is 37 and 38 overall. This is a statement!

[greenminer]

Interesting to link the drop in recruiting with a lack of contract extension.

[Hunter Green]

2 hours ago, JT Hammons said:

I know a lot of you seem down about things but there are a lot of us out here really excited about this team and especially this coaching staff and all of the experience they bring to the table.  The new offensive line coach Randy Clement is considered one of the top line coaches in the nation.  He will bring a lot of discipline and toughness to the offense.

Mike Bloesch is a young and bright offensive coordinator and QB coach.  Ask around, and you will find he is highly respected as a coach and man. Phil Bennett is possibly one of the top defensive minds in the country right now.  Patrick Cobb is a rising star in the coaching ranks and his affiliation with UNT is a plus.

But the biggest piece to all this is of course Seth Littrell.  Do you understand that in just 6 seasons, Seth Littrell has taken UNT to 5 bowl games?  That is almost a 100% bowl record folks!  That has to give him the highest winning percentage in the history of the program.   Littrell inherited Mcarney's 1-11 team back in 2016 and immediately took that team to a bowl game.  POssibly one of the greatest turnarounds in UNT history.  He's broken many ceilings for UNT in his time here, beating an SEC team on the road, recruiting future Hall of Famer Mason Fine to become a 4-year starter and breaking all kinds of records.  He is loved by his players as evidenced just recently as KD Davis returned to play for him despite being wooed by UT and A&M and wheel barrels of cash.   Littrell has never broken any rules and has never spoken a bad word about UNT as many past coaches like McCarney, Dickey and others have.  Littrell was offered the job at a Big 12 school and opted to stay at UNT even though all of his closest advisors thought he was crazy not to take it.

People say his recruiting has gone down, but the fact is he has not received the support he needs from the AD to be more successful.  He has not received an extension that he deserves and other teams we recruit against know this and use it against us.   With that he still managed to recruit some very good talent including QB Gunnell who may be a starter from day 1.

I see some of the negative posts on here and my message to all of you is be careful what you wish for.  You have a very good coach that is loyal and would like to stay here for a very long time.  How about we give him 100% support this year and tell the rest of the world he's our guy.

Thank you, Mrs. Littrell!

[SilverEagle]

1 hour ago, Cr1028 said:

I agree with all but two of the things you said. Nobody knows if Bloesch is a bright qb coach because to this point he has only been a line coach.

I also disagree that he should’ve been given an extension simply for recruiting purposes. Every coach in the state and the conference knows his tenure here is on thin ice due to his failure to get over the hump. An extension would’ve done little or nothing to change that perception. He should be grateful that Wren is not RV because RV would’ve fired him this season when he was sitting at 1-6. I’m glad Littrell is here and he is one of the best coaches we have ever had but he has to get his players to capitalize on their big game opportunities. I am excited for this season but if he wins or loses this season it’ll be due to his coaching and ability to adjust. I truly hope we break through this season so he can prove the haters all wrong.

Hayden Fry, Corkey Nelson, Odus Mitchell, Jerry  Moore and probably Rod Rust (pure coaching not recruiting)  and Todd Dodge (offensive mind) were all better coaches.

[southsideguy]

I better get down to the Sun Glass Hut and get some new green shaded glasses because I just don't see it.   Maybe pick up a couple of gallons of Mean Green Kool Aide why I am out......

[meanJewGreen]

I just havent seen any improvement from Seth.

Look at NT's other programs- all have shown improvement... except football. Yet football is the moneymaker. 

Seth is the 2nd highest paid coach in conference - he should coach like it. One good win in past 3 years- UTSA. 

Skip Holtz had garbage facilities and support yet he had 5 straight winning seasons, and 6 bowl wins. 

There's no innovation in the offense, no fire, no adjustments. 

 

2 mil shouldnt get me mediocrity 

[eternalmtg]

7 minutes ago, SilverEagle said:

Hayden Fry, Corkey Nelson, Odus Mitchell, Jerry  Moore and probably Rod Rust (pure coaching not recruiting)  and Todd Dodge (offensive mind) were all better coaches.

You lost me at Todd Dodge. The blowout loses we suffered on Saturdays under Dodge used to make me call in sick to work on Monday morning.

[UNTLifer]

2 minutes ago, eternalmtg said:

You lost me at Todd Dodge. The blowout loses we suffered on Saturdays under Dodge used to make me call in sick to work on Monday morning.

He qualified it by saying "offensive minded".

6 minutes ago, meanJewGreen said:

Yet football is the moneymaker. 

Time to shake it.

[jtm0097]

What goes up must come down.

I think this season is make or break it for Littrell. So many holes on our defense and I'm still not sure our OL coach is going to develop Aune or Gunnell. This is going to be an interesting season.

[Cr1028]

23 minutes ago, SilverEagle said:

Hayden Fry, Corkey Nelson, Odus Mitchell, Jerry  Moore and probably Rod Rust (pure coaching not recruiting)  and Todd Dodge (offensive mind) were all better coaches.

I would agree, I was only talking winning percentage though.

[RBP79]

Seth has taken NT to more bowl games than any coach in NT history and hasn't won one yet. That's a negative bullet comment to me.

Heck....Mac at least won his bowl.

[emmitt01]

Name the big game Seth Littrell has won.   "Big Game" meaning a game with a championship or bowl title on the line, not a game against an SEC foe who would go on to finish 2-10 that year.  

I'll hang up, listen, and wait....

[DeepGreen]

3 hours ago, drex said:

Again, I ask the question...does Seth really want to be here?  I think not.

If Seth does not want to be at UNT all he has to do is turn in his resignation.  We owe him nothing.

[keith]

2 hours ago, untphd said:

He is 37 and 38 overall. This is a statement!

I posted this in a different thread to put Littrell in context with some former coaches.

On 5/13/2022 at 4:30 PM, keith said:

And yet currently the 3rd best coach (won/lost % wise) with at least 5 years as HC in the history of North Texas Football in the "modern" era (1953 through 2021).  Only behind Hayden Fry and Otis Mitchell.  We've only had 6 coaches that have lasted more than 5 years in this same timeframe.  We do have coaches with better records, but you have to go back to the leather helmet days.

If Littrell can manage another 9-4 record this season, then he will move into a tie for 2nd with Mitchell who was HC for 14 years.

So many things go into a season's won-loss record (key injuries, scheduling, penalties or bad calls at the worst possible time, etc.) that it's almost pointless to compare across time.  We even have to throw in a pandemic in Littrell's case.  Has time run out on him or will he and the team find a grove and go on a winning streak?  No one knows.  It does seem that there are some that have seen enough and would like to see him go down in flames to force change or at least say, "I told you so."  I've felt that way in the past (twice), but only when it seemed like the coach turned against North Texas or had clearly lost the team.  I have not seen that in Littrell's case.   

[UNTcrazy727]

48 minutes ago, emmitt01 said:

Name the big game Seth Littrell has won.   "Big Game" meaning a game with a championship or bowl title on the line, not a game against an SEC foe who would go on to finish 2-10 that year.  

I'll hang up, listen, and wait....

Beating Arkansas on the road is bigger than any bowl game we've played in. 

People put way too much importance on shitty bowl games. Sure, you want to win them, but they don't count for more than any other regular season game.