North Texas finishes the year with a winning record

MeanGreenTexan · October 4, 2022

1 hour ago, MrAlien said:

We can not assume that the next coach will be any better, until we hear the AD come out and state that the university will seek out and hire an established coach that can improve the program.

I mean, obviously we're not going to hear him say that ... right now.
When the time comes for Baker to make the move, what are you thinking he's going to say?
"Well, uh, we're lil' ol' North Texas. I guess we'll just give this $2million/year to whoever is generous enough with their kind heart to come on board and coach us."

This isn't youth rec football. We're not desperate for volunteers. This is one of 130 jobs in America, and we're paying VERY WELL! There will be a myriad of well-qualified coaches who desire this job.

NorthTexasWeLove · October 4, 2022

2 hours ago, MGNation92 said:

This is exactly correct. Lets look at Littrell's record

2016: 5-8 loses HoD bowl that he go into because of APR

2017: 9-5 his best season, gets absolutely blown out in both the conference championship and bowl game

2018: 9-4 another solid season, gets absolutely blown out in the bowl game

2019: 4-8 Mason Fine's senior season, no bowl

2020: 4-6 COVID year, bowl game on a technicality, gets absolutely blown out in the bowl game

2021: 6-7, makes a bowl only because Brint Ryan paid for the entire thing himself, loses against the worst bowl opponent we've played

2022(so far): 3-3, beating bad teams, and getting absolutely blown out by good ones.

He's 40-41 for his career. Take out Mason fine's best seasons (2017 and 2018) and he's 22-32.

He may have taken us to more bowls than any other coach in school history, but he is not a good coach. He's had 7 years to improve, and he's shown time and time again that he can't. I would compare him to Rick Stockstill, but even Stockstill has some trophies in his MTSU career.

If we keep him around, we're looking at mostly losing football, with occasional bowl games that we won't even be competitive in. With the resources we're putting into this thing we must expect better. Otherwise we need to pull a Kansas, and pay a coach minimal money with minimal expectations and funnel the majority of our athletic budget to Men's Basketball.

We need to do this anyway. GM has done more for UNT in 1 season than Seth Littrell has done for UNT in 7. Basketball can be a thing here, a national thing. Football is forever treading water.

And I'm a football guy.

wardly · October 4, 2022

9 hours ago, MGNation92 said:

This is exactly correct. Lets look at Littrell's record

2016: 5-8 loses HoD bowl that he go into because of APR

2017: 9-5 his best season, gets absolutely blown out in both the conference championship and bowl game

2018: 9-4 another solid season, gets absolutely blown out in the bowl game

2019: 4-8 Mason Fine's senior season, no bowl

2020: 4-6 COVID year, bowl game on a technicality, gets absolutely blown out in the bowl game

2021: 6-7, makes a bowl only because Brint Ryan paid for the entire thing himself, loses against the worst bowl opponent we've played

2022(so far): 3-3, beating bad teams, and getting absolutely blown out by good ones.

He's 40-41 for his career. Take out Mason fine's best seasons (2017 and 2018) and he's 22-32.

He may have taken us to more bowls than any other coach in school history, but he is not a good coach. He's had 7 years to improve, and he's shown time and time again that he can't. I would compare him to Rick Stockstill, but even Stockstill has some trophies in his MTSU career.

If we keep him around, we're looking at mostly losing football, with occasional bowl games that we won't even be competitive in. With the resources we're putting into this thing we must expect better. Otherwise we need to pull a Kansas, and pay a coach minimal money with minimal expectations and funnel the majority of our athletic budget to Men's Basketball.

I can think of 2 head football coaches in the UNT Football Hall of Fame with far less than a 40-41 record. And you can't make arguments that he would be 22 and 32 without Fine. If you began playing that game then Fry would have a loosing record.

Dannymacfan · October 5, 2022

I would like to think we could have Grant McCasland in football as well. Also, had Seth been any good he would have moved up by now to a bigger job.

peanuts104 · October 5, 2022

On 10/3/2022 at 5:15 PM, meangreen11 said:

which means Littrell would be responsible for more bowl berths in seven years than North Texas received in the previous 25 seasons

But he can't win one, and this year won't be any different if we get to a bowl game.

UNTcrazy727 · October 5, 2022

9 hours ago, rcade said:

Dickey had more sustained success than Littrell. From 2000-2004 UNT won four straight conference championships, reached four bowls (and won one) and had three seasons in a row with winning records.

The reason to consider moving on from Littrell is that a six-win season where you don't win the conference and get stomped in a bowl game is the lowest possible definition of success.

The Sun Belt back then was the worst conference in this history of FBS. Today’s CUSA is a juggernaut in comparison. Dickey’s teams saw little success outside Sun Belt play. Yes, our schedules were full of body bag games, but between 2001-2004 we also lost OOC/bowl games to TCU x2, South Florida x2, Troy, FAU, Southern Miss, Air Force, Memphis, and Colorado St.

Don’t disagree with your point about Littrell. I just think Dickey’s success is sometimes overrated.

greenminer · October 5, 2022

There were 20 bowl games in 1997 (or close to).

Now there are, what, 40+?

This whole thing about SL's bowl appearance streak just doesn't hit like it would have a couple decades ago.

drex · October 5, 2022

Note to Seth: If you don't want to be here, get out.

TheColonyEagle · October 5, 2022

On 10/3/2022 at 6:45 PM, Pavlovs Eagle said:

"You North Texas State fans should be thrilled for all those bowl appearances and 6 win seasons... Remember you historically suck!" - Texas football sportswriters

Sad thing is a large number of our own alumni and fans think this way too….

Travis · October 5, 2022

Going to bowl games as an argument has got to be the weakest argument of all.

NT93 · October 5, 2022

3 hours ago, Dannymacfan said:

Also, had Seth been any good he would have moved up by now to a bigger job.

Here’s the cold, hard, sad truth. I don’t feel like he’s at UNT because he loves the place; I feel like he’s here because it’s the highest paying job he can get.

GrandGreen · October 5, 2022

5 hours ago, greenminer said:

There were 20 bowl games in 1997 (or close to).

Now there are, what, 40+?

This whole thing about SL's bowl appearance streak just doesn't hit like it would have a couple decades ago.

44 d1 fbs bowls, which translates to almost exactly 2/3 of teams get a bowl.

So I don't care how many bowls Littrell gets NT into, it means only the NT is not in bottom third of D1 football.

Not getting into a bowl is a major negative, but a bowl bid is hardly a big achievement.

It obviously depends on what bowl, a team gets into; that determines the success of the regular season. Last year's bowl game was the worst possible that any team could have obtained from an achievement view.

Yet, it was substantially better than no bowl at all; if for nothing else than the extra practice and avoidance of being labeled not even bowl worthy.

Wag Tag · October 5, 2022

History is not a baseline for expectations, what your peers are achieving is!

Edited October 5, 2022 by Wag Tag

MGNation92 · October 5, 2022

13 hours ago, wardly said:

I can think of 2 head football coaches in the UNT Football Hall of Fame with far less than a 40-41 record. And you can't make arguments that he would be 22 and 32 without Fine. If you began playing that game then Fry would have a loosing record.

Looks like Seth is a shoe-in for the HoF then.

He's mediocre. It might've been acceptable for those coaches to have a losing record, but it's not now. He's never going to be better than a .500 coach. For some that might be okay, but we need to seriously consider what we're paying and investing in this program if we think .500 is the bar.

We want to pay like big boys and play like big boys in a big boy league. Time to get a coach that matches that.

Travis · October 5, 2022

13 hours ago, GrandGreen said:

44 d1 fbs bowls, which translates to almost exactly 2/3 of teams get a bowl.

So I don't care how many bowls Littrell gets NT into, it means only the NT is not in bottom third of D1 football.

Not getting into a bowl is a major negative, but a bowl bid is hardly a big achievement.

It obviously depends on what bowl, a team gets into; that determines the success of the regular season. Last year's bowl game was the worst possible that any team could have obtained from an achievement view.

Yet, it was substantially better than no bowl at all; if for nothing else than the extra practice and avoidance of being labeled not even bowl worthy.

Also keep in mind that one of those bowls we got in with a losing record. And another one we likely only got because so many other schools decline a Covid year bowl game.