What is Seth Littrell’s Legacy to You?

[Matt from A700]

11 hours ago, Monkeypox said:

He's UNT's Jason Garrett.

Not nearly enough clapping, though.

[Hunter Green]

That he couldn't win without Mason and Harrell.

[untbowler]

Got paid $$$, but never excited or got the fans behind him, lack of energy but a family atmosphere

[TIgreen01]

He should have left for KSU.  We were on a tremendous upswing and so was he and his staff.  We have not been the same since that prolonged flirtation.  

That LaTech game on the same day as the Mean Joe statue unveiling is still one of my top 5 best gamedays even though we lost the game.  That crowd was awesome and gave us the best North Texas chant of all time.

Since he decided to come back (or negotiations fell through) everything changed almost immediately.  We got absolutely destroyed in the bowl game that year, with his very best team.  Then Harrell and a few other assistants left and he completely whiffed on Bodie Reeder, ruining Fine's senior year (almost unforgivable).  It's just been treading water since then...but I do agree that he has raised the floor here now.  We actually look and act like a legit FBS program now, and I honestly can't say that we really ever resembled one in my 25 years following this program until the last couple of years.

So thanks for the memories.  It was the best of times (Fine and his NFL receivers, Arkansas) and the worst of times (SMU and virtually all winning teams beating us down).  Good luck in the future to Seth, I'll always like be a fan.

 

[MeanGreen13]

I am Hoping that history  will reflect kindly on Seth's tenure as one of the the pivotal steps in elevating a large state university to athletic relevance. I do not expect us to turn into Texas or A&M (please God, No!), but I'd like to be at least on the level of relevance that doesn't force me to explain that my Alma Mater is actually a fine university everytime I am asked. 

 

Seth is maybe the third or fourth step in that direction since the move back up to 1-A.  

[DentonTD]

100% I agree with MeanGreenTexan on this one. I am sad to see Coach Littrell Fired. After the national embarrassment of 
Coach Todd Dodge, perhaps the worst HC in UNT history, and the failed tenure of Coach McCartney, Coach Littrell 
brought a high measure of success to UNT football-setting a school record for head coaches with (now) SIX bowl 
appearances in SEVEN years. 6 of 7 is AWESOME, folks!! (Though his 0-5 record in those bowls is not). SIX!! Post-season appearances!!! More than ANY UNT head football coach since I was a freshman way back in 1978 !!! Littell #4 HC history
I recall HOF Coach
Hayden Fry (40-23-3) who coached UNT to a 10-1, and 9-2 records, but ZERO Bowls before leaving for Iowa. Fry is 
#6 on all time winning list. His replacements were all complete FAILURES until the hiring of Corkey Nelson. 
Corky Nelson-(48-52-1) over 9 years. Three post-season 1-AA playoff appearances, one victory His Nelson was #3 on 
the all time UNT HC list. One conference championship #3 on All-Time list 
Darrell Dickey-(42-64-0, 9 seasons) 4 Sunbelt Conference Championships, 4 bowl appearances, 1 victory #5 overall 
    After Dickey, a long stream of FAILED coaches!!!! 
And now the firing of the #4 all time HC in UNT history in Seth Littrell. I surely hope UNT does a FAR better job in 
hiring his replacement, for the replacements of #3,4,and 5 in UNT history were UTTER dissasters. A program can 
far, far, far worse than Seth Littrell. Now moving on!!
     Offer the job to Graham Harrell HC West Virginia like right now.  Former UNT OC wtih QB Mason Fine, and USC
OC setting USC school passing records.  Would be a GREAT hire. Face is = UNT fired a very good coach hoping for
GREATNESS to follow. Well, then lets hir someone who can be GREAT!!!
  Rob Jones, UNT grad, '82



 

[2020 Sucks]

To me, Seth is a good guy.  He never has and never will speak poorly of UNT.  The program was clean and he delt with very few internal issues.  He taught the kids how to be men and he was honest with everyone.

I'll rememer him as incredibly stubborn.  Sometimes that can be good, but sometimes it can be bad.  He needed to let the fans see more of him...literally and figuratively.  He needed to go out on campus and pass out t-shirts like Grant.  He needed to be less reserved with his emotions.  He needed to be more engaged on Saturday.  I think he's a shy type...loner...that just wasn't built for the spotlight.  Nothing wrong with being that guy, its just not a good model for a HFC at a place like Denton.

I think he coached every week to the max of his ability.  The players seemed to really love him.  That says something.  He came in and found success, but it was limited.  He had some very high higlights that have been mentioned in this thread, but his ultimate legacy will be that he struggled with staffing and recruiting.  Revolving doors in the coaches office and his "next man up" mentality made life hard for him when it came to beating teams with equal or superior talent. 

I was a SL guy for 4 years.  The switch flipped for me after the 3 straight losses to end the 2019 season including the loss to Rice at their place.  Add in the recent throttle jobs vs SMU and this year's two other losses to UNLV and Memphis and I just couldn't see a pathway to success in the AAC with him at the helm.  Additionally, he really struggled with decisionmaking after Mason graduated...3 consecutive seasons of QB controversy and a real lack of development in that room was a downer for everyone.  Sticking with Aune this year was a death knell.  With Gunnell and Earle not getting any mop up time (Seth is stubborn), we are not going into the offseason with a clear picture of our future at that position.

I wish Seth the best and hope he lands on his feet quickly.  I think he did his best every day at UNT.

[golfingomez]

11 hours ago, Mike Jackson said:

Ding Ding Ding objective truth right there.  Guy was a hard worker, good guy, nice family man, and I feel bad banging on him.  But gosh darn it some other people on this board make it  hard and not to bang on him.  You can't talk about raising a programs bar that has 25 conference titles (3 this century, 2 bowl game victories also) when you have NONE.  Top in all off you have 2 winning seasons out of 7.  

technically, he had 3...

[CaribbeanGreen]

Just looking at this through my personal little window - I got to NT during the Matt Simon era. 25 years ago. In that quarter century, three degrees later, SL is the unquestionably most successful coach we’ve ever had, and not by a little. I had an absolute blast in the DD SBC title years, but that’s the closest thing we really had in that stretch save one outlier McCarney year. History will be kind to him as time rolls on. 

Edited December 5, 2022 by CaribbeanGreen

[golfingomez]

For it's highs and lows, Seth's legacy with me will be the 2018 season.

[2020 Sucks]

5 minutes ago, golfingomez said:

For it's highs and lows, Seth's legacy with me will be the 2018 season.

We should have been sooo good that year!

[UNTexas]

3 hours ago, NT93 said:

I could be wrong here, but it seems to me that most coaches who are going to be let go are shown the door before the bowl game, not after.  What’s the benefit of having him coach the bowl game?

Most coaches going to bowls aren’t fired. 2 weeks wouldn’t have mattered and the new AD could hire whoever. It was poorly handled imo.

[NorthTexasWeLove]

13 hours ago, UNTexas said:

My fear is we will be missing 6 win seasons in the very near future once we hit the AAC. It’s absolutely ridiculous they fired him before the bowl game. North Texas makes really bad choices in sports more than they should. Minus soccer. For me it’s sad they did this the day they announced the bowl. It takes  away from the players accomplishments. 

They were getting 6 wins next year regardless. I know it. You know it. This board knows. The players deep down know it. Seth Littrell knows it. And, clearly, the UNT administration knows it. 

Edited December 5, 2022 by NorthTexasWeLove

[UNTexas]

18 minutes ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

They were getting 6 wins next year regardless. I know it. You know it. This board knows. The players deep down know it. Seth Littrell knows it. And, clearly, the UNT administration knows it. 

Were or weren’t?

[MeanGreenTexan]

34 minutes ago, UNTexas said:

Most coaches going to bowls aren’t fired. 2 weeks wouldn’t have mattered and the new AD could hire whoever. It was poorly handled imo.

Nope.  It's very common for coaches to be fired between end-of-regular-season and bowl games.

[NorthTexasWeLove]

10 minutes ago, UNTexas said:

Were or weren’t?

Excuse me, were not. Unless new coach snags some late portal difference makers (safety-QB-LB) the new coach won't sniff it. 

[NorthTexasWeLove]

6 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

Nope.  It's very common for coaches to be fired between end-of-regular-season and bowl games.

Yes, it indeed is. I would even call it pretty standard. 

[Hookset]

I briefly met him twice. One time he went out of his way to be kind to my grandson. 
Very kind man and great character. I’m regretful that he didn’t have more success here.  I am certain wherever he ends up he will be successful.

[NT93]

1 hour ago, UNTexas said:

Most coaches going to bowls aren’t fired. 2 weeks wouldn’t have mattered and the new AD could hire whoever. It was poorly handled imo.

True.  Considering there are 40+ bowl games, “most” of those coaches aren’t fired.  I’ll say this, it’s not at all uncommon to have an interim coach for the bowl game.

[Mike Jackson]

1 hour ago, UNTexas said:

Most coaches going to bowls aren’t fired. 2 weeks wouldn’t have mattered and the new AD could hire whoever. It was poorly handled imo.

Most coaches don't survive 2 consecutive losing seasons.  And keeping him for last Frisco Bowl worked out beautifully.    He also got two changes to win bowl games with team with losing regular seasons. 🙄

Edited December 5, 2022 by Mike Jackson

[southsideguy]

He picked up a program that was in a bad way and made it respectable. He ran a clean program with his players not making the headlines in a negative way. He is leaving the program in better shape than he found it.  For that he deserves a big thank you and hope he is successful in his new endeavor.  Hope he takes a week off and takes his family to Disney World.

[Mike Jackson]

3 hours ago, golfingomez said:

technically, he had 3...

0.500 is not a winning season not even technically.  Not worth making the point because if you are only counting games against FBS he was 0.500 in the regular season or below if you count the CUSA title game.  🤷🏾‍♂️

[Got5onIt]

Don't feel too bad, dude was highest paid coach in CUSA. It's a tough business but a good one as you command insane salaries. Good luck to Seth. Oklahoma alums apparently want him back "home" so bad for stupid ol' UNT for firing him. I'm sure he'll have plenty of options. 

[GrandGreen]

Why would any school let a coach lead the team in a bowl when they are going to fire him?  Do the right thing and let the dismissed coach get as early a start as possible on finding that next job.  

It would also be a lot more awkward to fire a coach after a bowl, especially a win. 

[eppy4life]

I'll always remember seeing him at pour house his first year here and some dude walking to his table saying something like "is one of you guys coach litrell???"  His response was classic.  "Yes sir."