After 4 games, how do we feel about Coach Morris?

[3_n_out]

Mean Green football fans have been thirsting for a consistently good program for many years now. Getting Coach Littrell a few years ago was a step in the right direction. How do we feel about Coach Morris being able to elevate the program to the next tier? It’s only been 4 games, but I think we’ve seen enough coaching changes, philosophy and yellow/red flags to make us wonder…worry…be optimistic. 
 

1. I like his frankness during interviews. He doesn’t fill us with coach speak, but is fairly direct on the problems of the team. 
 

2. I didn’t like how he did not enforce his process when he started in the spring. He stated that he allowed things to pass that he normally wouldn’t allow. Now he’s going through the regular season to implement this. Discipline and his philosophy should’ve been the first thing needed to be established, IMO, to develop his culture. 
 

3. He recognized his mistake by not starting Chandler Rogers. He has rectified that, and the offense is humming.  
 

4. He recognizes the defense is the weakest part of the team. Now, will he do something about it? Will he create a plan and suggest more things or allow Caponi to have free reign?

5. His plan is to recruit from within the Dallas area. Love the Idea. 

I, for one, like his vision. But, just like politicians, they can tell you all they want to do and tell you what you want to hear. I’m not exactly ready to give him my 100% vote of confidence. I still have my questions.  

Edited October 1, 2023 by 3_n_out

[greenminer]

I think MGN’s quick take was good, and I agree with his grade of B-

but this is not what we signed up for long term. Defense needs to be addressed

[NorthTexasWeLove]

D. 

His lack of talent evaluation had us starting an FCS quarterback in meaningful games in relation to bowl eligibility. His lack of evaluation had him and us thinking we were better than what we were. Pair that complete and utter failure, his DC hire has been a trainwreck. The basis of his decision to go with that philosophy, not just individual DC, is another trainwreck. That is not a validated reason to choose that defensive philosophy. Nevertheless, the path to bowl eligubility was clear from the jump.

Now you have to go win 4 games in conference. In my opinion, there is no path to be 4-4 in conference play. Maybe they prove me wrong, and hopefully they do. I'm just afraid this defense will not allow. And though the offense flashes good stuff, it's not potent enough to make up for the worst defense in FBS. 

[Glory to the Green]

Brune said recently that the Morris hire was not necessarily to ge great in year one…it was to be better than 6-6 in years 2, 3, and beyond.

I want to see improvements. The team is lacking consistency, but there are improvements. Conference play is going to be interesting.  Can we make enough plays on defense to keep us in the games?  Are we able to sustain drives to keep the defense rested?   We’ll see. 

[KingDL1]

I really like that he took less money to put together an actual recruiting staff that we never had before. I think it's aimed at the DFW area, the North Texas region, and all of Texas and more.

I feel the previous staff failed in their recruiting as a whole, with what seemed to be a lack of effort recruiting. 

[Wag Tag]

B+ only because he did not sign an DC that has been one before.

[jtm0097]

Our offense will keep us in games. Our defense will make games closer than they need to be. 

I like how direct and down to earth he is. The DFW recruiting approach is nice as well. If we can continue to add guys from the area, this should set us up for success. 

Things I don't like, the 3-3-5 defense, and the lack of additions from the transfer portal. We better hit the portal hard this off season. I want more players rotating on the front 6/7.

 

[NT80]

Morris gets good marks for communication with fans and media.  He is adjusting as things need it, but Defense is still the weak-link and needs more attention.  
2-2 at this point in the season = B

Navy (1-3) on the road will be a good test of our improvement, or not.  A win will move the season to a B+, a loss drops us to a B-.

[Green Lantern]

1 hour ago, Glory to the Green said:

Brune said recently that the Morris hire was not necessarily to ge great in year one…it was to be better than 6-6 in years 2, 3, and beyond.

I want to see improvements. The team is lacking consistency, but there are improvements. Conference play is going to be interesting.  Can we make enough plays on defense to keep us in the games?  Are we able to sustain drives to keep the defense rested?   We’ll see. 

There are some improvements. Rogers is a real bright spot. Offense as a whole looks like it has the potential to develop into a consistently dangerous unit.

My issue is that I haven’t been particularly worried about the offensive side of the ball going back to the Morris hire.  It’s the defense that will end up breaking this season for us. Simply put, we don’t have the personnel for this 3-3-5. Richards - our best defensive player - is almost completely neutralized in this alignment. When we’ve gone to 4 man, we look more competent. Not amazing, but better. Then we inexplicably switch back to 3 man in obvious running situations and get gashed. Even by FCS ACU. We’re simply being hard headed in philosophy on that side of the ball. To the team’s detriment. Either we adjust base alignment or expect AAC play to be a brutal slog for us.

[meanJewGreen]

It will be interesting to see an overall comparison between him and the other new HC hire in Texas, GJ Kinne over the next few years.

clearly Kinne started off with a bang- 4-1 with a win over baylor

im a little concerned with only a 14 pt win over a mediocre fcs team. I’m also willing to give it a year. Just cause you start off with a bang doesn’t mean you can sustain it. Good program builders take time 

[97and03]

2 hours ago, 3_n_out said:

Mean Green football fans have been thirsting for a consistently good program for many years now. Getting Coach Littrell a few years ago was a step in the right direction. How do we feel about Coach Morris being able to elevate the program to the next tier? It’s only been 4 games, but I think we’ve seen enough coaching changes, philosophy and yellow/red flags to make us wonder…worry…be optimistic. 
 

1. I like his frankness during interviews. He doesn’t fill us with coach speak, but is fairly direct on the problems of the team. 
 

2. I didn’t like how he did not enforce his process when he started in the spring. He stated that he allowed things to pass that he normally wouldn’t allow. Now he’s going through the regular season to implement this. Discipline and his philosophy should’ve been the first thing needed to be established, IMO, to develop his culture. 
 

3. He recognized his mistake by not starting Chandler Rogers. He has rectified that, and the offense is humming.  
 

4. He recognizes the defense is the weakest part of the team. Now, will he do something about it? Will he create a plan and suggest more things or allow Caponi to have free reign?

5. His plan is to recruit from within the Dallas area. Love the Idea. 

I, for one, like his vision. But, just like politicians, they can tell you all they want to do and tell you what you want to hear. I’m not exactly ready to give him my 100% vote of confidence. I still have my questions.  

How do I feel about Morris? I feel like we had the starters in on offense until the final whistle against an FCS team because we didn’t put them away until the very end. 
Generally I agree with your points above. For me, #4 is the key: fix the problem or lose your job. Either force Craponi to adjust his approach or bring in someone else. 

Edited October 1, 2023 by 97and03

[Side.Show.Joe]

Morris seems like a down to earth guy, and I like him personally. But, as a coach, I think he's in over his head a little. Until he steps up and actually figures out how to address the defensive failings, UNT will continue to struggle for wins. And he will be no better than an average coach, at best. 

Most of these Leach coaches struggle to field real defenses. That's why most get fired and end up back as OC's. I was really hoping Morris would be different. It's not too late yet. But it is his choice to make. 

[Monkeypox]

We replaced an Air Raid coach who went 24-18 in his first 42 games at HC with an Air Raid coach who went 24-18 in his first 42 games at HC in the FCS.

And I'm not saying that everyone who has the same philosophy or comes from the same coaching tree is the same. I think mostly UNT has been TOO reactionary with their hires, trying to always spin a 180, until this most recent hire. I'm just seeing a lot of the same things I've been seeing.

I think he's set us up for better recruiting, so there's that. And I don't feel like we're getting as many penalties, which would be a combination of the players' makeups and position coaches' teaching of technique.

I LIKE Coach Morris. He seems candid and realistic. But I'm not impressed with our level of Xs and Os or with the roster we've started the season with. And that's the job. 

As far as him being able to elevate our program, I don't see it. I don't know what he's bringing to the table that's different than what we've had before. 

[Glory to the Green]

1 hour ago, Green Lantern said:

There are some improvements. Rogers is a real bright spot. Offense as a whole looks like it has the potential to develop into a consistently dangerous unit.

My issue is that I haven’t been particularly worried about the offensive side of the ball going back to the Morris hire.  It’s the defense that will end up breaking this season for us. Simply put, we don’t have the personnel for this 3-3-5. Richards - our best defensive player - is almost completely neutralized in this alignment. When we’ve gone to 4 man, we look more competent. Not amazing, but better. Then we inexplicably switch back to 3 man in obvious running situations and get gashed. Even by FCS ACU. We’re simply being hard headed in philosophy on that side of the ball. To the team’s detriment. Either we adjust base alignment or expect AAC play to be a brutal slog for us.

Good points. I feel pretty good about the offense, but the defense has some concerns. Inconsistency is the biggest concern for me.  

[TripleGrad]

Yet another miss, caused by a late start in the coaching carousel last season.  

But we're not allowed to criticize.

So -- Morris is exactly what I've come to expect from North Texas leadership over the decades, and he meets all expectations.

[RBP79]

Guess I didn't realize Morris needed a break in period. I thought this hire was the next step.....

He gets a 'C' at best. 8 games to bring that grade up.

[Coffee and TV]

It's too early to really grade but our defense sucks. Embarrassing loss to FIU and giving up that many points to a FCS team. Our home games are favorable: Temple, UTSA, UAB, but every road game will be a big uphill battle and we'll probably see some games that rival Cal's total sadly. 

[Cr1028]

[NT91]

NT has won 2 more games than I thought they would.

[Meangreen Fight]

On 10/1/2023 at 11:57 AM, NorthTexasWeLove said:

I'm just afraid this defense will not allow. And though the offense flashes good stuff, it's not potent enough to make up for the worst defense in FBS. 

No offense would be good enough to make up for the worst defense in FBS.   We aren't talking about a 32 team league, CFB is well over 120 teams.  When you are among the worst in any category getting to 0.500 is virtually impossible. 

Since he is head coach you have to grade every major unit.

Offense - B

Defense - F

Special Teams - C+ 

That averages to a C- at best.

Edited October 3, 2023 by Meangreen Fight

[Meangreen Fight]

3 hours ago, TripleGrad said:

Yet another miss, caused by a late start in the coaching carousel last season.  

But we're not allowed to criticize.

So -- Morris is exactly what I've come to expect from North Texas leadership over the decades, and he meets all expectations.

They fumbled the opportunity to get a new coach set up the best way possible for a new conference.  It was inexcusable seeing what Seth failed to do in a weaker conference to give him a chance to "earn" the opportunity to coach in a tougher conference.  Never had a decent showing in a conference championship game nor earn home field for one.  I think we should have went with a defensive head coach with another Air Raid Offensive Coordinator. 

[Cooke County Kid]

We all make mistakes, and that is normal. The true measure comes from what do you learn from those mistakes. I have been the “boss” before, if my people did not produce, they got coached, given the tools to succeed and helped in any way I could. If the results did not improve they were given the opportunity to take their talents elsewhere, because your job is ultimately on the line. With our PITIFUL defense I give Coach Morris a D.  We are a third of the way through our schedule and that grade can improve but time is slipping away………

[Big Z]

Seems like ever since he shaved off his mustache we have gotten better…

[BillySee58]

A+. A little concern on Saturday that the second half would be a snooze fest but it was a good, competitive back and forth with true freshman Evan Jackson making a big play late. Also have 4 🧩 commits who have yet to announce. Potential there for some real game changers.

Edited October 2, 2023 by BillySee58

[3_n_out]

11 minutes ago, Big Z said:

Seems like ever since he shaved off his mustache we have gotten better…

What do you suppose he shave next?