If you can accept we are a minor league now

NT80 · July 27

54 minutes ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

Sort of the always present dark horse is ECU. They have decent facilities, a TON of support and is the obvious top G5 university in the Carolinas.

App State would like a word with you...

NorthTexasWeLove · July 27

35 minutes ago, NT80 said:

App State would like a word with you...

Yeah, I thought about them. Give me ECU.

NT80 · July 28

1 hour ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

Yeah, I thought about them. Give me ECU.

ECU does have a large stadium and great crowds.

But App St has great wins:

2019 beat North Carolina and South Carolina, both on the road

2020 beat UNT by 28 at the Myrtle Beach Bowl

2021 beat ECU by 14, lost at Miami by 2

2022 beat Texas A$M on the road, lost to UNC by 2

2023 beat ECU by 15, lost to UNC in 2 OT

ECU shows off renovations to Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium

Cr1028 · July 28

5 hours ago, GrandGreen said:

Memphis should be obvious

We played Memphis in 2022. My point stands, outside of Tulane our schedule was no more difficult in 2023 than it was in 2022.

Edited July 28 by Cr1028

GrandGreen · July 28

15 minutes ago, Cr1028 said:

We played Memphis in 2022. My point stands, outside of Tulane our schedule was no more difficult in 2023 than it was in 2022.

I know NT played Memphis; but it was not a conference game. The discussion was about was ACC an upgrade from CUSA. The response was to the question other than Tulane, what team is an upgrade.

Cr1028 · July 28

1 minute ago, GrandGreen said:

I know NT played Memphis; but it was not a conference game. The discussion was about was ACC an upgrade from CUSA. The response was to the question other than Tulane, what team is an upgrade.

Maybe by your perspective but my point was that Rod Brown got fewer accolades with Morris’ staff against essentially the same teams on the schedule.

NorthTexasWeLove · July 28

38 minutes ago, Cr1028 said:

Maybe by your perspective but my point was that Rod Brown got fewer accolades with Morris’ staff against essentially the same teams on the schedule.

Hard to get recognized individually when the defense you play for gets mulched week after week.

greenminer · July 30

On 7/27/2024 at 9:07 PM, Cr1028 said:

We played Memphis in 2022. My point stands, outside of Tulane our schedule was no more difficult in 2023 than it was in 2022.

Don't we have SOS metrics available to show us this type of comparison?

PS: since it might be more relevant, maybe we even have further detail like strength of individual units. You could - if these stats exist - compare the different OL/DLs they faced from one season to the next.

Edited July 30 by greenminer

Dannymacfan · August 1

It just seems like every time we upgrade conferences, something happens right after that diminishes the upgrade.

With Morris, the same thing happened where we were supposed to make a big upgrade at head coach and it fell way short

greenminer · August 1

1 hour ago, Dannymacfan said:

With Morris, the same thing happened where we were supposed to make a big upgrade at head coach and it fell way short

A "big upgrade" isn't the impression that I got (although, it would have been welcome!). The expectation with Morris, in my view, was to simply get us over the hump. Stay with the Leach tree, keep that element of consistency, just stop flopping on national TV and in championship opportunities.

Unfortunately, year 1 didn't work out that way. First year coach adjustment? Culture change? Or is he really a terrible coach? Cancer in the locker room?

keith · August 2

On 7/24/2024 at 1:52 PM, GrandGreen said:

Ever even imagine that it might take a coach more than one year to substantially upgrade a football program?

How do you support your contention that Morris is less committed to the program than Littrell?

One, I have never believed the Kansas offer that Littrell supposedly turned down was anymore than his agent's ploy for getting Littrell a better contract.

Two, I am not sure how you can compare pre-NIL coaches with coaches that must deal with massive turnover every year.

You are giving credit to the offensive line coach for Rogers' success, yet are ignoring the HC and Offensive coordinator that create the game plans that allowed Rogers to be successful.

Morris may not be successful at NT, that is an unknown for most that don't have the football clairvoyance that you possess.

I think Morris had an adequate first year coaching, and I am looking forward to next year. The new season will provide a much superior basis for evaluating Morris as a HC.

We did not need a substantial upgrade to the program. We were already on solid footing, but were told we needed someone else to take us to the next level. In no way were we portrayed as a failed program that needed to be rebuilt. It was going to be immediately onward and upward with the new coaching staff. We took a significant step backward IMHO. We were supposed to be competing for conference championships. Instead, we had a losing record in the first year and are now by most polls placed in the bottom half of our conference. By my analysis and grading last year, Morris was solidly in the bottom half of first year coaches in FBS. Swing and a miss by our AD at time when we needed to keep some semblance of positive momentum going. In terms of attractiveness as a realignment target we are 102 out of 133. Location is just about the only thing we have going for us. I don't think Morris will be here beyond year 3. Either he continues to lead us as a middle-of-the-pack program and send him on his way or he actually has major success this season and next and parlays that into a bigger gig.

As a university, we need to tighten up our admission standards and improve our 4-year graduation rates.

Green Lantern · August 2

19 hours ago, greenminer said:

A "big upgrade" isn't the impression that I got (although, it would have been welcome!). The expectation with Morris, in my view, was to simply get us over the hump. Stay with the Leach tree, keep that element of consistency, just stop flopping on national TV and in championship opportunities.

Unfortunately, year 1 didn't work out that way. First year coach adjustment? Culture change? Or is he really a terrible coach? Cancer in the locker room?

Would have preferred a “splashier” more sure thing hire than Morris when they moved on from Seth. Especially given we’d just played in the CUSA Championship game (“we don’t care how you get there folks, just get there”)

Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t part of the selling points for Morris that he was taking less salary up front to have a larger assistant pool? Then hired Caponi at one of the highest assistant coach salaries in G5? All to watch the defense crash and burn - ruining the chances of a promising season otherwise?

Can’t believe our fanbase isn’t fired up for the season.

NorthTexasWeLove · August 2

On 8/1/2024 at 1:32 PM, greenminer said:

A "big upgrade" isn't the impression that I got (although, it would have been welcome!). The expectation with Morris, in my view, was to simply get us over the hump. Stay with the Leach tree, keep that element of consistency, just stop flopping on national TV and in championship opportunities.

Unfortunately, year 1 didn't work out that way. First year coach adjustment? Culture change? Or is he really a terrible coach? Cancer in the locker room?

Some coaches have "it" and some don't. We can all make our own mind up on Morris.

I'm not sure how to explain what "it" even is, but if you know what I'm saying then you know.

greenminer · August 2

7 hours ago, Green Lantern said:

Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t part of the selling points for Morris that he was taking less salary up front to have a larger assistant pool?

I never thought about the timeline that way. To my knowledge, we signed Morris and then -after the fact- he voluntarily gave up some pay to have more to work with for the assistant pool. I have never heard that this was an up front offer from Morris to sell himself into the hire.

greenminer · August 2

29 minutes ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

Some coaches have "it" and some don't. We can all make our own mind up on Morris.

I'm not sure how to explain what "it" even is, but if you know what I'm saying then you know.

@CMJ posted years ago, towards the end of the Tony Benford era, about how he believes (and I mostly agree) that all coaches have the x-and-os in their heads to compete with anyone. The difference is basically this "it" factor: their ability to motivate, communicate, and adapt these schemes with their roster that separates the success stories from the failures.

wardly · August 3

So "THE BIG MOUNTAIN " podcast was playing "what if" should the MWC get poached and the following 6 schools they would back fill with are [drum roll please]: IDAHO, NMSU,UTEP,UTSA,TEXAS STATE, and RICE. I realize this is just a MWC fan podcast but UNT didn't even get a mention. Just saying......

keith · August 3

2 hours ago, wardly said:

So "THE BIG MOUNTAIN " podcast was playing "what if" should the MWC get poached and the following 6 schools they would back fill with are [drum roll please]: IDAHO, NMSU,UTEP,UTSA,TEXAS STATE, and RICE. I realize this is just a MWC fan podcast but UNT didn't even get a mention. Just saying......

Wardly, we never do or if we do it’s a usually in a negative contagion. Not sure we want to be a backfill for a reloaded MWC anyway, but your point is valid We are rarely in the conversation (even if it’s just message board fodder). Sorry to say, but our AD leadership has failed UNT for the last 30 years. Oh, sure they have done the bare minimum to get us where we are, but have not realized what could have been MHO.

I’m hard on our AD (and will continue to be) because we pay a lot for its services and I want more for our investment.

NorthTexasWeLove · August 3

3 hours ago, keith said:

Wardly, we never do or if we do it’s a usually in a negative contagion. Not sure we want to be a backfill for a reloaded MWC anyway, but your point is valid We are rarely in the conversation (even if it’s just message board fodder). Sorry to say, but our AD leadership has failed UNT for the last 30 years. Oh, sure they have done the bare minimum to get us where we are, but have not realized what could have been MHO.

I’m hard on our AD (and will continue to be) because we pay a lot for its services and I want more for our investment.

As you should be. Buuuut... as long as checks clear they don't give an eff. Js.

97and03 · August 3

11 hours ago, wardly said:

So "THE BIG MOUNTAIN " podcast was playing "what if" should the MWC get poached and the following 6 schools they would back fill with are [drum roll please]: IDAHO, NMSU,UTEP,UTSA,TEXAS STATE, and RICE. I realize this is just a MWC fan podcast but UNT didn't even get a mention. Just saying......

Idaho dropped down to FCS, didn’t they? Can’t imagine that is a realistic target for the MWC.

NT80 · August 3

1 hour ago, 97and03 said:

Idaho dropped down to FCS, didn’t they? Can’t imagine that is a realistic target for the MWC.

The NCAA increased the application fee for transitioning from FCS to FBS from $5,000 to $5 million (effective immediately).Oct 5, 2023

wardly · August 3

For a university that has a very good marketing depart in their School of Business we seem to always be lost when it comes to a plan to successfully promote our athletic department. I got my BBA in 66' and have never understood why we flounder about in selling our athletics to Denton and DFW. Granted we went decades without financial support from our university presidents but that doesn't excuse our failure in the past 20+years .

Green Otaku · August 3

23 hours ago, Green Lantern said:

Would have preferred a “splashier” more sure thing hire than Morris when they moved on from Seth. Especially given we’d just played in the CUSA Championship game (“we don’t care how you get there folks, just get there”)

Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t part of the selling points for Morris that he was taking less salary up front to have a larger assistant pool? Then hired Caponi at one of the highest assistant coach salaries in G5? All to watch the defense crash and burn - ruining the chances of a promising season otherwise?

Can’t believe our fanbase isn’t fired up for the season.

I was hoping for Herman or Fuente. I thought UNT needed a name hire this time around and not an up-and-comer.

IIRC THE highest paid assistant in G5.

Pavlovs Eagle · August 3

On 7/11/2024 at 9:18 PM, Big Z said:

He had a drinking problem?

Wouldn't you have too? It ain't easy being green.

UNT 90 Grad · August 4

18 hours ago, Pavlovs Eagle said:

Wouldn't you have too? It ain't easy being green.

https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/dan-mccarney-suffered-stroke-thinks-vodka-him-feel-175611451.html

untjim1995 · August 5

On 8/2/2024 at 10:00 PM, keith said:

Wardly, we never do or if we do it’s a usually in a negative contagion. Not sure we want to be a backfill for a reloaded MWC anyway, but your point is valid We are rarely in the conversation (even if it’s just message board fodder). Sorry to say, but our AD leadership has failed UNT for the last 30 years. Oh, sure they have done the bare minimum to get us where we are, but have not realized what could have been MHO.

I’m hard on our AD (and will continue to be) because we pay a lot for its services and I want more for our investment.

Its more like the last 60 years, with some decades being worse than others. Probably the best leadership we've had for athletics was from 2010 and its not exactly been stellar. But its light years better than Gretchen Bataille and RV hiring a high school coach because she didn't want anyone making more than the school president and the AD not even thinking twice about him bringing in mostly high school coaches to be his assistants.