Should Caponi be fired at the end of the season?

NT80 · October 24

5 minutes ago, NT93 said:

Traditional wisdom is that you can take those type of gambles (going for it on 4th down in your own territory, etc.) if you have a stout defense which you can trust with a short field.

I just don’t see the wisdom in going for it in your territory if it’s more than 4th and 1…maybe 4th and 2 depending on what yard line you’re on. Even you convert, you’re still 50+ yards away from the end zone.

I also don’t agree when we pass up a chip shot field goal to go for it, and that has nothing to do with the defense.

I think EM is just a gunslinger who has confidence in his offense (his play-calling ability) that he just pushes the pile of money to the center. Generally, I don’t think it has anything to with the defense, but I think his lack of trust in the defense is why he called the onside kick with over 2 minutes left in the game.

I’ve said all that, but now I’ll add: you could very well be correct.

No, I agree with your thoughts. I was mad going for it from our side of the 50 so early in the game, plus not taking the FG shot. All those misses could have prevented just needing a FG at the end of the game to tie or win instead of a TD + 2 pts.

3_n_out · October 24

My fear with firing a coach is that players he has recruited may leave with him. That’s not always the case, but it tends to happen. If kids bolt if/when Caponi gets fired, what becomes of our defense then? That’s another year of learning a system and another year of trying to find their kind of athletes. Yes, it’s a big headache, but I believe it’s necessary up to this point.

MeanGreenMat · October 24

14 hours ago, greenminer said:

I would be alright with him gone. A good follow up would be, draft up a DC replacement wishlist with 5-10 names. Who is out there that you want and would be feasible for us in Denton?

I would look to Houston. Holgerson didn’t leave much, but they have a solid defense. Bradon Hall at OU. Decent record at DC. I haven’t even looked at FCS coaches.

One of the pros of UNT, we’re near so many Power 4 teams. One of the cons, we’re near so many Power 4 teams.

MAX KOCH · October 24

It all depends on Homecoming. A win he stays a loss ... adios

golfingomez · October 24

i'm not nearly as mad about him as others on the board... but at this point, i don't see any reason why you would bring him back unless they make great strides towards the end of the season.

I guess i wouldn't be opposed to him coming back on a very reduced salary, but i highly doubt either party would agree to that

greenminer · October 24

3 hours ago, MAX KOCH said:

A win he stays a loss ... adios

I wish it were so cut and dry, but it is not.

As awful as that unit is, we are 7-2 in our last 9. Likely headed to a postseason game. I can see a coach being hesitant to pull the trigger on any staff during that kind of run.

97and03 · October 24

14 hours ago, NT93 said:

Traditional wisdom is that you can take those type of gambles (going for it on 4th down in your own territory, etc.) if you have a stout defense which you can trust with a short field.

I just don’t see the wisdom in going for it in your territory if it’s more than 4th and 1…maybe 4th and 2 depending on what yard line you’re on. Even you convert, you’re still 50+ yards away from the end zone.

I also don’t agree when we pass up a chip shot field goal to go for it, and that has nothing to do with the defense.

I think EM is just a gunslinger who has confidence in his offense (his play-calling ability) so he just pushes the pile of money to the center. Generally, I don’t think it has anything to with the defense, but I think his lack of trust in the defense is why he called the onside kick with over 2 minutes left in the game.

I’ve said all that, but now I’ll add: you could very well be correct.

I have said this elsewhere, but I could understand the (over)confidence in the offense more if we had a stable offensive line, our top three RBs, and our starting TE and Ward at WR in the game. As it is, we struggle to run the ball and Morris often has to scramble and we have a couple of inconsistent receivers. So you punt the damn ball.

jlmagnus · October 24

34 minutes ago, greenminer said:

I wish it were so cut and dry, but it is not.

As awful as that unit is, we are 7-2 in our last 9. Likely headed to a postseason game. I can see a coach being hesitant to pull the trigger on any staff during that kind of run.

I see what you're saying, but obviously that's no thanks to the defense. Call me crazy, but with as strong an offense as we have, we could be ranked if the defense was at least serviceable

DentonLurker · October 24

I don't know why anyone would commit to firing someone at the end of the season in the middle of the season.

Side.Show.Joe · October 24

Caponi should have been let go after last season.

Although I do agree, the defense is better since switching away from heavy use of the failed 3-3-5 system. The simple fact is that Caponi knew he'd need to build a stout/tough defense that could force offenses off the field and give the ball back to our high powered offense. He just kept trying to spoon feed us the 3-3-5, and still hasn't recruited the caliber of players it takes to compete with the best G programs. UNT has arguably the best G offense, paired with a below average G level defense. Caponi simply hasn't earned his salary as the highest paid defensive coordinator outside of the power conferences. I see no good reason to give him another contract.

And if UNT goes and wins a bowl this season, I highly doubt it will be because his defense carries us to the victory. He needs to go.

greenminer · October 25

7 hours ago, jlmagnus said:

I see what you're saying, but obviously that's no thanks to the defense. Call me crazy, but with as strong an offense as we have, we could be ranked if the defense was at least serviceable

If this defense was at least serviceable, we probably wouldn't be having this convo.

But here we are, with a unit so bad, that even with our current record we have an army of people that would tank the DC in a heartbeat

When we let go of SL, who wasn't doing a terrible job, I just felt - and still feel - it was definitely time for a change. That it was worth the risk of getting worse. I don't get that same gut feeling yet with the DC. I worry that there are other dynamics at play, intangibles like locker room morale and togetherness, that could be negatively impacted so much that overall team performance takes a step back.

I guess my Mean Green fandom has made me skeptical of "there's no way it can get worse.". Sometimes, in Denton, we've made that move...then it got worse.

Edited October 25 by greenminer

NT80 · October 25

Defense is so obviously the weak link...again...for this team. Time to end the experiment. It's the only way the team as a whole can improve "in all three phases"!

Tommy Gadberry · October 25

On 10/24/2024 at 7:26 AM, MAX KOCH said:

It all depends on Homecoming. A win he stays a loss ... adios

I can agree with this proposal.

TIgreen01 · October 26

Today is the day.

untphd · October 26

Adios!!!

Venson · October 26

He won't be fired, but his contract should not be renewed.

El Paso Eagle · October 26

33 minutes ago, Venson said:

He won't be fired, but his contract should not be renewed.

Fine, don't fire him, but go ahead right now and reassign him to other activities. Some type of message has to be sent out to shape things up.

Udomann · October 26

There's zero downside in firing him now. We still pay his contract either way, but the upside is we have a shot at improved defense. It (literally) can't get much worse. Show us we mean business

outoftown · October 26

Is it a firing if you simply don't renew a contract that runs out?

BleedingGreen · October 26

We also should keep in mind our low NIL funds for quality DLs and LBs in particular.

jtm0097 · October 26

I highly doubt he returns. Morris will probably thank him for his services and hire a new DC. I wouldn't be shocked if they just bump Brian Odom up to DC. He has a relationship with the players already and was interim DC at OU and USC.

MeanGreenMat · October 26

46 minutes ago, Udomann said:

There's zero downside in firing him now. We still pay his contract either way, but the upside is we have a shot at improved defense. It (literally) can't get much worse. Show us we mean business

Who would improve the defense? Has firing anybody at your job ever helped you do your job and the other guys job for 3-6 months better? I rather get the most out of a bad situation. Caponi can do the admin work on recruiting, approve job reacquisitions at UNT, and continue to ensure our players are sticking to the regimen (class, training, diet).

Udomann · October 26

Just now, MeanGreenMat said:

Who would improve the defense? Has firing anybody at your job ever helped you do your job and the other guys job for 3-6 months better? I rather get the most out of a bad situation. Caponi can do the admin work on recruiting, approve job reacquisitions at UNT, and continue to ensure our players are sticking to the regimen (class, training, diet).

If I have a manager who's unable to perform the role and continually produces poor results and is unable to adapt, then they are likely to underperform in most alternative roles.

The reason coaches salaries are so far above the nominal salaries of other industries is because turnover is expected, even required. They get paid well to absorb high risk.

Getting rid of a bad hire says more than retaining one as well. We are going to hit recruitment season soon. We need to sell the fact to defensive recruits that we are serious about getting the best. We also need to vacate the position so we can hire someone sooner than later.

3_n_out · October 26

36 minutes ago, jtm0097 said:

I highly doubt he returns. Morris will probably thank him for his services and hire a new DC. I wouldn't be shocked if they just bump Brian Odom up to DC. He has a relationship with the players already and was interim DC at OU and USC.

If they’re no going to fire him, do this. Have someone else run the defense and see what kind of result we get. Why wait to see if Odom could possibly be our future DC if you can get a taste to see if he can handle the position.

TheColonyEagle · October 26

5 hours ago, MeanGreenMat said:

Who would improve the defense? Has firing anybody at your job ever helped you do your job and the other guys job for 3-6 months better? I rather get the most out of a bad situation. Caponi can do the admin work on recruiting, approve job reacquisitions at UNT, and continue to ensure our players are sticking to the regimen (class, training, diet).

It sends a message to the team that we have a standard and if you don’t meet that standard you get replaced.

Edited October 27 by TheColonyEagle