DRC Tulsa coaches have ties to NT

[OldTimer]

Football: Tulsa coaches have ties to UNT

09:04 AM CDT on Friday, September 16, 2005

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

When it comes to recent North Texas football history, the 1994 campaign has gradually slipped down the list of highlights for the Mean Green.

UNT has won four straight Sun Belt Conference titles and knocked off Cincinnati in the 2002 New Orleans Bowl.

Saturday’s game against Tulsa at Fouts Field will serve as a reminder of the turning point that championship season represented.

The Golden Hurricane’s head coach Steve Kragthorpe and assistants Spencer Leftwich and Bob Schultz were all members of UNT’s staff in 1994 when the Mean Green finished 7-4-1 and won the Southland Conference title.

“There is no question my time at North Texas was an important part of my career,” Kragthorpe said. “Mitch Maher was one of the best quarterbacks I have ever coached and the 1994 team was one of the best I have been with in terms of chemistry.”

UNT narrowly missed knocking off Oklahoma State that season and advanced to the Division I-AA playoffs before falling to Boise State in the first round. Along the way, Maher rewrote the UNT record book while throwing for a school record 3,103 yards.

The success UNT enjoyed that season helped pave the Mean Green’s return to Division I-A after 12 years in the Southland Conference.

Kragthorpe and Schultz left their jobs as UNT’s offensive coordinator and wide receivers/tight ends coach, respectively, shortly after the 1994 season. Leftwich stayed for nine years as UNT’s offensive line coach and became a key part of the staff that helped UNT through a rough first few seasons in Division I-A.

UNT posted six straight losing seasons before turning the corner under head coach Darrell Dickey in 2001. The Mean Green finished 5-7 that year, but won its first Sun Belt title.

A year later, UNT knocked off Cincinnati for its first bowl win since 1946.

“To think that I was a part of the first game back in Division I-A and beating Cincinnati in the New Orleans Bowl is special,” Leftwich said. “That is why I have such good memories of UNT.”

Those memories are ones Leftwich shares with several current members of the UNT staff. Defensive ends/special teams coach Eric Russell was also a member of the Mean Green’s staff during the 1994 season.

Dickey retained both Russell and Leftwich after he took over for former head coach Matt Simon in 1998.

“When a coaching change happens, you don’t think that you will be retained,” Leftwich said. “Coach Dickey was very good to me and my family and kept me in the same job. I have nothing but respect for him.”

Defensive coordinator Kenny Evans, offensive coordinator Ramon Flanigan, defensive tackles coach Mike Bugar, running backs coach Bruce Bell and wide receivers coach Rick Gailey are among the assistants on UNT’s staff who arrived during the Dickey era and worked with Leftwich.

Leftwich stayed through the 2002 season before leaving to reunite with Kragthorpe at Tulsa, a decision he said was based on his desire for a change.

Even though he has moved on, Leftwich maintains a close friendship with several UNT coaches.

“I coached right beside Spencer when I first came here as the tight ends coach,” Evans said. “He is a good coach, which is evident in the things they are doing at Tulsa. He is a great Xs and Os coach who relates well to players and is a good recruiter.”

No one knows that better than UNT junior wide receiver Johnny Quinn.

“Spencer recruited me and came to my house for my in-home visit,” Quinn said. “He knows all of the older guys personally. It will be fun to see him again.”

UNT’s coaching staff does not have as many ties to Kragthorpe and Schultz, who left before Dickey’s arrival.

Dickey has never worked with Kragthorpe, but has followed his career and expects a tough game from Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane was locked in a close game with Oklahoma before falling 31-15 last week.

The coaches on both sides said there would be more friendly banter than normal before Saturday’s game because of high number of ties the staffs share.

Those jokes will close at the kickoff when both teams will be looking for a win in a game that could help vault one team to a season to rival the milestone year UNT enjoyed in 1994.

“Before the game, we will all shake hands and say hello,” Dickey said. “For the next four hours, we will try to whip each other. When it’s over, we will all go back to our friendships.”

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.