Dicky Buyout And Replacement

[Cerebus]

and less paycheck games like Kansas State, Texas, and Alabama.

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Our season ticket base and MGC base is just not sufficent right now to cut those games.

You have to remember that the football team not only pays all the bills for itself, but pretty much every scholarship sport on campus.

[untbowler]

funny you mention all those teams because we have lost to everyone of them the last time we played them, with the exception that Baylor got wallopped by us 2 years ago.

[rcade]

Hire a nationally recognized and proven successful coach. It will cost a lot of money. Let's raise it.

I'd rather see that money be spent on world-class athletic facilities and a world-class stadium. Those would make a bigger long-term impact on UNT football than replacing a coach with the current record for consecutive conference wins in the NCAA.

[rcade]

funny you mention all those teams because we have lost to everyone of them the last time we played them, with the exception that Baylor got wallopped by us 2 years ago.

True, but we had a realistic chance of beating them -- hence the level of fan disappointment when we got stomped.

[rcade]

I am really really tired of people just complaining and venting and doing nothing to try and improve what they seem to think is a bad situation.

Amen, brother.

Is there a way you could add something to each post's member info section that shows a user's level of membership in the Mean Green Club? I think putting dollars into that club would be considerably more productive than starting private fundraising efforts and demanding Dickey's head. I've been too cheap to support it myself, but as a 15-year fan and alumnus, I need to put up or shut up.

[Got5onIt]

I'm shocked and can't believe some of the complacency shown by die hard MG fans.

Dickey has done alot for this school, I'll give him that, but the OOC record speaks for itself.

Everyone points to the SBC championship and the 4 NO Bowls. What good has that done so far, really? Think about it, NT is/was getting national recognition but how does it help when the Mean Green get plastered all over the field in key OOC matchups. We're not talking about OU & UT here. We're talking a KSt, Tulsa, Colorado, Baylor, etc.

Most schools lose players then fill in and keep on moving. This team has lost players, filled them in, then have taken a HUGE step back. Where is the recruiting result these SBC championships are supposed to bring?

I don't expect NT to win these games....YET.

But I do expect this team to have teh ability to COMPETE.

[PlummMeanGreen]

I'm shocked and can't believe some of the complacency shown by die hard MG fans.

Dickey has done alot for this school, I'll give him that, but the OOC record speaks for itself.

Everyone points to the SBC championship and the 4 NO Bowls. What good has that done so far, really? Think about it, NT is/was getting national recognition but how does it help when the Mean Green get plastered all over the field in key OOC matchups. We're not talking about OU & UT here. We're talking a KSt, Tulsa, Colorado, Baylor, etc.

Most schools lose players then fill in and keep on moving. This team has lost players, filled them in, then have taken a HUGE step back. Where is the recruiting result  these SBC championships are supposed to bring?

I don't expect NT to win these games....YET.

But I do expect this team to have teh ability to COMPETE.

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I am not sure complacency is the word for it, Got5onIt, its just that the reality of this is that if DD were ever going to be fired at NT, it would have been after our ULM loss 5 years ago. NT BOR chairman Bobby Ray will be the determiner of the future of Coach Dickey (as he was in Monroe 5 years ago) and I feel Mr. Ray really wants to see what Coach Dickey can do when he is finally on an even playing field (facility-wise) with of all the schools that we feel we should be beating in OOC play on a regular basis.

As a fan, I am more interested in how our NT coaches and football team respond to all the adversity they have faced on the field of play than all this other stuff on GMG.com that is not going to do anything except give a whole lot of of this forum's membership some pretty good keystroke practice.

[GoMeanGreen1999]

Just how long will it take for us to get facilities up to date so that we can "compete"?

[retroeppy]

We just need to start scheduling 1-AA teams in Non conference games like Tech and A@M do. We could play SFA and Abilene Christian like the old days.

[KAjunRaider]

First, of all, I am wondering how much the buyout clause is on Dicky's contract?

Secondly, what kind of head coach and staff are we looking for?  I believe we need a staff that will get off their cans and start recruiting solid divison one prospects.  Recruiting to compete against the Sunbelt does not cut it anymore.  Just winning in the Sunbelt does not cut it anymore.

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Whenever ya'll are ready to kick Dickey to the curb, send him our way.

4 straight SBC titles should give him some leeway, I would think, even with the OOC losses. Hell, ya'll may win it again this season.

If we at MT would have had the success that ya'll have had, our coach could go 0-11 and most of us would let him slide.

[risinggreen]

The team is young and has no offensive imagination. Is this DD's fault? I don't know. But the buck stops at DD's desk, and if he cannot find an OC that can get the job done, then a change has to be made somewhere. It's hard to blame it all on the QB/OL positions. Every team that we play is watching the S. Miss. tape and emulating their defense. We have WAY too much talent on offense for this inability to score to continue. Is a San Marcos team that played the aggies very close that much better than we are? THIS HAS GOT TO STOP!

[SilverEagle]

Let's see if I have this right.....we are discussing getting rid of the only coach in the history of North Texas to win four straight conference championships. 

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And to put this into perspective, (just like Anthony Michael Hall in the movie "Sixteen Candles") that makes us "King of the Dip$hits".

[eulesseagle]

Chomp,

  thank you for arguing my point better than I did

I like DD (I am not pleased with the OOC results), I have seen real improvement since he was hired.  However, is a coach that was nearly guaranteed to have even more success showed intrest in North Texas....

However, lets look at the past UNT coaches:

*Matt Simon? Never won more than 3 1a games in a year. 

*Dennis Parker? Never had a winning season in 1aa.

*Corky Nelson?  Won 2, 8, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 5, and 6 games.  Never won a post season game.

*Bob Tyler?  Ouch.

*Jerry Moore? No.

*Hayden Frye: YES!

But lets face the facts here, Frye last coached here ***27*** years ago.

1.  Frye == From SMU: took over a delapidated program and did very well with what he had.  Hindsight:  We should have never got out of the MVC (Missouri Valley Conference...which went to the Metro Conference then CUSA.).

2.  Moore==From Nebraska:  Never recruited and used NTSU as a stepping stone.

3.  Tyler== From??(forget):  Not much to work with because of Moore.

4.  Nelson==: From??(forget):  Took a delapidated program that was relegated back to D-1AA and rebuilt it into a consistant contender in D-1AA.  AND YES....NELSON DID WIN POST SEASON GAMES IN D-1AA SEVERAL TIMES!!!!!!!!!

5. Parker==From the H.S. ranks in East Texas:  A winning H.S. Coach in East Texas that was not given a "fair shot" in the college ranks.

6.  Simon==From U. of Washington:  UNT wanted a major college coach to come in and take us to the "promise land."  He could not recruit, caused turmoil amongt the team, played favorites, ran off a couple of players.  In my humble opinion just a poor selection by the BOR who kept him as coach 2-3 years too long.

7.  DD==From SMU:  REBUILT THE UNT PROGRAM, RECRUITS VERY WELL, 4 SBC CHAMPIONSHIPS, GREAT RAPORT AMONG THE PLAYERS AND STAFF, AND WE ARE THE DOMINATE POWER IN SBC (a mid-major conference). 

Now,  your question is can we get another coach???????

1.  What major big time coach are you going to get for $200,000 per year when just about all the major BCS schools are paying their coaches around $750,000 to over $1,000,000 per year????????????????????????

2.  Do you really think UNT is able to offer a coach a $750,000 - $1,000,000 contract???????????????

3.  What alumni base dose UNT have to give them the major $$$$$$ like Texas, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Michigan, USC, Alabama, ect ect ect ??????

4.  UNT has to make due with what we have and that is not alot compared to many other D-1 institutions.

5.  Do you think DD would like to take that "next step" into the BCS and earn $1,000,000/year?????????

6.  The only way DD can do that is WIN and that he has done.......I would imagine he is just a frustrated in his OOC record as everyone else!!!!!

7.  Cerebus, I respect everyone's opion on this board but you and others who want to see DD gone only have SHORT term solutions to a LONG term commitment. 

8.  By your own subliminal admission DD has done a GREAT job for UNT and I think if the disenters take a long look at the facts of UNT athletics they would agree. 

9.  We have got to keep DD and support him all the way.  He is not going to let us down and believe me he is trying!!!!

If we get rid of DD, how long till we can find a coach that can be as successful?  27 Years? 13? 8?  Any of those and the program will be in real trouble.

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[eulesseagle]

i messed up on the quote stuff and got it all in one box....sorry....it was the first time i tried to use it......

[chomp]

As I said earlier, change does not necessarily equal improvement. Sometimes change is just change. If Dickey is fired this year, who in their right mind would take this job? If you want to fire Dickey and improve the program, UNT needs to not only raise the bar by saying just winning the SBC is not enough (something easy to do) but also raise the resources available to a coach to achieve those goals. That means fan support and interest, continued improvement in facilities, better resources for athletes, etc. If you want a new coach, UNT needs to make those potential coaches out there look at the program and say "this program could be so much better".

I'll give you two examples of what I am talking about. Nebraska fired Frank Solich after a 9 win season because expectations were that 9 wins were not enough. They struggled to find a replacement for him because firing Solich seemed to make so little sense. Expectations exceeded reality. They wound up with Callahan and failed to even make a bowl last year. My alma mater, Florida, fired Ron Zook last year. All sorts of talking heads said that it was unfair, it was a poor decision. Florida, however, had no trouble attracting a top coach because although expectations are very high (sometimes unreasonably high) but potential coaches could also look at the strengths of the Florida program and say "this program could be so much better".

I am not saying UNT needs to become Florida, but if fans would turn out for home gains and better support the program both financially and emotionally, it would be much more reasonable to raise expectations. I have to say, one of the most surprising things to me since I joined the faculty here at UNT is that there seems to be virtually no difference on campus between weeks in which there is a home football game and weeks in which there is no game. It is really hard to see that campus buzz that is so vital in getting students to turn out for games and to get them to want to come back and contribute as alumni.

[PlummMeanGreen]

Whenever ya'll are ready to kick Dickey to the curb, send him our way.

4 straight SBC titles should give him some leeway, I would think, even with the OOC losses. Hell, ya'll may win it again this season.

If we at MT would have had the success that ya'll have had, our coach could go 0-11 and most of us would let him slide.

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KAjunRaider, we have a whole lot of free advice and opinions on GMG.com from people who have never give a dime to the Mean Green Club (or even to the academic department of their majors) or even from some who have never bought a football season ticket. Of course, there are many on this board who have, but this board is getting a very bad reputation as a board that is expertise with "knee jerk" reactions based on short term events. KAjunRaider, this group long forgot about 4 bowl games in a row (of which many from that group were fortunate to attend and were "Super" DD supporters and his buddy in the Big Easy).

IMHO, this is what NT should focus on:

(1) With 4 bowl games in a row, our head football coach and his assistants should be be highest paid coaches in the SBC (and over some schools in CUSA who will never go to a bowl game in our lifetimes). Again, a prime example of NT being penny-ante along with some of its fans who have been that way forever even with all these "free" opinons on trying to can DD, ie, burn the barn down to kill the mouse?

(2) Lets finish off our those 200 acres at Eagle Point Campus which (BTW) is not so much a luxury or even getting our program light years ahead of any D1-A athletic program, but rather is NT catching up with other SBC schools (for crissakes') in football related facilities. When finished, though, we do pass many, many schools in the non BCS and a handful in the BCS.

(3) Lets support the Mean Green football team while their down. Lets not kick them in the groin while their down. Some on this board are showing some very weak character flaws with their unbelievable propensity for this non-stop jump on/jump off the bandwagon reactions based on short term events (like even the last 2 weeks could be called). Compare the last 2 weeks events to the last 4 years for those who have already forgotten those last 4 years.

(4) Lets all go outside the box in this down time and show up for a Tuesday night nationally televised game at Fouts instead of playing Super-Duper Negative Ned forecasting how many won't be at this game. Anyone else think this young football team may begin to mesh just like that storied NT football team finally did against MTSU back in 2001 at Fouts Field?

Game Days are now an event at NT no matter what the scoreboard says at the end of the football game. Let it be a time for food and fellowship among fellow like-minded NT alums/Mean Green fans if for nothing else. We don't need empty seats at Fouts Field for Troy U, folks, unless you want all those Texas & Oklahoma HS football recruits (and their coaches) who'll be watching this game to really "X" us off their list for: Poor Fan Support?

KAjunRaider, DFW Metroplex sports fans want it all and many want it all for free and when they get pissed over short-term events such as 2 losses in 2 weeks, all they contribute is free (negative) opinions and threats to take away their already non-financial support to NT ; and all this while our NT assistant football coaches are still not even the highest paid in the SBC. So as an outsider, you tell me what NT fans could do to help raise assistant coaches salaries? We lost other NT assistants who helped us recruit a bowl winning team and some of them merely over a few bucks. Most of them really don't won't to leave Denton, but they are forced to because of lack of money in their home budgets.

In no way am I happy with the last 2 weeks events and score differentials, but lets give this young football team (3'rd youngest in the NCAA according to the MGRN) some time to develop instead of wanting to shuck it all and start from scratch after 2 losses.

What will impress NT's potential Big Donor types out there more than anything is how NT alums/fans support their football team when things are in its down cycle and didn't even Tulsa U have their own down cycle last Fall?

Most of the Big Donor types out there became successful because they learned from their own businesses' down times, took the info from such a time and then solved their problems as to take their business to the top.

Some of you want to give NT Chancellor Lee Jackson some fodder for him to not be impressed with NT athletics, then don't show up for the Troy U game and he will probably have you just where he wants you; that is, right in his back pockets.

GMG!

Edited September 25, 2005 by PlummMeanGreen

[eulesseagle]

Chomp----

you make a good point BUT fail to address:

1. Would not firing DD after 4 SBC Championships look stupid amongst ALL college level programs including D-3 schools????????

2. What major D-1 coach are you going to get for $200,000 per year????

3. Solich was a product of Alumi pressure just like Wilingham at N.D. These programs have TONS of $$$$ from alums.....UNT may get in 10-15 years what these programs get in 1 year!!! There is no comparison!!!

4. Be patient....DD will get us to the next level.....besides he has done more at UNT than any other coach.

[El Paso Eagle]

A couple of comments –

First, no other coach has had the advantage to be a part of the Sun Belt. To give DD his credit he has been very successful when it comes to Sun Belt games. The problem is, for those of us who do not wear green colored is that the OOC record has for most negated any Sun Belt success.

Second, to pay the coaches more we need to get people in the stands. The fact is that UNT, at this time, does not have a core base large enough to allow us to average 25K to 30K. We can keep blaming each other for the lack of fan in the stands but the reality is that the Athletic Department at North Texas has to do something different to get “new” fan into the seats. The question to ask is does our AD and our Head Coach have what it takes to be fan friendly?

[MootPoint]

If Dickey is fired this year, who in their right mind would take this job? 

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I know of some pretty good HS coaches that would jump at an opportunity. . . .

[Zeke]

I know of some pretty good HS coaches that would jump at an opportunity. . . .

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Yeah sure Moot.......but Coach IronMan already took a position.

[Got5onIt]

And to put this into perspective, (just like Anthony Michael Hall in the movie "Sixteen Candles") that makes us "King of the Dip$hits".

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LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My take on coaches....( Hypothetically speaking, of course. )

How about looking at an OC from a mid major school that's had success? Schools like Bowling Green(where Urban Meyer has some assistants remaining), the OC from Boise St.?

Edited September 27, 2005 by Got5onIt

[NTEagle08]

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    

My take on coaches....( Hypothetically speaking, of course.   )

How about looking at an OC from a mid major school that's had success? Schools like Bowling Green(where Urban Meyer has some assistants remaining), the OC from Boise St.?

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That's what I was thinking as well, those two have to be looking for a opportunity to become a head coach at the D-IA level. Both run a very exciting offense, that win or lose, could rejuvinate interest in our football program further than it is now.

[Guest Aquila_Viridis]

We should be trying to raise the money to look at the HEAD coaches of those type schools as well as some of the assistants. Anything less will not get us any farther.

[GreenBat]

We should be trying to raise the money to look at the HEAD coaches of those type schools as well as some of the assistants. Anything less will not get us any farther.

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Join the Mean Green Club or double or triple your donation. Progress cost money!!!

[MootPoint]

Yeah sure Moot.......but Coach IronMan already took a position. 

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