DD Contract

GrandGreen · October 25, 2006

Below is a copy of contract recommendation approved in Feb., 2004. I have seen no evidence of any amendments after this approval. Note the contract is retroactive back to Feb., 2003. I assume the buyout clause mentioned is for DD to buy out of the contract if he wants to go elsewhere. Based on this data, NT would owe DD a maximun in salary of $386,000 for 2007 and 2008. Not sure if the annuity or car allowance would apply in a termination situation, but assumming they would that would add another $52,000 for a total of approximately $438,000. Obviously, there should be a good opportunity to negotiate the amount to significantly less.

A large amount for NT but it could be cheap for a jump start for a downward spiraling program.

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Committee: Role and Scope __Subject: CONFIRMATION OF HEAD FOOTBALL COACHDate Filed: May 8, 2003CONTRACT______________________________________________________________________________Background:Coach Dickey has been the two-time ‘Coach of the Year’ in the Sun Belt Conference and hasdeveloped two of the last three ‘Offensive or Defensive Players of the Year’ in the Conference. Under Coach Dickey’s leadership, UNT won their first bowl game in over 50 years. The retention rate for players is up, as documented through larger senior classes. ______________________________________________________________________________ Financial Analysis/History:Under this contract, Coach Dickey’s base salary will go to $155,000 with additional 5% raises each year. Coach Dickey will also receive a $20,000 annuity at the completion of each season and a car allowance of $6,000 annually. During the term of the contract and through totalincentives Coach Dickey’s compensation package can vary from $180,000 to just over $400,000 based on a variety of performance factors. Also included in the contract are buyout provisions ranging from $250,000 to a percentage of salary based on the time of the buyout should it occur. Vice Chancellor for Finance ______________________________________________________________________________ Legal Review: This contract has been reviewed and approved by the UNT legal offices. Vice Chancellor/General Counsel ______________________________________________________________________________ Schedule:This contract will take effect on February 1, 2003. ______________________________________________________________________________ Recommendation:Ratify the contract extension negotiated by the President and Athletic Director with Coach Darrell Dickey through December 31, 2008, and other terms and conditions acceptable to the parties, as generally described. Recommended by President Chancellor ________________________ DateDateBoard Briefing

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content.

Edited October 25, 2006 by GrandGreen

bigrobdsp · October 25, 2006

why would he negotiate for less? I know it is common among those who dont want to leave a bad taste in everyones mouth, but getting fired from NT effectivley would end his coaching carrer in 1-A. Unless he is stupid he wont step down for anything less than the full contract amount. that and I think that any money is more than we will spend to buy him out. that and they dont want to fire him. that and I am awsome.

Edited October 25, 2006 by bigrobdsp

GrandGreen · October 25, 2006

why would he negotiate for less? I know it is common among those who dont want to leave a bad taste in everyones mouth, but getting fired from NT effectivley would end his coaching carrer in 1-A. Unless he is stupid he wont step down for anything less than the full contract amount. that and I think that any money is more than we will spend to buy him out. that and they dont want to fire him. that and I am awsome.
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You may be awsome but you are also wrong. DD obviously won't step down for less money but that may not be his option. His option very well could be to take another assignment or negotiate. What could end his coaching career is to stay for two years with some b.s. job at NT outside of coaching. I think DD deserves a reasonable settlement, and there are advantages to getting bought out. Number one it allows you to get your money and pursue other goals and not be stuck in a painful and deadend job.

Edited October 25, 2006 by GrandGreen

Got5onIt · October 25, 2006

and not be stuck in a painful and deadend job.
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Hasn't DD felt this way since he's been at NT?

FirefightnRick · October 25, 2006

Thank you GG. This was close to about what I had guessed it was.

Rick

bigrobdsp · October 25, 2006

You may be awsome, and great looking, and smarter than the rest of us
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as long as you are willing to admit that.

PlummMeanGreen · October 25, 2006

Half the problem for us will be creating a vacancy for our head football coaches position, but what might arguably be the most important hire in Mean Green football history will hopefully turn out to be a crowd-pleaser; that is, pleasing to the largest majority of the UNT community since we know all of our people aren't going to be happy all the time. Whoever can raise our "Phoenix off the desert floor" and turn MG football into (at least) an annual Top 40 football program (and some Top 25 appearances as well) will be more than worth whatever UNT officials can come up with to pay such a coach AND.................

...............there are very many creative ways budget-wise from within our campus to come up with such extra monies if only our officials will merely decide to get creative with this projected upcoming new hire.

IMPACT COACH? GET OUTTA' HERE! We all saw what kind of impact player Super Jamario Thomas was his true freshman year (with a better offensive line in front of him back then, of course, right)? Well, at a school like NORTH TEXAS where our getting any regular semblance of statewide attention (among 9 other D1-A schools in the Lone Star State) has been difficult over the long haul. PLUS....... our getting such attention from regional sports media-types that we should know by now you cannot fool with disguised success. No matter how they made their criteria, the Texas Bowl officials still could have included a 10'th Lone Star State-based UNT in their pool of Texas schools and no one can sugar-coat this to make many of us feel different about that situation, either.

But for UNT to garner the kind of recognition a school our size and alumnus constituency deserves just has not always been an easy feat for us to attain in Mean Green Country the last 25 years (and, once again, any NT football media guide will substantiate most of the reasons why).

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Quick Poll & All You Non-UNT'ers Registered on GMG.com Can't Vote On This One, OK?

If UNT could copy UTEP & hire a head football coach who would have our present sophmore class ranked in the Top 25 in his 2'nd year in Denton, would you as an NT Ex and MG fan go for such a hire or...........

.............do you prefer the 4, 5 or 9 year plan with an "unknown commodity/project type coach" and then with our pretty well staying toward the bottom of NCAA D1-A as compared to most all the other D1-A conferences?

OK, so this is really not a poll at all and probably a bit of a loaded question of which I'm sure we all know how most of our UNT community would vote with such a question, but WHY NOT GO FOR THE GUSTO COUPLED WITH HIGHER AMBITIONS? UTEP & IDAHO SURELY DID.

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Of course, we of UNT have more than done our part in keeping things a tad low profile in Denton during an era (the past 25 years?) of which NCAA D1-A made its most dramatic and biggest growth (while we of UNT vascillated from one coach to another). Remember the Dallas Morning News feature on how much all of Texas' NCAA D1-A schools were spending in the "arms race" and how embarrassingly low ours was in that article? Won't a new NCAA D1-A sized football stadium in Denton, Texas, America, make up for much lost time and lost revenue in the long term?

BUT THIS TIME AROUND @ UNT..............we MUST do whatever it takes to come up with the best impact coach availabe out there; and this time around, folks, we just cannot afford to hire another unknown commodity or "project coach" where it takes at least 4 years to get MG football back in the above .500 column (it was in DD's 5'th season at UNT that we finally got above .500)..........IMHO, we need such a impact coaches hire at UNT and one who will arrive in Denton on a dead run with his not looking back until he has pulled off (in 5 or 6 or more years) such a quality football program (a la Fry) because of his MG football teams having many impressive high profile and significant (OOC?) wins whereas Big 10 or Big 12 schools would want to come to Denton, Texas, America, to see what in the heck all the commotion was all about.

AFTER ALL, GOOD COACHES DO COME AND GO, RIGHT? Some of you young gun alums might get frustrated thinking how we might eventually lose a real good future MG head football coach to a higher profile school one day but........such is the reality of a football program's co-existance in the non-BCS and with even among many BCS football schools for that matter.

NOTE: Anyone think Baylor's head football coach will stay in Waco for long if he has success with the Bear football program? Even TCU couldn't get Dennis Francione to stay in Fort Worth with a $1,000,000 per year contract waiting on the table for him to sign---he boogied off to Alabama instead.

Edited October 25, 2006 by PlummMeanGreen

greenjoe · October 25, 2006

Is there a graceful, non-embarassing way for DD to leave NT if, say for example, his health was the reason he had to leave ?

PlummMeanGreen · October 26, 2006

Is there a graceful, non-embarassing way for DD to leave NT if, say for example, his health was the reason he had to leave ?
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If DD leaves before his contract is out, he will still leave with a very nice chunk of change in his pockets.

It might end up being a bitter/sweet scenario for DD, but many out here in the non-sports (maybe a bit more realistic day to day world) have left jobs with far le$$ severance pay as DD would have at UNT and thats for damn sure.

With DD's heart situation, the timing of all this if it happens sooner than later may turn out to be almost perfect for him and his entire family.