Tim MacMahon wants Todd Dodge at UNT

[GoMeanGreen1999]

I am not exactly sure how he would do as a head coach here at UNT, though I do think he would have an easier transition to the collegiate level here at UNT than he would at a bigger school. I would just as soon have a guy who has proven himself that has good repore with high school coaches, than a just above average coordinator.

[bigslim79]

Normally, I'd agree... but I also thought (and heard) we couldn't afford to cut ties with DD.

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Although Todd Dodge might be a good choice to fill the stands. I think UNT should look back to Coaches who are products of Hayden Fry. First Choice is Bruce Chambers the wide reciever Coach at UT. Bruce played for UNT under Head Coach Fry in the seventies - 1980. He has been with University of Texas as the receiver Coach for many years.

2nd Choice is Nelson Barns he was a Nose Guard at UNT under Coach Fry. Nelson helped turn around Kansas St. defesive line. He also Coached at University of Texas defensive line back in the 90's. He also Coached at Nebraska.

Take a look at the students of the game that Coach Fry produced. Example Bob Stoops at Oklahoma.

[UNTFan23]

Everyone is saying Dodge won't come here because he has his eye on a B©S program. Problem is, I doubt he'll go straight from being a head coach of a high school program to the head coach of even a small B©S program. I just can't see anyone taking that much of a risk. A smaller program is gonna have to take a risk for Dodge to prove he is what is at the college level, so why don't we step up to the plate and make him an offer he can't refuse? At this point, we have nothing to lose and everything in the world of football to gain.

Another thing, if Dodge wants to coach his kid at the college level, he's going to need to start his college career before his kid. He would be able to stay exactly where he is now (South Lake) and easily recruit his kid into our program. There is no way I could see any program hiring him and recruiting his son at the same time is even remotely plausible.

[Monkeypox]

Although Todd Dodge might be a good choice to fill the stands. I think UNT should look back to Coaches who are products of Hayden Fry. First Choice is Bruce Chambers the wide reciever Coach at UT. Bruce played for UNT under Head Coach Fry in the seventies - 1980. He has been with University of Texas as the receiver Coach for many years.

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I've been pointing to Chambers as well. See the coaches thread.

Edited November 9, 2006 by Monkeypox

[greensteve]

With all due respect...there aint enough money in Denton to hire "ANY" OC/DC from an SEC school. Look at the Head Coaching at NT: It is not a desirable position, it could be, but at this time its not. Hell, Dickey could'nt even get a better job after winning 4 conf titles. Unfortunately this job is perceived as a Dead End job. And as for Todd Dodge, why would he leave Carroll a year before his son graduates...he will have 20 NT like programs knocking on his doorstep...I fully expect Dodge to end up as a coach on the OU staff by spring of 08. This job comes down to money...who will we get for $250,000?, or will we raise the stake...if we are only going to offer that amount of money, we may need to look at an older coach who may/may not have gotten in to some trouble int here past or had was in a bad previous situation. I dont have any names to throw out, but it will be fun to watch the ridiculous dreams of landing Newheisel (sp?), Fry, Greene, and all the other long shots...I have mixed emotions about the removal of DD, and may can point to his OOC record or last season and this season, but the truth his he delivered 4 consecutive championships to a school (at that time) was best known for the music dept (no offense to music people). He had little to know funding, and got to watch his teams get the shit kicked out of them for the first few games of every year in order to fund the athletic program. So, I will reserve the right to make judgement on if this move was good or bad...because we dont know which direction we will go.

Have fun naming all the "NEW COACHES"...I cant wait to see what you come up with!

[GMoney]

QUOTE(meanrob @ Nov 8 2006, 08:17 PM)

Briles coached at Tech for a couple of years before being hired by UH.

I know Dodge coached at UNT for a couple of years under Matt Simon. Has he had any other college coaching gigs before or since his days at NT?

I'd sure like to give Dodge a try. The guy knows football and is one of the top rated HS coaches in America. SBC level competition would be a perfect stepping stone for him even if he does end up at a BCS program in a couple of years.

NT needs a buzz, and Dodge could do it.

A high school coach is bad move.  Its real easy to coach in a single school district (South Lake, Duncanville, Judson, Highland Park etc) with a big budget (top 10 richest school district win a majority of the UIL awards).

Dodge was a pretty successful coach at Carrollton Newman Smith (which is not a big budget, single school district program) before he took over at Southlake Carroll.

The guy is an offensive guru. He has college coaching experience (at UNT!). He has a name that would be recognized in every high school in the state. He has produced maybe the most dominant dynasty in high school football history. He is the cure for what ails us.

Let me correct a few facts here with Dodge and give a little additional information. Dodge was under Dennis Parker for his two years NT. This was in 92 and 93. The offense in 92 was good in 93 it was great and averaged around 28 points per game. The problem was our defensive front that year and we couldn't stop the run of which Dodge had nothing to do with.

Dodge's best season at Newman Smith was 5 and 5 and the reason he left was because of the opening of Creekview and he knew his talent pool was going to be cut in half. This is exactly what happened.

I don't know if Dodge is the guy or not. I'm not endorsing him and saying no because he's a high school coach. However, what I have been told by those who know him better than I do is that he would consider an offer to move even though Riley is still in high school. I did say consider not definitely take. It would probably depend on the overall deal. My only worry about Dodge will be the relationships he has with other coaches especially in the area and how that might hurt recruiting. I've heard that he is not the best liked (maybe jealousy) maybe due to running up the score, but it is something that must be considered in recruiting the area.

IMHO I think he should be looked at but I really want to see what Coaches out there throw their name into the hat. Let's see who is really interested in the job, look at the credentials and make this a truly thorough and even national search. I want to know a coach's philosophy, his background in recruiting, his energy and if his personality is contagious and is he personable. Finally, and most important that he will go into every game with the mind set that we will win not just keep it close.

[foutsrouts]

Bring him on! What better place for a high school coach with great potential to start his D1 career than at a school with the worst offense in America? As long as we can hook him up with some good experienced coordinators, he and his offensive mind are just what we need in Denton. I just hope we can find a way to entice him.

[ADLER]

Nelson Barns: he was a Nose Guard at UNT under Coach Fry. Nelson helped turn around Kansas St. defesive line. He also Coached at University of Texas defensive line back in the 90's. He also Coached at Nebraska.

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I would love to see Nelson Barnes hired as our defensive coordinator. The man coaches with an enthusiasm and intensity that hasn't been seen in Denton for many seasons. Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe his players always respected him and excelled under his guidance.

North Texas alumnus Nelson Barnes

[Cr1028]

Bring him on! What better place for a high school coach with great potential to start his D1 career than at a school with the worst offense in America? As long as we can hook him up with some good experienced coordinators, he and his offensive mind are just what we need in Denton. I just hope we can find a way to entice him.

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Besides, quite a few people said that SLC would beat us this season.

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

Tell that to Houston, who hired an entire high school staff; and is reaping huge rewards from the risk.

Remember, this is all a risk/reward thing.  The safe move will be a coordinator somewhere.  Everything else is gonna require some risk; and a 12 pounder.

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The Houston coach Briles had spent a couple of years at Texas Tech first.... Spike Dykes at Tech had been a college assistant only one season I think before being made head coach.. He had been at Midland Lee for several years.

There are a few high school coaches that could succeed but not many. Dodge might be one of them, he has some college level coaching.

Edited November 9, 2006 by SCREAMING EAGLE-66

[FirefightnRick]

With all due respect...there aint enough money in Denton to hire "ANY" OC/DC from an SEC school.  Look at the Head Coaching at NT:  It is not a desirable position, it could be, but at this time its not.  Hell, Dickey could'nt even get a better job after winning 4 conf titles.  Unfortunately this job is perceived as a Dead End job.   And as for Todd Dodge, why would he leave Carroll a year before his son graduates...he will have 20 NT like programs knocking on his doorstep...I fully expect Dodge to end up as a coach on the OU staff by spring of 08.  This job comes down to money...who will we get for $250,000?, or will we raise the stake...if we are only going to offer that amount of money, we may need to look at an older coach who may/may not have gotten in to some trouble int here past or had was in a bad previous situation.  I dont have any names to throw out, but it will be fun to watch the ridiculous dreams of landing Newheisel (sp?), Fry, Greene, and all the other long shots...I have mixed emotions about the removal of DD, and may can point to his OOC record or last season and this season, but the truth his he delivered 4 consecutive championships to a school (at that time) was best known for the music dept (no offense to music people).  He had little to know funding, and got to watch his teams get the shit kicked out of them for the first few games of every year in order to fund the athletic program.  So, I will reserve the right to make judgement on if this move was good or bad...because we dont know which direction we will go.

Have fun naming all the "NEW COACHES"...I cant wait to see what you come up with!

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Dead end job? Say's who? Darrell Dickey, that's who. And is North Texas the only team in the country that has had to play money games to pay the bills? No. But you would have thought so by hearing DD's disgruntling from the very beginning here in '98, and it never stopped from there on.

Just like every year, last year he squalled like a pig in a fence over the fact that RV rescheduled the LSU game. Where in hell did he think his salary came from? But unlike going about it like Troy did a couple of years ago, which was looking at it as an opportunity for a win win situation in that it paid the bills, plus was an opportunity to shock the nation, which they damn near did(Troy lost 24-20), DD instead bitched and moaned about it and went down there with the usual in mind, run the clock and punt. I guess your right in one part though, he "WATCHED" his teams get the shit kicked out of them, that's for sure.

Damn I worry about some of y'all?

Rick

Edited November 9, 2006 by FirefightnRick

[Cr1028]

I found this while scouring the internet. He might come here just so his boy can play as an undersized QB.

Is Riley Dodge a college QB?

Scout.com's Jamie Newberg just said on FSN's halftime show that he sees Carroll QB Riley Dodge playing another position in college.

No doubt Dodge will be recruited as a receiver by many programs. But I wouldn't rule him out as a quarterback despite the fact that he doesn't have the prototypical QB size. He definitely has the smarts, accuracy and touch to do it.

I could see Dodge playing QB for a program like Utah or Missouri where they've had success with athletic QBs in spread offenses.

The wild card: Will his dad be one of the coaches recruiting him? Todd Dodge will seriously consider any Division I-A head coaching opportunities, especially if Carroll wins state again this season.

I'm just speculating here, but it'd make a lot of sense for SMU to woo Dodge if new AD Steve Orsini decides to can Phil Bennett. That's a hire that would create tremendous buzz for the Ponies, and I guarantee Dodge could recruit offensive players and score a lot of points in C-USA.

Riley Dodge might be able to start at QB for SMU right now.

Posted by Tim MacMahon at 9:21 PM (E-mail this entry) | Comments (1)

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

We could hire Shea Morenz or Mary Lou Retton's husband. They were Longhorn QBs, too. Think of how buzzed everyone would be about that.

[UNTSIG]

nobody is hiring Dodge! maybe it's because I don't live in the area anymore but i just do not understand this fascination with Todd Dodge that a lot of you have! maybe he is a great high school coach and has a good team but it's not like he is the only one in the country or the state for that matter. do any of you really think that hiring a high school coach would be a good idea? there have been hundreds if not thousands of coaches in the history of NCAA D1 football and i challenge you to find ONE situation where a coach coming straight out of high school has worked.

[SilverEagle]

Todd Dodge has had most of his success as the SLC coach. He has had total control of the system.

He has never had to recruit. People move to the SLC school district so that their children can get a great education as well as play in his system.

SLC's tradition of fan support (and winning) was in place years before Coach Dodge arrived, so he's never had to build fan support.

[Cowtown]

but again, it's not like he is straight out of HS. He was an OC at NT before he went to SLC.

I think Chambers would be a better hire, but Dodge would likely double the season Tix.

Straight outa High School, Crazy Head Coach called Todd Dodge...

[VideoEagle]

We’ve been there and done that with the high school coach with state championships!

Yes, Dodge has a tiny amount of college assistant experience. But, it was many years ago and under Dennis Parker, our failed high school coaching experiment.

[Cr1028]

but again, it's not like he is straight out of HS. He was an OC at NT before he went to SLC.

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back when we averaged more than 200 yards of total offense per game

[killough75]

From the Belo Blog...

Advice for the Mean Green

The North Texas football program has been in a steady decline since I left Denton, resulting in today's announcement that coach Darrell Dickey will not return. The Mean Green obviously misses me pointing the program in the right direction, so here I come to save the day.

Hire Todd Dodge away from Southlake Carroll.

Yes, hire a high school coach. So what if Dennis Parker didn't work out so well in the 1990s? Dodge, an ex-Texas QB whose team has lost once in the last five seasons, is an offensive whiz kid who would put points on the board and butts in the seats.

Dodge, whose hiring would create a huge buzz for UNT, would immediately make the Mean Green more attractive in the eyes of recruits. QBs and WRs will want to play for him. I think it's safe to say he'd have an inside track on the loaded junior class at Carroll, including his QB son, Riley.

A couple of dudes I've talked to shot my theory down by saying Dodge wouldn't want to go to UNT. He won't leave Carroll until Riley graduates, they figured. Hogwash, especially if they live their dream by going undefeated this season.

And money talks. UNT ought to be able to nearly triple Dodge's salary. It'd be a wise investment.

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[killough75]

Are you kidding me? Dodge is making $100,000 at Southlake, we are paying Dickey $200,000. It aint worth the headaches for him to switch for that.

[ipEAGLE]

Todd Dodge may be a great coach, but could he have done what he has done at SLC at some 3a middle class town. I think not. SLC is basically a collegiate program.

$$$$ CHA-CHING!!! $$$$

[Keith7]

Todd Dodge may be a great coach, but could he have done what he has done at SLC at some 3a middle class town.  I think not.  SLC is basically a collegiate program.

$$$$  CHA-CHING!!! $$$$

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whats so different about SLC?? its all about Dodge's program and the work ethic he provokes in his players.. There are hundreds of schools in Texas with the same average income and same size schools but havn't had half the sucsess Dodge has..

[VideoEagle]

whats so different about SLC?? its all about Dodge's program and the work ethic he provokes in his players.. There are hundreds of schools in Texas with the same average income and same size schools but havn't had half the sucsess Dodge has..

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SLC was a very, very good program before Dodge arrived. He and a lot of parents who wanted their kids to play at a winning program arrived at the same time. SLC will be a great program after Dodge is gone.

While he helped them get a bit better than they would have without him, they would have won many state championships no matter if he was the coach or not.

A co-worker has a grand kid who is all of 5. The kid went out for pee-wee football in Southlake. Fathers of the other kids all had on shirts that read "The tradition starts right here!" The same Dads were yelling at their 5 year olds for not hitting other kids hard enough. It is the people that have the kids - not necessarily the coach. The coach leads, but the others make it possible.

[ArkansasEagle]

Look at what Guz Malzhan has done for the University of Arkansas! After being at nationally ranked Springdale High School, he is the OC at U of A and undefeated in the SEC. Never had college coaching experience and brought in 4 SHS blue chippers!

Personally, I believe RV will hire someone from USM.

[LongJim]

whats so different about SLC?? its all about Dodge's program and the work ethic he provokes in his players..

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SLC was very successful long before Dodge got there. The 'tradition' at SLC started long before his tenure. He has done a great job continuing it.