Dickey.....NT Athletics Hall of Fame inductee

[UNT_playmaker]

Let's please at least remember how Dickey rose through the times and brought much needed success at a time of need. Im tired of these attacks on a person who sacrificed his health, family, and dignity for the success of our program.

He architected the greatest college football comeback in D-1 history. It wasnt just one game where we were underdogs in, but 5 of them....0-5 to a bowl game.

He not only coached the team, but also found time to forge friendships with big donors and shared his ideas or visions for the future. Dickey was the main reason the AC was built, he shared that vision to Mattrees Mac and his $1 million donation created this vision. Now we lost a HUUUUUUUUGE donor, I dont care what anyone says, this person was not just a one-time gift giver, he is the type of donor that any college would kill to have. He is pissed because of the circumstances behind the Dickey fire, he has sound reasons.

Beisdes Dickey's 4 championships, he display great courage during the Andrew Smith tragedy and gave the team, fans, and coaches the opportunity to grieve and yet still be optimistic. He followed through on that with winning another SBC title and a trip to the NO Bowl that year and the year after....

Thats not easy you guys...Andrew was our star QB and our new rising player.

Dickey has endured alot of personal hardships recently and has tried his best not to let it interfere. It is very unfortunate that he was canned a few weeks after suffering a near fatal heart attack and after going through open heart surgery.

I really cant say anymore...Sooooo

I will let the personal attacks on myself and not my actual post begin....

[MeanGreenBuzz]

Based on his taking us to 4 Bowls I would say yes, he gets in the NT HoF, but when you factor in that he beat only 7 teams in 9 years with a winning record...

[Monkeypox]

I think I'd want a coach to have a winning record before I went and inducted them into the HOF.

[KingDL1]

I think I'd want a coach to have a winning record before I went and inducted them into the HOF.

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My God I should hope so, why would you put a guy with a .39 winning percentage IN THE HOF. Dickey is the forth worst coach in UNT history and worst winning percentage of any coach with more than 3 years as head coach at UNT.

Edited November 11, 2006 by KingDL1

[Cr1028]

Any coach that would tell his players they are the reason for his firing should not be honored.....ever.

[ntsumgspe]

My God I should hope so, why would you put a guy with a .39 winning percentage IN THE HOF. Dickey is the forth worst coach in UNT history and worst winning percentage of any coach with more than 3 years as head coach at UNT.

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I guess if we would have been losing those four years straight instead of winning conference championships everyone would have been happy ? Say all you want about it being "the Sunbelt", the worst conference, etc., etc., but at least we were winning. Some people just like to bitch and complain regardless.

FLAME ON !!!

[fan19740]

I wish DD the best. I think he is an excellent coach and a class act. I believe it will be a long time before another coach takes us to four straight bowl games.

[KingDL1]

I guess if we would have been losing those four years straight instead of winning conference championships everyone would have been happy ? Say all you want about it being "the Sunbelt", the worst conference, etc., etc., but at least we were winning. Some people just like to bitch and complain regardless.  

FLAME ON !!!

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In 2001 we went to the bowl game with a losing record and wow we lost the Bowl in fact we lost 3 of the 4. And by the way that was the first time in our history that a bowl game was tied to our conference championship we have had 24 conference championships only 2 were D-1aa. Better yet Odus Mitchell UNT coach had a run from 1950 -1959 where he won 7 conference championships in ten seasons.

Expect more!!!! Open your eyes!!

Dickey has a horrible record and 6 of his 9 seasons were losing ones

1998 North Texas 3 - 8

1999 North Texas 2 - 9

2000 North Texas 3 - 8

2001 North Texas 5 - 7

2002 North Texas 8 - 5

2003 North Texas 9 - 4

2004 North Texas 7 - 5

2005 North Texas 2 - 9

2006 North Texas 2 - 7*

Dickey is a loser! Period!

North Texas Championships

Edited November 11, 2006 by KingDL1

[bison]

Wait a while -- record of about .4 win is not good. Don't let emotions control which means we have to wait IMHO at least 5 years before a decision is made.

[UNT_playmaker]

I wish DD the best. I think he is an excellent coach and a class act.  I believe it will be a long time before another coach takes us to four straight bowl games.

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Thats what I am most worried about....I dont want to get a coach here that doesnt what he is doing...Waste our time and atttempt to build a program that never got off the ground...

Dickey got it off the ground and built that program....It went away shortly thereafter

[fan19740]

KingDL1,

There weren't too many fans complaining in 2001 when we had a losing record but still went to a bowl game. I take it though that you were one of them.

Losing 3 of 4 bowl games is nothing too be ashamed of. There are plenty of teams across the country who have done worse.

DD is and will continue to be an excellent coach. Period!

[KingDL1]

KingDL1,

There weren't too many fans complaining in 2001 when we had a losing record but still went to a bowl game. I take it though that you were one of them.

Losing 3 of 4 bowl games is nothing too be ashamed of. There are plenty of teams across the country who have done worse.

DD is and will continue to be an excellent coach. Period!

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Actually DD's head was called for in 2001, and he was about to get fired then. It was a good start but not greatness. Turns out that majority of DD success was due to an outstanding Defense ranked in the top ten in the nation, then Gary DeLoach left. SO you should give your credit to DeLoach. But I love how you ignore the facts for the warm fuzzes, did he win that 2001 bowl game? No!

Wait he won NOBowl in 2002 when we had a top ten ranked defense with defense, so hard to see. After that our Defense slowly slipped downward. If my memory serves me correctly we did not win in either the 2003 or 2004 NOBowls. DD really capitalized on that wonderful momentum you give him tons of credit for.

So you are right there have been worse teams that is something to hang your hat on, hey at least we were not the worst football program in Division 1A.

Edited November 12, 2006 by KingDL1

[Texas Stranger]

Who brought in DeLoach ?

Who was in charge of recruiting when those players came here ?

If the HC is responsible for losses/miscues, then he gets credit for wins/successes. To claim otherwise is to forego credibility.

Now keep spinning.

[KingDL1]

Who brought in DeLoach ?

Who was in charge of recruiting when those players came here ?

If the HC is responsible for losses/miscues, then he gets credit for wins/successes.  To claim otherwise is to forego credibility.

Now keep spinning.

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Who did the recruting, Deloach did on D if I remember right.

Who was responsiable for replaceing Deloach, when he left for UCLA?

Just proves DD got lucky with DeLoach nothing else.

Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while.

[Texas Stranger]

Who did the recruiting, Deloach did on D if I remember right.

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Now you're saying that one person recruits half the team ?

This is getting funnier as it goes.

[GreenMachine]

I believe it will be a long time before another coach takes us to four straight bowl games.

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I am as happy as any NT fan about the 4 straight bowl teams but realistically, Simon, Parker, Nelson, anybody could have taken us to 4 straight bowl games in the start up Sunbelt. It wasn't as difficult a feat as many make it out to be.

[GreenMachine]

Thats what I am most worried about....I dont want to get a coach here that doesnt what he is doing...Waste our time and atttempt to build a program that never got off the ground...

Dickey got it off the ground and built that program....It went away shortly thereafter

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UNT Playmaker, I like your passion about NT athletics but before the firing, you were on here everyday posting about what an incompetent coach Dickey was and he needed to be fired. Now you seem to be sorry that he is gone. What is your true stance on the situation?

[tcooper]

Who did the recruting, Deloach did on D if I remember right.

Who was responsiable for replaceing Deloach, when he left for UCLA?

Just proves DD got lucky with DeLoach nothing else.

Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while.

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Deloach was a good coah and still is today but the last year Deloach was here Evans called the plays. I remember reading that in the paper a few years ago after he left. I can assure you Deloach did NOT recruit to many def. players for that particular team either but I can check my sources..And I have a question for you my friend...Have you EVER strapped one on in your life?

[El Paso Eagle]

...Have you EVER strapped one  on in your life?

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No, but he did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night

[KingDL1]

Have you EVER strapped one  on in your life?

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No, I have never worn a strap-on!

[VideoEagle]

Getting back to original subject of the thread, is DD going into the NT Athletic Hall of Fame?

It will be 10 years or more, but certainly he will. He will probably be remembered as controversial coach and many minuses but some major pluses as well. Four bowl games in a row is some very unusual outside of the automatic BCS conferences. No matter what happens here forward, he is the coach who actually did it as opposed to the coaches who “could have but“ or “would have but.”

He showed he could work under extreme pressure. In 2001 he it was printed in the paper his status was “week to week.” That was where the after a win the “I get to keep my job for another week” actually started. Win this week or be fired is pressure few coaches ever hold up under and DD did.

He coached to one of the longer conference win streaks in college history. You can say it was just a weak conference, but none of the other school in the conference found a way to do that. And, no one has a long conference win streak in a conference with a lot of strong teams - you do that in conferences with two or three strong teams.

What DD did not do was build on his success. The current team just doesn’t have the overall talent of those other teams. There are individuals on this team with more talent than those teams, and a few individuals from those teams not nearly as good our current group. But, there is no getting around the talent of the team as a whole is not what it was. Some of the younger guys have a lot of potential, but they are not there just yet.

And there is no way to avoid saying DD’s offense just stunk. It was the Nebraska/Oklahoma offense that beat DD’s K-State teams over and over in the 70s and 80s. But, football has evolved and it just doesn’t work anymore.

Anyone who goes back and reads a paper about NT from this period will see almost nothing about the last two paragraphs. They will seen 4 bowl games in 4 years. One of the longest conference win streaks ever. And that’s why DD will be put into the NT Hall of Fame.

[GrandGreen]

I agree, Video Eagle; DD has some solid accomplishments and time cures a lot of ills. I have wanted a change for a lot longer than most because I could not and still can't believe the things that come out of DD's mouth. However, I do think the 4 conference championships and 26 straight conference is a major achievement. Those that lamblast these accomplishments as meaningless because of the overall weakness of the conference should remember that NT did not dominate anything in the Southland.

[ADLER]

Yes, Dickey belongs in the North Texas Hall Of Fame. His 2001 trough 2004 seasons clearly earned him that honor.

[UNT_playmaker]

UNT Playmaker, I like your passion about NT athletics but before the firing, you were on here everyday posting about what an incompetent coach Dickey was and he needed to be fired. Now you seem to be sorry that he is gone. What is your true stance on the situation?

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Thank you for the polite well-rounded question....I appreciate that...

Well first off, I was mad when we lost obvious wins for our program, I think everybody here believes that Dickey can do a better job at coaching and wining games...This season has been a real learning experience for me as I step aside and evaluated all aspects of the ball...

1. DD was the real reason for our turnaround back in 2001 and he gave us some good football.

2. I think his coordinators are screwing us over, more so than Dickey..especially Etheridge, the OL coach...I believe that all asst coaches should be terminated.

3. I feel bad for any human being that has had three major medical setbacks and has the will to recover from them enough to get the pink slip, days later.....

4. I realized this mid-way through the season....OUR PLAYERS ARE THE REASON WE SUCK.....THEY SUCK.....IN OUR EARLY PRACTICES THE GREEN TEAM BEAT THE WHITE TEAM, AND IN OUR GAMES THIS SEASON... THE SAME EXISTED....OUR BACKUPS PLAYED THEIR HEARTS OUT AND DESERVED TO BE OUT THEIR MORE THAN OUR STARTERS

My biggest fear is that we get a coach in here that doesnt know what is going on and flounders our program for years without any return.. We did get a return from Dickey but he lost coaches, players, and recruits towards the end

[MeanGreenEngineer]

I am as happy as any NT fan about the 4 straight bowl teams but realistically, Simon, Parker, Nelson, anybody could have taken us to 4 straight bowl games in the start up Sunbelt. It wasn't as difficult a feat as many make it out to be.

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I am happy to see Dickey go, but some of you people are delusional.

If it was so easy for any team to win the Sun Belt, why didn't some other team do it?

NT had to be considered one of the weak sisters of this league when it was started. ULL had never been 1aa, MTSU was a very strong team the first few years.

Saying "anyone could have won the sunbelt", when no one else did, is as bad as Dickey defenders saying "Sun Belt teams can't recruit DFW" when other Sun Belt teams have.