UTEP OC interested in NT job / Dickey's buyout $

[NT80]

Football: UTEP's OC Price interested in UNT job

Son of Miners' head coach intrigued by opening

11:34 PM CST on Tuesday, November 14, 2006

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

Texas-El Paso offensive coordinator Eric Price hasn't heard from North Texas about its opening for a head coach yet.

But Price said Tuesday he would be interested in listening to what the school has to say if it comes calling in the next few weeks.

"UNT is a solid program with good facilities," Price said. "They have a chance to win and have won in the past. The new coach will be able to recruit Texas kids, which is a good deal. It would be a great opportunity."

Eric Price, 40, is in his seventh season working with his father, Mike Price, who is currently the head coach at UTEP.

The Miners ranked 33rd nationally last season in scoring offense with an average of 31.8 points a game and are 31st this season at 28.8 points a game. The Miners have recruited the Dallas-Fort Worth area heavily since Mike Price arrived in El Paso in December of 2003.

Capitalizing on UNT’s assets and building a solid program would be an intriguing challenge, especially after the Mean Green won four straight Sun Belt Conference titles under outgoing head coach Darrell Dickey from 2001-04, Eric Price said.

"North Texas is not a job where they have never won and if you win a game or two you are going to be a hero," Eric Price said. "They have high expectations. It would be a challenge, but that goes with the job."

Price was also the offensive coordinator at Alabama under his father in 2003.

UNT is looking for a way to upgrade its offense that has struggled the last two seasons. The Mean Green produced back-to-back national rushing champions in 2003 and 2004 in Patrick Cobbs and Jamario Thomas, respectively, but have struggled since and enter Saturday's game against Florida Atlantic ranked No. 113 nationally in scoring offense with an average of 13.5 points a game.

Dickey's contract buyout set

UNT has determined it will have to pay head football coach Darrell Dickey $524,167 to buy out the remainder of his contract that runs through the 2009 season, UNT spokesperson Debroah Leliaert said Tuesday. Dickey was fired on Nov. 8 with three years left on his deal.

UNT will pay Dickey one year's base salary within 30 days of his termination date and will then pay out the rest of the contract in monthly installments.

Leliaert said there are no plans to alter the provisions for the settlement stated in the contract.

[UNTFan23]

"UNT is a solid program with good facilities," Price said. "They have a chance to win and have won in the past. The new coach will be able to recruit Texas kids, which is a good deal. It would be a great opportunity."

←

I'm shocked someone would say that about us. I mean, we have it so hard here at North Texas ... or so I've been told constantly.

[KingDL1]

Isn't hearing something like that refreshing as can be for a change.

[El Paso Eagle]

Isn't hearing something like that refreshing as can be for a change.

←

If the son (Eric) is anything like Dad (Mike) you will be impressed. Very positive and looks for the good, not the bad.

[DeepGreen]

At least we might look ahead to a series with UTEP.

[Green Lantern]

Isn't hearing something like that refreshing as can be for a change.

←

This, if I were RV, would be one of my major requirements when hiring the new coach. Someone who see's and "sells" all of the positive things that we have going on at NT. It's frustrating that so many people are so out of touch with how things really are, especially athletically, at NT now. We need someone that can not only identify the posiitive attributes but can help to spread that through the media and the fanbase in general.

It is nice to see the potential candidates for the head coaching position pointing out some of these qualities already. Imagine when they actually get here and see the true untapped potential. We just need to find the right person to actually tap into it.

Maybe one day in the future, the "Sleeping Giant" will truly awaken.

[pollock]

Man, I REALLY like what he has to say.

All I need to know about his dad to like him as a coach-- his record at UTEP and seeing him lead the team out of the tunnel, brandishing a miner's pickaxe, firing up the team and the crowd.

Surely some of that rubbed off on the younger Price.

[FirefightnRick]

Football - 2006 Schedule/Results Season 2006-072005-062004-052003-042002-032001-02

Date Opponent Location Time (CST) Results Media

Sat, Sep 02 Texas at Austin, Texas 11 a.m. 7 - 56 (L)

STATS

Sat, Sep 09 SMU Denton, Texas 6 p.m. 24 - 6 (W)

STATS

Sat, Sep 16 Tulsa at Tulsa, Oklahoma 6 p.m. 3 - 28 (L)

STATS

Sat, Sep 23 Akron at Akron, Ohio 5 p.m. 13 - 33 (L)

STATS

Sat, Sep 30 Middle Tennessee * Denton, Texas 6 p.m. 0 - 35 (L)

STATS

Sat, Oct 07 Florida International * Denton, Texas 6 p.m. 25 - 22 (W)

STATS

Sat, Oct 21 Arkansas State * at Jonesboro, Arkansas 6 p.m. 10 - 29 (L)

STATS

Sat, Oct 28 Troy * at Troy, Alabama 2:30 p.m. 6 - 14 (L)

STATS

Sat, Nov 04 Louisiana Tech Denton, Texas 6 p.m. 31 - 34 (L)

STATS

Sat, Nov 11 Louisiana-Lafayette * at Lafayette, Louisiana 4 p.m. 16 - 7 (W)

STATS

Sat, Nov 18 Florida Atlantic * Denton, Texas 6 p.m.

Sat, Nov 25 Louisiana-Monroe * at Monroe, Louisiana

2005-North Texas (Sun Belt)

9/10 @ *Middle Tennessee State (4-7) W 14 7

9/17 vs. Tulsa (9-4) L 2 54

9/24 @ Kansas State (5-6) L 7 54

10/4 vs. *Troy (4-7) L 10 13

10/15 @ *Florida International (5-6) W 13 10

10/22 @ Louisiana Tech (7-4) L 14 40

10/29 @ Louisiana State (11-2) L 3 56

11/5 vs. *Louisiana-Lafayette (6-5) L 28 31

11/12 @ *Florida Atlantic (2-9) L 23 26

11/19 vs. *Louisiana-Monroe (5-6) L 19 24

11/26 vs. *Arkansas State (6-6) L 24 31

2-9-0

157 346

2004-North Texas (Sun Belt)

9/4 @ Texas (11-1) L 0 65

9/11 vs. *Florida Atlantic (9-3) L 13 20

9/18 @ Colorado (8-5) L 21 52

9/25 @ Baylor (3-8) L 14 37

10/2 vs. *Middle Tennessee State (5-6) W 30 21

10/9 @ *Utah State (3-8) W 31 23

10/23 vs. *New Mexico State (5-6) W 36 26

10/30 vs. *Louisiana-Monroe (5-6) W 45 30

11/5 @ *Louisiana-Lafayette (4-7) W 27 17

11/13 vs. *Idaho (3-9) W 51 29

11/18 @ *Arkansas State (3-8) W 31 7

12/14 vs. Southern Mississippi (7-5) L 10 31 @ New Orleans, LA New Orleans Bowl

7-5-0

309 358

2003-North Texas (Sun Belt)

8/30 @ Oklahoma (12-2) L 3 37

9/6 vs. Baylor (3-9) W 52 14

9/13 @ Air Force (7-5) L 21 34

9/20 vs. Arkansas (9-4) L 7 31 @ Little Rock, AR

9/27 vs. *Louisiana-Lafayette (4-8) W 44 23

10/11 @ *Idaho (3-9) W 24 14

10/18 vs. *Utah State (3-9) W 37 27

10/25 @ *Middle Tennessee State (4-8) W 33 28

10/30 vs. Troy (6-6) W 21 0

11/8 @ *Louisiana-Monroe (1-11) W 28 26

11/15 vs. *Arkansas State (5-7) W 58 14

11/25 @ *New Mexico State (3-9) W 13 10

12/16 vs. Memphis (9-4) L 17 27 @ New Orleans, LA New Orleans Bowl

9-4-0

358 285

2002-North Texas (Sun Belt)

8/31 @ Texas (11-2) L 0 27

9/7 vs. Nicholls State (non-IA) W 23 0

9/14 @ Alabama (10-3) L 7 33

9/21 @ Texas Christian (10-2) L 10 16

9/28 @ Arizona (4-8) L 9 14

10/5 vs. South Florida (9-2) L 17 24

10/19 @ *Arkansas State (6-7) W 13 10

10/26 @ *Louisiana-Lafayette (3-9) W 27 0

11/2 vs. *Louisiana-Monroe (3-9) W 41 2

11/9 vs. *Idaho (2-10) W 10 0

11/16 vs. *New Mexico State (7-5) W 38 27

11/23 @ *Middle Tennessee State (4-8) W 30 20

12/17 vs. Cincinnati (7-7) W 24 19 @ New Orleans, LA New Orleans Bowl

8-5-0

249 192

2001-North Texas (Sun Belt)

9/1 vs. Texas Christian (6-6) L 5 19

9/8 @ Oklahoma (11-2) L 10 37

9/22 vs. Texas Tech (7-5) L 14 42 @ Irving, TX

9/29 @ South Florida (8-3) L 10 28

10/6 @ *Louisiana-Monroe (2-9) L 17 19

10/13 vs. *Middle Tennessee State (8-3) W 24 21

10/20 vs. *Arkansas State (2-9) W 45 0

11/3 @ *New Mexico State (5-7) W 22 20

11/10 vs. *Louisiana-Lafayette (3-8) W 42 17

11/17 @ *Idaho (1-10) W 50 27

12/1 @ Troy (7-4) L 16 18

12/18 vs. Colorado State (7-5) L 20 45 @ New Orleans, LA New Orleans Bowl

5-7-0

275 293

2000-North Texas (Big West)

8/31 vs. Baylor (2-9) L 7 20

9/9 @ Texas Tech (7-6) L 7 13

9/16 @ Nevada-Las Vegas (8-5) L 0 38

9/23 @ Kansas State (11-3) L 10 55

10/5 vs. Samford (non-IA) W 41 6

10/14 vs. *Utah State (5-6) L 12 17

10/21 @ *Boise State (10-2) L 0 59

10/28 @ Louisiana-Lafayette (1-10) W 13 0

11/4 vs. *Idaho (5-6) L 14 16

11/11 @ *Arkansas State (1-10) L 28 53

11/18 vs. *New Mexico State (3-8) W 30 23

3-8-0

162 300

1999-North Texas (Big West)

9/2 vs. Nevada-Las Vegas (3-8) L 3 26

9/11 @ Louisiana State (3-8) L 0 52

9/18 @ Texas Tech (6-5) W 21 14

10/2 @ Baylor (1-10) L 10 23

10/9 vs. *Idaho (7-4) L 10 28 @ Pullman, WA

10/16 vs. *Boise State (10-3) W 17 10

10/23 vs. *Arkansas State (4-7) L 10 14

10/30 @ *Nevada (3-8) L 28 41

11/13 @ Texas Christian (8-4) L 3 27

11/20 @ *New Mexico State (6-5) L 9 22

11/27 vs. *Utah State (4-7) L 7 34

2-9-0

118 291

1998-North Texas (Big West)

9/5 @ Oklahoma (5-6) L 9 37

9/12 vs. Texas Tech (7-5) L 0 30 @ Irving, TX

9/19 @ Arizona State (5-6) L 15 34

9/26 @ Texas A&M (11-3) L 9 28

10/10 @ *Boise State (6-5) W 21 13

10/17 vs. *Nevada (6-5) W 27 21

10/24 vs. Houston (3-8) L 9 31

10/31 vs. *Idaho (9-3) L 23 41

11/7 @ Kansas (4-7) L 14 23

11/14 @ *Utah State (3-8) L 27 28

11/21 vs. *New Mexico State (3-8) W 19 11

3-8-0

173 297

Now that RV has been able to schedule fewer of the Major Opportunity Games(Money games to some) each year as the above list of schedules show he has done, then I see the list of coaches who are becoming interested in our program grow.

It's All Green and All Good.

Rick

[MeanGreenBuzz]

Football - 2006 Schedule/Results  Season 2006-072005-062004-052003-042002-032001-02   

Date  Opponent  Location  Time (CST)  Results  Media 

  Sat, Sep 02  Texas  at Austin, Texas    11 a.m.  7 - 56 (L)

STATS 

  Sat, Sep 09  SMU  Denton, Texas    6 p.m.  24 - 6 (W)

STATS 

  Sat, Sep 16  Tulsa  at Tulsa, Oklahoma    6 p.m.  3 - 28 (L)

STATS 

  Sat, Sep 23  Akron  at Akron, Ohio    5 p.m.  13 - 33 (L)

STATS 

  Sat, Sep 30  Middle Tennessee *  Denton, Texas    6 p.m.  0 - 35 (L)

STATS 

  Sat, Oct 07  Florida International *  Denton, Texas    6 p.m.  25 - 22 (W)

STATS 

  Sat, Oct 21  Arkansas State *  at Jonesboro, Arkansas    6 p.m.  10 - 29 (L)

STATS 

  Sat, Oct 28  Troy *  at Troy, Alabama    2:30 p.m.  6 - 14 (L)

STATS 

  Sat, Nov 04  Louisiana Tech  Denton, Texas    6 p.m.  31 - 34 (L)

STATS 

  Sat, Nov 11  Louisiana-Lafayette *  at Lafayette, Louisiana    4 p.m.  16 - 7 (W)

STATS 

  Sat, Nov 18  Florida Atlantic *  Denton, Texas    6 p.m.   

  Sat, Nov 25  Louisiana-Monroe *  at Monroe, Louisiana 

2005-North Texas (Sun Belt)

9/10 @ *Middle Tennessee State (4-7) W 14 7

9/17 vs. Tulsa (9-4) L 2 54

9/24 @ Kansas State (5-6) L 7 54

10/4 vs. *Troy (4-7) L 10 13

10/15 @ *Florida International (5-6) W 13 10

10/22 @ Louisiana Tech (7-4) L 14 40

10/29 @ Louisiana State (11-2) L 3 56

11/5 vs. *Louisiana-Lafayette (6-5) L 28 31

11/12 @ *Florida Atlantic (2-9) L 23 26

11/19 vs. *Louisiana-Monroe (5-6) L 19 24

11/26 vs. *Arkansas State (6-6) L 24 31

  2-9-0

  157 346

  2004-North Texas (Sun Belt)

9/4 @ Texas (11-1) L 0 65

9/11 vs. *Florida Atlantic (9-3) L 13 20

9/18 @ Colorado (8-5) L 21 52

9/25 @ Baylor (3-8) L 14 37

10/2 vs. *Middle Tennessee State (5-6) W 30 21

10/9 @ *Utah State (3-8) W 31 23

10/23 vs. *New Mexico State (5-6) W 36 26

10/30 vs. *Louisiana-Monroe (5-6) W 45 30

11/5 @ *Louisiana-Lafayette (4-7) W 27 17

11/13 vs. *Idaho (3-9) W 51 29

11/18 @ *Arkansas State (3-8) W 31 7

12/14 vs. Southern Mississippi (7-5) L 10 31 @ New Orleans, LA New Orleans Bowl

  7-5-0

  309 358

  2003-North Texas (Sun Belt)

8/30 @ Oklahoma (12-2) L 3 37

9/6 vs. Baylor (3-9) W 52 14

9/13 @ Air Force (7-5) L 21 34

9/20 vs. Arkansas (9-4) L 7 31 @ Little Rock, AR

9/27 vs. *Louisiana-Lafayette (4-8) W 44 23

10/11 @ *Idaho (3-9) W 24 14

10/18 vs. *Utah State (3-9) W 37 27

10/25 @ *Middle Tennessee State (4-8) W 33 28

10/30 vs. Troy (6-6) W 21 0

11/8 @ *Louisiana-Monroe (1-11) W 28 26

11/15 vs. *Arkansas State (5-7) W 58 14

11/25 @ *New Mexico State (3-9) W 13 10

12/16 vs. Memphis (9-4) L 17 27 @ New Orleans, LA New Orleans Bowl

  9-4-0

  358 285

  2002-North Texas (Sun Belt)

8/31 @ Texas (11-2) L 0 27

9/7 vs. Nicholls State (non-IA) W 23 0

9/14 @ Alabama (10-3) L 7 33

9/21 @ Texas Christian (10-2) L 10 16

9/28 @ Arizona (4-8) L 9 14

10/5 vs. South Florida (9-2) L 17 24

10/19 @ *Arkansas State (6-7) W 13 10

10/26 @ *Louisiana-Lafayette (3-9) W 27 0

11/2 vs. *Louisiana-Monroe (3-9) W 41 2

11/9 vs. *Idaho (2-10) W 10 0

11/16 vs. *New Mexico State (7-5) W 38 27

11/23 @ *Middle Tennessee State (4-8) W 30 20

12/17 vs. Cincinnati (7-7) W 24 19 @ New Orleans, LA New Orleans Bowl

  8-5-0

  249 192

  2001-North Texas (Sun Belt)

9/1 vs. Texas Christian (6-6) L 5 19

9/8 @ Oklahoma (11-2) L 10 37

9/22 vs. Texas Tech (7-5) L 14 42 @ Irving, TX

9/29 @ South Florida (8-3) L 10 28

10/6 @ *Louisiana-Monroe (2-9) L 17 19

10/13 vs. *Middle Tennessee State (8-3) W 24 21

10/20 vs. *Arkansas State (2-9) W 45 0

11/3 @ *New Mexico State (5-7) W 22 20

11/10 vs. *Louisiana-Lafayette (3-8) W 42 17

11/17 @ *Idaho (1-10) W 50 27

12/1 @ Troy (7-4) L 16 18

12/18 vs. Colorado State (7-5) L 20 45 @ New Orleans, LA New Orleans Bowl

  5-7-0

  275 293

  2000-North Texas (Big West)

8/31 vs. Baylor (2-9) L 7 20

9/9 @ Texas Tech (7-6) L 7 13

9/16 @ Nevada-Las Vegas (8-5) L 0 38

9/23 @ Kansas State (11-3) L 10 55

10/5 vs. Samford (non-IA) W 41 6

10/14 vs. *Utah State (5-6) L 12 17

10/21 @ *Boise State (10-2) L 0 59

10/28 @ Louisiana-Lafayette (1-10) W 13 0

11/4 vs. *Idaho (5-6) L 14 16

11/11 @ *Arkansas State (1-10) L 28 53

11/18 vs. *New Mexico State (3-8) W 30 23

  3-8-0

  162 300

  1999-North Texas (Big West)

9/2 vs. Nevada-Las Vegas (3-8) L 3 26

9/11 @ Louisiana State (3-8) L 0 52

9/18 @ Texas Tech (6-5) W 21 14

10/2 @ Baylor (1-10) L 10 23

10/9 vs. *Idaho (7-4) L 10 28 @ Pullman, WA

10/16 vs. *Boise State (10-3) W 17 10

10/23 vs. *Arkansas State (4-7) L 10 14

10/30 @ *Nevada (3-8) L 28 41

11/13 @ Texas Christian (8-4) L 3 27

11/20 @ *New Mexico State (6-5) L 9 22

11/27 vs. *Utah State (4-7) L 7 34

  2-9-0

  118 291

  1998-North Texas (Big West)

9/5 @ Oklahoma (5-6) L 9 37

9/12 vs. Texas Tech (7-5) L 0 30 @ Irving, TX

9/19 @ Arizona State (5-6) L 15 34

9/26 @ Texas A&M (11-3) L 9 28

10/10 @ *Boise State (6-5) W 21 13

10/17 vs. *Nevada (6-5) W 27 21

10/24 vs. Houston (3-8) L 9 31

10/31 vs. *Idaho (9-3) L 23 41

11/7 @ Kansas (4-7) L 14 23

11/14 @ *Utah State (3-8) L 27 28

11/21 vs. *New Mexico State (3-8) W 19 11

  3-8-0

  173 297

Now that RV has been able to schedule fewer of the Major Opportunity Games(Money games to some) each year as the above list of schedules show he has done, then I see the list of coaches who are becoming interested in our program grow.

It's All Green and All Good.

Rick

←

Great post.

[emmitt01]

"North Texas is not a job where they have never won and if you win a game or two you are going to be a hero," Eric Price said. "They have high expectations. It would be a challenge, but that goes with the job."

This is the most refreshing thing I may have heard in a while. A coach who actually EXPECTS this fan base to want more...amazing. Sounds to me like he believes he can win here and fully intends to do so if he gets the job. Quite a turnaround from "let's just go get our check and hope they don't embarrass us...woe is me."

[Will to Win]

We need someone that can not only identify the posiitive attributes but can help to spread that through the media and the fanbase in general.

←

Start with Mike Taylor (UNT Alumn) on ESPN 103.3 He always has negatives about UNT when he talks about us on the air.