Full l*Telegram article DD's long, often painful

[OldTimer]

Dickey's long, often painful, road at North Texas ends tonightBy TROY PHILLIPS

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

DENTON - Darrell Dickey doesn't know what will become of the nameless, logo-free black jerseys he bought for his North Texas players for their final home game last Saturday.

The jerseys, which Dickey said he meant as a final reward, created some debate over whether the outgoing coach was thumbing his nose at UNT for being fired. Will they find the regular uniform storage?

"I don't know," Dickey said Wednesday at his next-to-last UNT practice. "After Saturday, I'm not the coach here anymore."

UNT (3-8, 2-4 Sun Belt Conference) ends it season and the Dickey era at Louisiana-Monroe (2-8, 1-4) at 6 tonight.

Dickey's exit will go down as anything but calm. The jerseys, the mostly good-riddance chatter on UNT's fan board, and a flap over naming the practice fields after Dickey by request of Houston donor Jim McIngvale have all made for an uneasy ending.

Throw in unsubstantiated (and anonymous) claims by some players' parents that a locker room altercation between two assistant coaches occurred at halftime of the 17-16 loss to Florida Atlantic, as well as UNT losses in 18 of its past 23 games, and the two sides can't move quickly enough.

"If something happened, I wasn't aware of it," said Dickey, adding UNT's locker room has isolated rooms away from the main team area. "I was in therewith the team and never saw or heard anything."

Of the jerseys that at least some alumni didn't like, Dickey said, "By the way, the kids loved them, and quite a few people thought they looked sharp. Everything about Coach Dickey gets spun negatively, and has for a while."

However it ended, Dickey's mark on UNT football will endure. He won four conference titles from 2001-2004. The Mean Green played in four New Orleans Bowls (winning one) after just five postseason appearances in the previous 88 seasons.

Under Dickey, UNT football gained the support needed to add new workout facilities. UNT gained recruiting credibility.

Despite the losses, there were notable victories against Texas Tech (1999), Cincinnati (2002), Baylor (2003) and SMU (this season), a 27-game league winning streak and two NCAA rushing champions, Patrick Cobbs in 2003 and Jamario Thomas in 2004.

"Darrell's done some good things here, and that shouldn't be lost in the fact that we haven't had success the last couple of years," said athletic director Rick Villarreal, with whom Dickey could not coexist by the end of his nine seasons.

Dickey thanked and praised his players in a final news conference Tuesday for their achievements "under tough circumstances." UNT players endured difficult nonconference games, the automobile fatality of teammate Andrew Smith, the ebb of winning and losing, Dickey's health problems with diabetes and a heart attack, fan dissent and the coach's firing.

"Win or lose, [the end] is going to be difficult either way," junior defensive end Jeremiah Chapman said. "We don't really know where we're headed or who will coach us, who's going to be playing or not playing. It's something I've never experienced."

Dickey said he just wants the "hatchet job" on his reputation to be over.

"I'll move on from Saturday with class and with my head up high," he said. "I'll coach them one more time and get down the road with nothing but good memories."

meangreensports.com

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Troy Phillips, 817-390-7760 tphillips@star-telegram.com

[bison]

and again, poor it's all about poor DD -- the Univeristy was wrong, he knows nothing about anything about his assistant coaches and he has suffered a hachet job on his reputation.

Well, I hope you are off campus by Monday -- which is 7 years to late.

Bill Ison, PhD

Alum 1992, 1998

UNT season ticket holder 1985 - 2005

[untbowler]

Sounds like DD needs to bury the hatchet since he is chopping down any future chances of getting another HC gig much less Asst. job.

Sick of the one-sided stories but at least RV and the Prez are being overly classy.

[FirefightnRick]

As has always been the case, can you imagine where the "hatchet job" criticism has come from all these years?

DD isn't referring to the once in a while heckler from the stands. He isn't talking about criticism he's recieved from the FEW newspaper reports in the NT Daily, DRC, Startlegram or the DMN. He's not referring to any public criticism he's recieved from his boss or the administration because over 9 full years there has been very little of that.

So what group of people is he referring to?

....."Does anyone here know what devisiveness is? Division? Anyone? It means to split apart among the group or team.....In the 24 years of coaching college football this(North Texas) is the worst place I have ever seen that allows devisiveness. Worst place. ...........Don't listen to it, don't let it lead you astray.....And these people from GoMeanGreen.com, they'll be the first ones to tell you how good you are, feed you food and drinks, but as soon as you lose down in Austin they'll be the first MOTHER $#@#ERS to tell you how much you suck and how $hitty your coaches are"......

Darrell Dickey, March 9th, 2006

Addressing the team in front of the Mean Green faithfull prior to dismissing the team for spring break.

Rick

[NorthTexan95]

If Dickey is so concerned over what people say on a website then he needs to find a new profession. He has totally lost focus.

[shaft]

I think RV summed it up; DD accomplishments should be dismissed inspite of the recent slump.

Why doesn't anyone here have faith in RV? The team goes down hill, DD gets put on notice. DD doesn't produce the following season and he's let go.

[FirefightnRick]

I think RV summed it up; DD accomplishments should be dismissed inspite of the recent slump.

Why doesn't anyone here have faith in RV?  The team goes down hill, DD gets put on notice.  DD doesn't produce the following season and he's let go.

←

Where is that stated Shaft?

Rick

[GoMeanGreen1999]

This time tomorrow, he gone, so good luck Darrell. He is burning so many bridges its sad. But, not my problem, his.

[UNT_92_Fan]

I have kept my mouth shut on this cause I have ALWAYS had good convos and times when dealing with Mr. Dickey, but can this guy sound anymore like a little immature whiny B@#$%? This DICKEY vs. THE WORLD crap is getting old....DICKEY you obviously lost sir...

Classy Players, Classy AD, too bad the coach has lost alot fo the Class

Peace Out DICKey....

[tonyhuntoon]

The Andrew Smith death was a killer for this program.

However, what else killed the program?

1. Screwing up Jamario. Who told the guy to start adding bulk after his freshman season?

2. Screwing up the Cobbs-Jamario backfield. He couldn't really get both on the field at the same time?

3. The inability to name a starting QB, EVER! Even when Hall was here, argubly one of the best QBs to ever don the Green and White, the guy had a hard time making up his mind on a starter.

[GoMeanGreen1999]

The Andrew Smith death was a killer for this program.

However, what else killed the program?

1. Screwing up Jamario. Who told the guy to start adding bulk after his freshman season?

2. Screwing up the Cobbs-Jamario backfield. He couldn't really get both on the field at the same time?

3. The inability to name a starting QB, EVER! Even when Hall was here, argubly one of the best QBs to ever don the Green and White, the guy had a hard time making up his mind on a starter.

←

When you can't evaluate talent, it is hard to make a decision.

[stebo]

Taken down for my good ole buddy FFRick...

Edited November 25, 2006 by stebo

[flyeater]

http://www.geocities.com/meangreenmugs/

Someone should ask Dickey about all of the players that got arrested while under his watch.  There were even a few arrested in New Orleans a couple of years ago that started the very next day because under Dickey, there was ZERO discipline.  The above link has just a few of the mugshots of our scholarship players that were arrested and were never suspended from the team, not even for one game.  There asre dozens more, this is just the tip of the iceberg.  Click on the link above to see a few of our Meanest Green.

←

Who are all these guys, and what did they get busted for? What's up with the black bar across the eyes?

[rcade]

"[T]hese people from GoMeanGreen.com, they'll be the first ones to tell you how good you are, feed you food and drinks, but as soon as you lose down in Austin they'll be the first MOTHER $#@#ERS to tell you how much you suck and how $hitty your coaches are ..."

Darrell Dickey, March 9th, 2006

Addressing the team in front of the Mean Green faithfull prior to dismissing the team for spring break.

Rick

←

It kills me that Dickey thinks the scrutiny he's received at North Texas is the toughest fan scrutiny in Division I-A football. He should've been around Jacksonville (where I live) when Ron Zook was coaching Florida or hear how Jeff Bowden has been talked about at FSU.

We're a bunch of sweethearts compared to the fans of programs with perennial national championship expectations.

Edited November 25, 2006 by rcade

[SilverEagle]

We're a bunch of sweethearts compared to the fans of programs with perennial national championship expectations.

←

My friend who used to cover football in this area for the Gainesville paper, said basically the same thing, only he used 1-A and 2-A High School football for his example.

He said that if DD or RF feel that they are/were verbally mistreated, they should try coaching 1-A and 2-A football in Texas with only about 10 to 15 feet separating them from the disgruntled fans.

He said that anyone who has ever coached HS football at that level would love to have fans like North Texas fans. He added that "We're gettin out-coached" wouldn't even be noticed by those coaches.

[gangrene]

However it ended, Dickey's mark on UNT football will endure. He won four conference titles from 2001-2004. The Mean Green played in four New Orleans Bowls (winning one) after just five postseason appearances in the previous 88 seasons.

You know...it's great that we played in four consecutive bowl games, but can we get these historical comments footnoted???? In those previous 88 seasons, we never had a bowl tie-in and I'm pretty sure that we wouldn't have received an at-large bowl bid in three (if not all) of those four seasons we went to the NO Bowl.

I'm not trying to discredit our accomplishments, but come on people (media) look at the BIG picture. We were the best of the worst and, until recently, the best of the worst weren't rewarded with a bowl invite. We have the SBC, Commissioner Waters and our NO Bowl sponsors to thank...and I think they deserve as much, if not more, credit as DD does.

[Cr1028]

You know...it's great that we played in four consecutive bowl games, but can we get these historical comments footnoted????  In those previous 88 seasons, we never had a bowl tie-in and I'm pretty sure that we wouldn't have received an at-large bowl bid in three (if not all) of those four seasons we went to the NO Bowl. 

I'm not trying to discredit our accomplishments, but come on people (media) look at the BIG picture.  We were the best of the worst and, until recently, the best of the worst weren't rewarded with a bowl invite.  We have the SBC, Commissioner Waters and our NO Bowl sponsors to thank...and I think they deserve as much, if not more, credit as DD does.

←

Exactamundo. Can ANYONE honestly say that there was one season we could've beaten Boise State from '01-'04?

[NT80]

You know...it's great that we played in four consecutive bowl games, but can we get these historical comments footnoted????  In those previous 88 seasons, we never had a bowl tie-in and I'm pretty sure that we wouldn't have received an at-large bowl bid in three (if not all) of those four seasons we went to the NO Bowl. 

I'm not trying to discredit our accomplishments, but come on people (media) look at the BIG picture.  We were the best of the worst and, until recently, the best of the worst weren't rewarded with a bowl invite.  We have the SBC, Commissioner Waters and our NO Bowl sponsors to thank...and I think they deserve as much, if not more, credit as DD does.

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As much as DD wants to take credit for the Bowls, there would have been none without WW and the forming of SBC football.

[CaribbeanGreen]

As much as DD wants to take credit for the Bowls, there would have been none without WW and the forming of SBC football. 

←

Tell that to Scott Hall, Patrick Cobbs, Brandon Kennedy, Jonas Buckles, Johnny Quinn, Brad Kassell, Cody Spencer, etc..

..and somehow, WW and the SBC sure didn't help LaLa, LaMo, MTSU, FAU, FIU, Arkansas State, etc. get to bowls those years. Say what you want about the SBC, those NT teams were GOOD. If it were so easy to win the Belt, why were we the only team to do it for four years?

Edited November 25, 2006 by CaribbeanGreen

[rcade]

As much as DD wants to take credit for the Bowls, there would have been none without WW and the forming of SBC football. 

←

This is like saying that winning the Southland Conference was worthless when we were in Division I-AA. You don't always get to choose the caliber of your opponents, and the Sun Belt wasn't as easy to beat as memory suggests.

Winning the weakest conference in Division I-A football four straight years is still an accomplishment worth taking pride in. As we've seen the past two seasons, it's a hell of a lot better than getting our ass beat in the same conference.

I'm proud of what Dickey and UNT accomplished in the Belt. The next coach inherits a program in demonstrably stronger shape than Dickey did.

[Cr1028]

Tell that to Scott Hall, Patrick Cobbs, Brandon Kennedy, Jonas Buckles, Johnny Quinn, Brad Kassell, Cody Spencer, etc..

..and somehow, WW and the SBC sure didn't help LaLa, LaMo, MTSU, FAU, FIU, Arkansas State, etc. get to bowls those years. Say what you want about the SBC, those NT teams were GOOD. If it were so easy to win the Belt, why were we the only team to do it for four years?

←

These type of posts aren't made to discount the ability of the players but that of the coaching staff who believes that they made a great turnaround. If Boise State had not joined the WAC in '01, UNT would have not won the Big West and DD would have been given the axe way back then.