Todd Dodge info: coaching bio and article

NT80 · December 12, 2006

In-depth Todd Dodge Q&A coaching bio/article

Cr1028 · December 12, 2006

nm

Edited December 12, 2006 by Cr1028

KingDL1 · December 12, 2006

I started it when I was at North Texas and never in my wildest dreams we’d still be going after 15 years and we’d have over 350 campers last summer. I love the camaraderie between quarterbacks and wide receivers. That’s one of the things that Ronnie Thompson helped instill in me.

Wow, what a read.

350 campers a years should give Todd Dodge incredible contacts for recruiting.

adman · December 12, 2006

Wow, what a read.
350 campers a years should give Todd Dodge incredible contacts for recruiting.
←

Following is what I see as Dodges biggest knock:

"How we keep it going is we have a great group of kids. We have a great feeder program with a lot of participation from two junior high schools. We start developing our quarterbacks at the seventh grade level with our quarterback-training program. We run the same offense, defense, and special teams at the seventh grade level up to the varsity program. I get to hire all of the football coaches so there’s a lot of continuity."

Everyone that is so excited about his ability to win state championships without bigger, faster, stronger athletes needs to pay heed to that paragraph. If you play for Dodge you are learning his system for at least 4 years before you start in Varsity (that is assuming you start in 7th grade and don't letter until your Jr. year.) That's A LOT of job training.

I'm not saying he's not a great coach but perhaps the excitement should be tempered a bit.

(Now if we recruit the entire SLC team each season...)

PlummMeanGreen · December 12, 2006

Following is what I see as Dodges biggest knock:
"How we keep it going is we have a great group of kids. We have a great feeder program with a lot of participation from two junior high schools. We start developing our quarterbacks at the seventh grade level with our quarterback-training program. We run the same offense, defense, and special teams at the seventh grade level up to the varsity program. I get to hire all of the football coaches so there’s a lot of continuity."
Everyone that is so excited about his ability to win state championships without bigger, faster, stronger athletes needs to pay heed to that paragraph. If you play for Dodge you are learning his system for at least 4 years before you start in Varsity (that is assuming you start in 7th grade and don't letter until your Jr. year.) That's A LOT of job training.
I'm not saying he's not a great coach but perhaps the excitement should be tempered a bit.
(Now if we recruit the entire SLC team each season...)
←

LET THE SLC FEEDER PROGRAM CONTINUE AT THE MEAN GREEN VILLAGE!

Cr1028 · December 12, 2006

I don't see it as a knock, I see him taking advantage of his situation. If the Junior High coaches want to use his system and give the program a leg up, he'd be a fool not to use that as a postive. Maybe he will recruit players from High Schools with similar systems and they will be well versed when they get to NT.

sports88guy · December 12, 2006

i also dont see it as a knock, if these athletes are good enough to make a D1 roster then they should be able to learn the Dodge style of offense

ADLER · December 12, 2006

Well, most college programs redshirt the majority of their freshman class. This gives the 5 years in the system under the same coaching staff.

Texas Tech has a fairly complicated system and they keep using 5th year senior quarterbacks and have had incredible success compared to previous years.. No, they haven't won any national championships, but they've elevated the program to where it's consistently competitive with the upper half of the Big 12.

adman · December 12, 2006

i also dont see it as a knock, if these athletes are good enough to make a D1 roster then they should be able to learn the Dodge style of offense
←

Sure they should but my point is practice the same thing the correct way for 4 years and you should be pretty well versed and able to execute flawlessly and win mucho state titles.

Anyone know what the records of the two junior high teams that feed SLC have been in the last six years? What about SLC JV?

adman · December 12, 2006

Well, most college programs redshirt the majority of their freshman class. This gives the 5 years in the system under the same coaching staff.
Texas Tech has a fairly complicated system and they keep using 5th year senior quarterbacks and have had incredible success compared to previous years.. No, they haven't won any national championships, but they've elevated the program to where it's consistently competitive with the upper half of the Big 12.
←

Right but NT isn't most programs. We've never had the depth and we certainly can't expect we will for the next couple of years hence the tempering comment.

hardline29 · December 12, 2006

If ya'll think HS success = college success, you're sadly mistaken. Right now, he coaches some of the finest HS players in the region. As the HC at a smallish D1, he will be recruiting against the Big 12, WAC, etc. He will not have the advantage of the "best" players on the field. I'm not saying he is not a good coach, but I would rather have a proven collegiate winner.

Edited December 12, 2006 by hardline29

good_ken · December 12, 2006

but I would rather have a proven collegiate winner.

Me too, but they cost upwards of 2 million per season. So we are gonna have to take a little more risk to get a bigger reward.

Cr1028 · December 12, 2006

If ya'll think HS success = college success, you're sadly mistaken. Right now, he coaches some of the finest HS players in the region. As the HC at a smallish D1, he will be recruiting against the Big 12, WAC, etc. He will not have the advantage of the "best" players on the field. I'm not saying he is not a good coach, but I would rather have a proven collegiate winner.
←

How many D-1A head coaching proven winners are interested in being the next HC at the U of NT? Jerry Glanville?

Cr1028 · December 12, 2006

The way I see it, TD is the only prospect that has no excuses not to win. He has coached at UNT before so he can't complain about his "tough situation". He knows most of the HS coaches in Texas and all of the powerhouse coaches. He said in an interview that one of the things he liked about the college game was recruiting.

Basically, he needs to come in here and win now. He has no excuses from not improving on DD's record in his very first season. Even if he is not named coach until Christmas day, he still has a leg up on any candidate that would come through purely on his familiarity with the HS coaching and players in the Metroplex.

Any other coach brought in would have some transition years granted. They need to get used to recruiting the area. They have to wait for their player to mature. They didn't expect this tough of a situation.

So the way I see it, anyone but Flanigan is a good choice but the only person who wouldn't have an excuse for not winning at least 4 games next year would be TD.

hardline29 · December 12, 2006

What about D2, 1AA, etc. Recruiting/finding your own players is a lot different than coaching at the premier school in the metroplex. SLC was winning big before Dodge got there. A guy like Carthel came to a school that had like 3 winning seasons in the last 20-25 years and has gone 21-4 in two years.

Cr1028 · December 12, 2006

What about D2, 1AA, etc. Recruiting/finding your own players is a lot different than coaching at the premier school in the metroplex. SLC was winning big before Dodge got there. A guy like Carthel came to a school that had like 3 winning seasons in the last 20-25 years and has gone 21-4 in two years.
←

You forget that Dodge recruited to UNT before and actually enjoyed it. He was QB coach and OC to UNT's all time leading passer. SLC was good but were not a national powerhouse prior to his arrival. I know, I played against them when they were 4A and didn't have a fancy new stadium. 4A schools don't have a reputation for jumping to 5A and losing one game in 4 or 5 seasons, that is just unheard of.

Yes Carthel has done some great things at WTAMU, but I just want to know how never coaching above the D2 level makes him the best choice? Has he ever even coached outside the Lonestar Conference at the collegiate level? Oh, and check out the stats this year compared to last and you'll show avg attendance dropped by 2500 per game this year and averaging about 100yd/game in penalties is not something I would look forward to. I don't think Jamario would either.

hardline29 · December 12, 2006

I agree, the penalties were not good. A national power? Now you know that is mythical....meaning an opinion. They were winning state titles before Dodge came on to the scene. Recruiting and selling a program is the same, no matter what level. A coach that is successful at D2 or 1AA doesn't lose the ability to sell. It might actually become easier (better facilities, more money, better/bigger community) A coach like Carthel has not only Texas contacts, but national contacts to bring in the top talent to a school like UNT. And as far as the running game goes, if they had a running back (the top guy was hurt), WT might not have lost a game.

NT80 · December 12, 2006

I don't see it as a knock, I see him taking advantage of his situation. If the Junior High coaches want to use his system and give the program a leg up, he'd be a fool not to use that as a postive. Maybe he will recruit players from High Schools with similar systems and they will be well versed when they get to NT.
←

Many high school programs with feeder systems use the same base varsity offense down to lower levels. It wasn't started by SLC.

NT80 · December 12, 2006

If ya'll think HS success = college success, you're sadly mistaken. Right now, he coaches some of the finest HS players in the region. As the HC at a smallish D1, he will be recruiting against the Big 12, WAC, etc. He will not have the advantage of the "best" players on the field. I'm not saying he is not a good coach, but I would rather have a proven collegiate winner.
←

SLC is full of average-sized players that play beyond their size, because of repetition and coaching. Dodge does not have the "best" players in the region, maybe the richest, but not an overstock of best players.