Exclusive Interview With Todd Dodge Head Coach Of Unt

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SOURCE: http://www.theoldcoach.com/archives/001601.php

Exclusive Interview With Todd Dodge Head Coach of UNT

Dodge Says Timing Is Right, Heading To North Texas

By TITUS Sports Marketing – The chance to move straight from the high school ranks to Division I-A as a head football coach presents itself in the coaching industry maybe once every 50 years.

Whether or not Southlake Carroll head football coach Todd Dodge is that one-in-50-years kind of coach, North Texas is making that investment.

Dodge knew the official offer earlier this week from nearby North Texas -- to succeed Darrell Dickey as head coach of the Mean Green, was too promising to ignore. Never mind that Dodge hasn’t attended a North Texas football game since he left their coaching staff (under Dennis Parker) after the 1993 season – he well realizes the rewards.

“There’s only 119 of these (head coaching) jobs out there (in college football) for coaches and the opportunity doesn’t come along very often to go from a high school to a Div. I job,” said Dodge, who officially accepted the post on Tuesday. “When you have the opportunity to take one of those jobs … what we do we don’t do for the money, but at the same point there is money to be made if you’re willing to go to the next level to get it done.”

The credentials for Dodge and his Southlake Carroll Dragons are well-chronicled. He has led the Dragons to three Class 5A state championships in the four past seasons, heading into a 5A, Div. I state semifinal meeting with Allen at 1 PM on Saturday at Texas Stadium. From there it’s either Pearland or Austin Westlake in the UIL 5A Football Finals at 7 PM at the Alamodome on December 23 –in what would be the final game for Dodge on the Carroll High School sideline before officially starting at North Texas.

Southlake Carroll, which has been crowned by various sources as mythical national champions each of the past two years, has won 46 consecutive games. Since moving to the 5A level prior to the 2002 season, the Dragons are 50-0 during the regular season; 77-1 including the postseason.

Just 43 years old, Dodge was an assistant coach for the West squad at the 2006 U.S. Army All-American Bowl last January, serving as -- hard to imagine -- offensive coordinator. With the departure to North Texas, Dodge will likely vacate the prestigious honor of serving as head coach of the West at the 2007 U.S. Army All-American Bowl at the Alamodome on January 6.

(We’re sure Dodge would like to coach in the game and take the week of practice in San Antonio to discuss the starting lineup openings at North Texas with any members of the highly-regarded West squad.)

Dodge, who was honored by USA Today as its National Coach of the Year following the 2004 season, has been mentioned as a coaching candidate on numerous occasions at the college level the past few seasons. Most recently, he turned down interviewing at Rice, which was searching for a head coach at this time last year – eventually hiring former Allen head coach Todd Graham. (One year later, Graham should be in line for National Coach of the Year honors with the turnaround he made to the Owls.)

Dodge likely would have been one of the favorites at SMU if head coach Phil Bennett would have been released after the Mustangs’ 6-6 season came to close last month. Dodge probably would have been mentioned if Dennis Franchione was sent packing from Texas A&M, or if pass-happy Mike Leach had departed Texas Tech to fill the vacancy at Miami last week.

“I’ve prayed about it with my family and I feel good about this decision,” Dodge said. “It’s good to be wanted and knowing you’re the boss’s guy.”

What made the timing right for North Texas and AD Rick Villarreal (the boss) and wrong for Rice last year was Dodge’s ability to finally coach his son, Riley, this fall. It also helps that the Dodges can keep their home in Southlake, daughter Molly can continue in the Carroll school system with Riley, while Dad commutes the 25 minutes to Denton.

The elusive junior quarterback for the Dragons, Riley had served as ball boy for his father for much of the past decade, and until this season waited patiently for his turn in the starting lineup.

It’s not like he was backing up slugs. Riley’s predecessor, Greg McElroy, is at Alabama, and McElroy’s predecessor, Chase Daniel, is turning heads at Missouri. Riley, who played every third series behind McElroy last fall, is now 14-0 as a starting quarterback.

The elder Dodge knows there was no guarantee another North Texas opportunity would come along if he stayed on the sideline through Riley’s senior year and until Riley graduates in 2008. It’s not like Dad can’t sit in the stands watching Riley on Friday night somewhere in the DFW area next fall, prior to coaching a home game in Denton on Saturday.

“Last year was not the best decision for my family. It is now,” Dodge said.

“Riley’s done everything we’ve asked of him this year and he’s probably faced more pressure than anyone I have ever coached.

“We’ve talked about this opportunity and I’ve kept him in loop and he’s been very supportive. He’s said, ‘Dad, you’re always going to be my coach and I’m still going to go through drills with you during the summer. You’ve earned this right and I’m proud of you.’”

What must weigh on the elder Dodge’s heart is that Riley’s sentiments are shared by his teammates when they leave the practice field today after he notifies the Dragons of his move to North Texas. Dodge is the professor of ‘Focus 101’ and of taking his team on a journey throughout the 17-week season – and he’s not about to abandon ship when the finish line is within sight.

At North Texas, Dodge replaces Darrell Dickey, who led the Mean Green to four consecutive Sun Belt championships and New Orleans Bowl showings between 2001-2004. Dickey’s downfall was a 2-9 season in 2005 and a 3-9 showing this fall.

Among the nation’s 119 Div. I-A programs, North Texas finished the 2006 season ranked by one source at No. 112. The fan support in Denton has also sunk, with a season-low 9,806 fans at 30,500-seat Fouts Field for the home finale against Florida Atlantic last month. (The season average for UNT was 15,650 in five games thanks to a season opener against SMU attended by 25,231 fans.)

Certainly Dodge should be able to bolster the UNT roster with an influx of DFW-area student-athletes – we don’t recall any of the 11 Div. I-A signees from the Dragons last season even visiting North Texas.

So will the jump to Div. I-A and back into college football take some getting used to for a high school coach? Please. Dodge, who routinely plays before home crowds of nearly 10,000 at Dragon Stadium, had 60,000-plus fans in attendance at Texas Stadium (more than 12,000 than the announced crowd) to see Southlake Carroll defeat Euless Trinity in the 5A, Div. I playoffs in late November.

The TV cameras have also followed Dodge and the Dragons to a greater level than we have seen at North Texas in the past few years. Southlake Carroll has played on national TV (ESPN or FSN) once during each of the past three seasons, and regional TV (FSN-Southwest) four times in the past four years.

Had Dodge remained at Southlake Carroll, he may have matched legendary coach Gordon Wood for the state record of coaching seven state champions – perhaps before this decade came to a close. Dodge’s fourth state championship may come on December 23, and it’s no stretch to say Nos. 5, 6 and 7 would have been on the horizon.

According to college football recruiters and fellow high school coaches in the DFW area, Southlake Carroll’s freshman-to-junior classes are among the finest they have seen at the high school level in Texas in recent memory.

“If I stayed around in high school coaching, I would have never left here. I know I could have won a lot of games here,” Dodge said. “It may be a new challenge and a new learning process, but sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith … and I’ll try to turn it into something special.”

How good those Dragon underclassmen will be, including Riley and Tre’ Newton, may fall into the hands of Hal Wasson (at least that's our opinion), who should become an expected favorite to replace Dodge at Southlake Carroll. Wasson served as the offensive coordinator under Dodge at Southlake Carroll through the 2002 season and is currently the head coach at nearby Fossil Ridge HS in Keller.

Don’t be surprised if Dodge doesn’t relocate 2-3 key components of his coaching staff at Southlake Carroll to North Texas, and offers an invite to former assistant coach Clayton George, who is the head coach at Haltom. “My guys can coach with anybody,” Dodge said. “If anybody watches us play defense, we’ve played as good on defense as we have on offense.”

A graduate of the University of Texas, Dodge coached at Cameron Yoe, Newman Smith in Carrollton and at Fossil Ridge before arriving at Southlake Carroll prior to the 2000 season. He was 27-33 before leading the Dragons and enters Saturday’s game with a seven-year mark of 97-10 leading the Green and White.

(TITUS Sports Marketing, which provides advertising, sponsorship and event consultation and management to school districts and associations across the Lone Star State, is a content contributor to The Old Coach Network)

[FirefightnRick]

“My guys can coach with anybody,” Dodge said. “If anybody watches us play defense, we’ve played as good on defense as we have on offense.”

I like.

Rick

Edited December 20, 2006 by FirefightnRick

[MeanGreenBuzz]

I like.

Rick

Hmmm a coach with confidence not excuses. I definitely like as well.

[GreenBat]

Nice Story!!!

[TalkToME99]

When the Coach believe in his plan and his players they will win ball games. Start with the coach and DD did not have that Great story.

[football fan]

Maybe TD will take UNT on a 97-10 journey over 7 yrs!!