Three Carroll Coaches Headed To Unt

MeanGreen61 · January 4, 2007

College football: Three Carroll coaches bound for UNT

Dodge hires Mendoza, Ford, Drake

11:35 PM CST on Wednesday, January 3, 2007

By Brett Vito/Staff Writer

The new coaching staff at North Texas will have a decidedly familiar feel for head coach Todd Dodge after he dipped into the high school ranks to hire three of his former assistants at Southlake Carroll.

Defensive coordinator Ron Mendoza, offensive coordinator Todd Ford and defensive line coach Robert Drake have all notified the Southlake school district of their intention to leave the school and join Dodge at UNT, Carroll ISD athletic director Ronnie Tipps said Wednesday.

Former Air Force offensive coordinator Chuck Petersen is also joining the staff, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation said.

Dodge was introduced as UNT's new head coach on Dec. 12.

"All of them are outstanding coaches and all have great rapport with their players," Tipps said of the Carroll coaches. "Coach Drake is one of the better teachers we have in our school district. They will do a great job at North Texas."

Petersen worked his way up on the Air Force staff under Fisher DeBerry, who retired after 23 years as the Falcons' head coach in December. Petersen began his tenure at Air Force as a graduate assistant coach in 1985 and eventually served stints as receivers coach (1991-96) and quarterbacks/fullbacks coach (1997-99) before becoming the Falcons’ offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach in 2000.

Petersen served as Air Force's offensive coordinator through last season. The American Football Coaches Association named him its Division I Assistant Coach of the Year in 2003.

Petersen was a multi-sport athlete at Fort Worth Eastern Hills and went on to letter four years as a defensive back at Air Force.

Dodge previously hired former Haltom head coach and UNT letterman Clayton George as the Mean Green's wide receivers coach.

Dodge said shortly after he was hired that he wanted to put his staff in place quickly to catch up in recruiting. The former UNT offensive coordinator began that task after leading Carroll to the last of four Class 5A state titles during his tenure at the school on Dec. 23.

Dodge took over for former head coach Darrell Dickey, who was fired in the middle of his ninth season last year. UNT finished with a 3-9 record in 2006.

"We have to hit the Dallas-Fort Worth area hard in recruiting," Dodge said shortly after he was hired. "We are a little behind, but we can get our game plan together and let kids know that we are here and excited about being at North Texas."

ParksAndRecRick · January 4, 2007

Let the "Dodge Ball" era begin!

Hold on Mean Green Naiton!

The bandwagon is getting full....and starting to roll!!!!!!

ParksAndRecRick

Dodge Ball....The Ducking begins NOW!

SilverEagle · January 4, 2007

Okay, I need to understand this. They hired an OC from the Air Force Academy? Haven't they primarily been a wishbone offense for the last, oh.....thirty years? I thought we were getting excited about having a multiple set offense, and they go and hire a coach raised in the wishbone offense? :huh:

Edited January 4, 2007 by SilverEagle

SilverEagle · January 4, 2007

I found this in a Colorado Springs on line publication.

AFA Sports

December 16, 2006

Opinion: Coach loyal to the end

MILO F. BRYANT Gazette Sports columnist

Fisher DeBerry could have been the Air Force football coach next season.

The decision to depart belonged to him. In that respect, DeBerry left on his own terms.

But, understand, the man who turned Air Force into a program worthy of national respect could have had one last fling on what he called a “good ride.”

A source close to the athletic program said DeBerry could have kept his job but not offensive coordinator Chuck Petersen or defensive coordinator Richard Bell.

Since 1984, DeBerry hadn’t fired an assistant. He wasn’t going to start this week. And in that respect, DeBerry was forced to resign.

Athletic director Hans Mueh tiptoed around the issue Friday.

“I said, ‘Fisher, we need to talk, we need to make some major changes,’” Mueh said. “And he said, ‘Yes we do.’ So then when we met we started this dialogue back and forth and had one meeting, then had another meeting and then he went off and said I need to think about this some more and then came back and said, ‘I’m retiring.’”

The same tenacity and obstinate determination that took DeBerry to 169 victories and 17 winning seasons ultimately made his decision. DeBerry was too faithful to his coordinators.

Strong bonds sometimes force resignations.

DeBerry wasn’t the first victim of an allegiance. He won’t be the last. But that’s what happens in sports. However, in most cases, at most universities, it happens sooner.

The only real surprise is that Mueh had the gumption to force DeBerry’s hand by insisting that Peterson and Bell be let go.

“There comes a time in every man’s life when you have to look at the big picture,” DeBerry said Friday. “After 27 exciting and wonderful years here at the academy and 44 years of coaching, I am announcing my retirement from active coaching.”

DeBerry’s total body of work has been great for academy sports. Few can dispute that.

Academy brass should rename the stadium in honor of the coach. DeBerry should be afforded the deference given to all departing academy nobility.

But make no mistake about Friday’s words. His words and his retirement were the ultimate result of winning and losing. We live in a society that wants to know what you are doing for me now. DeBerry didn’t want to do what others in the athletic department felt was needed to win more games.

For some reason, DeBerry thought the status quo, as it pertains to his schemes, was acceptable.

The Falcons finished their third consecutive losing season with a Dec. 2 loss to Texas Christian University. Something should have changed after the 2004 season and wholesale changes should have happened after 2005.

That change should have been in adaptive philosophy, not necessarily in personnel.

If a team doesn’t have the athletes to efficiently run its schemes, first, blame must be placed on the coach for not recruiting the right players. Then, the coach needs to adapt his schemes to the players he has.

But the Falcons kept using the same schemes, and for some unknown reason expected results to improve. “

Everybody seems to be really keying on our offensive plays,” senior offensive lineman Curtis Grantham said soon after the TCU game. “Maybe mixing it up here and there could be the difference. Defenses are all starting to play us the same.”

That’s because they had figured out how to stop Air Force.

Contrary to DeBerry’s beliefs, few called for him to throw 40 or 50 passes a game. But it’s easy to see that quarterback Shaun Carney isn’t as good a runner as several past Air Force quarterbacks. It’s even easier to see that the size disparity between the Falcons’ offensive lines and the opponents’ defensive lines has grown through the years. The Falcons do not possess an offensive line built for plowing opponents.

A great running quarterback and a mulish offensive line — more than anything else — determine the success of the option offense.

The Falcons had neither.

They did and still do have a quarterback, in Carney, who can pass extremely well.

“You got to be willing to maybe change what you do a little bit,” former Air Force quarterback Beau Morgan said Friday. “I was shocked early in the season when I didn’t really see them throwing the ball at all. . . . I’m thinking, you got a quarterback and the best thing he does is throw the football. Why not adjust your system a little bit? You don’t always have to run the option every other play. Hand it to the fullback on first and 10.

“So, things like that, where you’re not willing to change, it just catches up with you because there are other teams with good players and smart coaches, and they’ll figure you out.”

That refusal to adapt caught DeBerry and held tight. If DeBerry had a willingness to change at any point during the past three seasons or in the past few days, he still would be an integral part of the football program.

The head coach.

Columnist Milo F. Bryant can be reached at 636-0252 or milo.bryant@gazette.com. Check out Milo’s blog, The Extra Milo, at

http://milobryant.blogspot.com/

The comments about Peterson concern me a lot.

Baby Arm! · January 4, 2007

Okay, I need to understand this. They hired an OC from the Air Force Academy? Haven't they primarily been a wishbone offense for the last, oh.....thirty years? I thought we were getting excited about having a multiple set offense, and they go and hire a coach raised in the wishbone offense?

I doubt that he going to be a coordinator here. Just becasue he as OC for the Zoomies doesnt translate to OC for the Mean Green. I would expect that Ford will get the OC nod, (with a lot of involvement by Dodge) Petersen will probably be a RB or WR coach.

Coach · January 4, 2007

They didn't run the old fashioned wishbone, they run a flexbone offense. It has a fullback and two slots I'm guessing 1x1 or 2x2 outside the tackle. Spread those slots out about 3 yards further, put the QB in the gun and you have Dodge's favorite formation. Then, run similar option plays that AFA ran out of the spread formation and you have the Urban Meyer wrinkle. Perhaps incorporating more option aspects into the offense is what Dodge had in mind when making this hire...just a thought.

I think Ole Green Guts is a big believer in this type of offense, he would have a lot more insight on how it translates into Dodge's formations.

Also another outlook on this hire is that here is an experienced college coach on the staff that so many seem to want. Do we know what area he was in charge of for recruiting at the AFA?

the green rokemi · January 4, 2007

I think Peterson and Dodge could probably learn a lot from each other regarding different types of offenses to run...given what players we have now a hybrid of both coaches offenses may fit us perfectly

ScreamingEaglesFan · January 4, 2007

Plus the fact Peterson was voted by his peers as the best assistant coach in D I in 2003 says something as well.

FirefightnRick · January 4, 2007

If a team doesn’t have the athletes to efficiently run its schemes, first, blame must be placed on the coach for not recruiting the right players. Then, the coach needs to adapt his schemes to the players he has.

Peterson may have been the one wanting "Wholesale" changes, couldn't get them and rocked the boat too much in trying to get them?

Had I been a member of DD's staff back in '04, and he still retained RF like he did, then I would have been the second least like person in the AD dept and would have been looking to go elwhere before the rug was yanked out from under.

Rick

GMoney · January 4, 2007

I think Coach hit the nail on the head. You've now got an assistant with over 20 years of college experience on staff who can also bring in some ideas on the running game. There are going to times when teams try to drop 8 in coverage, rush 3, and challenge TD to run. The ability to have a "run guy" mixed with TD's philosophy will help. In addition, looking at the open coaches positions, he'll probably coach RBs. Finally, having an assistant that was highly respected by peers is probably not a bad thing (even if it as 3 years ago).

MeanGreenBuzz · January 4, 2007

I think Coach hit the nail on the head. You've now got an assistant with over 20 years of college experience on staff who can also bring in some ideas on the running game. There are going to times when teams try to drop 8 in coverage, rush 3, and challenge TD to run. The ability to have a "run guy" mixed with TD's philosophy will help. In addition, looking at the open coaches positions, he'll probably coach RBs. Finally, having an assistant that was highly respected by peers is probably not a bad thing (even if it as 3 years ago).

I agree with most of what you said, but I think you may be a bit confused about TDs style of play. Yes he runs the option, but he isn't a pass first coach. He approaches offense to have a balanced attack (SLC had 57% running plays last season). I have a feeling this hire is to give him more formation options to go to to make his offense not so predictable. Also I am going to lay odds that Peterson is the OL coach.

Edited January 4, 2007 by MeanGreenBuzz

PlummMeanGreen · January 4, 2007

I know in light of where we've been rankings-wise forever (nationally) that we all so much want this to be almost perfect up in Denton and even now with most of us hoping it is UNT who becomes the next Boise State :blink: (of which 25+ years ago I would have never uttered such words because how many of us back then even knew such a school existed?) :rolleyes: ...............

................but lets give this new UNT coaching staff the benefit of the doubt and give them (like many new employees in many fields get); that is, lets back off of concerns that may not even need to be concerns and give our new coaches their honeymoon period of which I see that being at least 1 year for any coaching staff at most any non-BCS school. After all, how many years was it before DD had his first "above .500" season at UNT? Well, we don't need to wait that long, but I don't think we will with a hiring that went thru the proper process of our having looked as several potential HFC's this time around.

HIRING A COACH WITH A FEW QUESTIONS SURROUNDING HIM? WELL..............At UNT, we once hired a HFC that had just been fired and most of us who were around during the era of that coach were mostly pleased with his coaching career in Mean Green Country.

SilverEagle · January 4, 2007

Plus the fact Peterson was voted by his peers as the best assistant coach in D I in 2003 says something as well.

....and yet no other school came along and hired him away from the Air Force Academy. That sort of thing (being hired away) happens to "promising coaches".

Remember, DD was named coach of the year in the Sunbelt, yet no one came along and hired him away from us.

I'm not trying to indulge in nay-saying, I just don't understand this hire.

I don't know, maybe TD picked up a bargain here.

TIgreen01 · January 4, 2007

....and yet no other school came along and hired him away from the Air Force Academy. That sort of thing (being hired away) happens to "promising coaches".
Remember, DD was named coach of the year in the Sunbelt, yet no one came along and hired him away from us.
I'm not trying to indulge in nay-saying, I just don't understand this hire.
I don't know, maybe TD picked up a bargain here.

Maybe I'm missing something, but wasn't DeBerry under the gun last year for the comments he made to the media? I wonder if this AD wasn't already trying to get DeBerry out and just used his loyalty against him....had he tried to just out and out fire him, it probably wouldn't have gone over well with their alumni base. This way, he forces DeBerry's hand and IMHO, it looks more like a positive that Petersen was loyal to Air Force and DeBerry than just chasing money and being hired away. What was he making at Air Force as OC?

MeanGreen61 · January 4, 2007

....and yet no other school came along and hired him away from the Air Force Academy. That sort of thing (being hired away) happens to "promising coaches".
Remember, DD was named coach of the year in the Sunbelt, yet no one came along and hired him away from us.
I'm not trying to indulge in nay-saying, I just don't understand this hire.
I don't know, maybe TD picked up a bargain here.

We may not understand and have questions, but apparently TD doesn't. Gotta beleive he's got good reasons for this staff addition.

Cowtown · January 4, 2007

Who do you think was recruiting FW for the Zoomies?

SilverEagle · January 4, 2007

We may not understand and have questions, but apparently TD doesn't. Gotta beleive he's got good reasons for this staff addition.

I'll assume that TD has thought through this decision logically. I trust him to make good decisions for the benefit of his own career, and thereby benefitting North Texas in the process.

If anyone hasn't figured it out yet, I don't believe in "blind faith".

H-towngreen · January 4, 2007

I like the hire. We got ourselves an experienced D-1 coach with DFW ties. And as state before he is prolly not going to be our OC.

foutsrouts · January 4, 2007

I like the hire. We got ourselves an experienced D-1 coach with DFW ties. And as state before he is prolly not going to be our OC.

I like the hires also. I'm guessing that TD is pretty much going to be our OC, but I'm still a bit concerned about who's going to run the defense. I'm willing to put my faith in Dodge's decisions for now, but I'm not sure I'll feel too comfy if we end up with no veteran (college/pro) coaching presence on the defensive side. We shall see.

PerryG2480 · January 4, 2007

I remember the day that the Dodge hiring was announced, some of my high school staff from Carroll were saying that he would bring both of his coordinators with him. I passed it off as rumor then, but maybe next time I'll listen more closely to the mumblings coming from the halls of SLC.