Interview Dd, They (nt) Tried To Kill Me, When That

[OldTimer]

Link to interview in Utah paper with DD...link to the "other board" article. Another woe is me...Yes he was fired but allowed to finish the season and walked away with about $500,000 of NT's money....boy did we treat him bad.

[GMoney]

It's time to just close the chapter on him. He was bitter when he was here and he's bitter now that he's gone. I thank him for what he did when he was here, but I don't respect him for the person he was and still is - good riddance!

[GoMeanGreen1999]

I think anytime, anyone is fired they are bitter, even sometimes if they get a big payout. Hopefully he will be able to move past it at some point. It really at this point, is a reflection of himself, so he is the one he is hurting.

[SilverEagle]

It's time to just close the chapter on him. He was bitter when he was here and he's bitter now that he's gone. I thank him for what he did when he was here, but I don't respect him for the person he was and still is - good riddance!

"I aint sayin you treated me (us) unkind

You could have done better, but I don't mind

You just kinda wasted my (our) precious time

But dont think twice, its all right"

Bob Dylan

[MeanGreen61]

DD is history, it's time to move on !

[chrisfisher]

I haven't read the article (which I have no plans too), but if it is true what he is saying (and I have no reason to doubt Emmit), then Dickey is acting like an idiot. And that is actually a pretty serious charge he leveled at UNT too. The bottom line is that DD couldn't deal with the OOC challenges that UNT put before him due to a crappy attitude, crappy recruiting, and even crappier "coaching." Dodge knew about the next season's OOC schedule including games against OU, welcomed the challenge, and took the job anyway. Dodge has confidence that he can compete at any level, while DD feels he can only compete against sub-par teams. Good riddance DD.

[STE]

DD is history, it's time to move on !

I think it's important to never forget the lessons of the past otherwise history will repeat itself. Someday Dodge will be gone and when he is - I hope we are wise enough to remember that a good coach also includes someone who is positive about the university and the program.

[WIFE2HOT4U]

I have been holding this back but...

My cousin lives across the street from a UNT fball player's (High Profile Player on offense) girlfriends house and they talk - so I heard DD is going through another personal issue that may be affecting his attitude - it's one of those issues that affects 50% of marriages - boy if it is true DD has had a very rough yr or so.

[GrandGreen]

Not a DD fan, but this is his attempt at being humorous, chill.

[Cooley]

North Texas is the only school in America to ever offer Darrell Dickey a head coaching job.

[NT80]

Article: (and for the record NT was only 1-AA for 12 years, not 25-30 as DD thinks, and we played tough teams then too...and beat more than he did as 1-A program!).......

At times last fall, the Utah State football team’s offense was downright, well offensive in the literal sense.

The Aggies have taken a step to try and change that for the 2007 season. Last week USU head coach Brent Guy named Darrell Dickey as his new offensive coordinator. The former North Texas head coach is happy to be an Aggie after spending nine seasons in Denton, Texas.

Dickey guided the Mean Green to four Sun Belt Conference championships and four trips to the New Orleans Bowl, and proudly wears a ring from the fourth trip to the post-season. He said USU is further along than North Texas was when he arrived. Dickey also believes in the way Guy has been building a team through mostly freshmen, which is how he did it at North Texas.

The past 10 months have been interesting from a health standpoint, but Dickey has gotten through three big developments and currently feels as good as he has since his playing days at Kansas State in the early 80s. Dickey, his wife Tory and daughter Meredith are excited to be living in the mountains.

The Galveston, Texas, native took some time the day after being announced as the offensive coordinator to sit down with The Herald Journal.

HJ: What sold you on coming to Utah State?

Dickey: Having played five times, been to Logan and been in the Big West Conference with Utah State and for a short period of time in the Sun Belt, I know the potential of the program here; what it has accomplished in the past and what it is capable of doing. That, plus the fact everybody I know who has ever coached here has just loved living here. From (TCU head coach) Gary Patterson, who I went to college with and played with, to (former Aggie) coach (Charlie) Weatherbie. People talk about how great the people are, how wonderful it is to live in this area. It’s a great place for family, which is important to me because I have a seven-year-old. ... I know the last year or two is not what you would want, but coach Guy and I have known each other for a long time. We have discussed in length what he is doing, and I totally believe he is doing things the correct way to build a program here that can be good, be competitive and compete for conference championships on a consistent basis.

HJ: Will it be hard not being in charge after nine seasons as a head coach at North Texas?

Dickey: I think it will be different, but I’m looking forward to doing it. I was very hands on at North Texas for seven years. There is a lot of things that come up that are head coaching duties, really don’t get to spend the time game planning, doing things with your players. You have to count on your assistants. ... I am very excited about the opportunity to get back in and be one of the contributors and deal with players. I’m looking forward to coaching again.

HJ: Was it tough leaving North Texas after being there almost a decade?

Dickey: It was. We have some very good friends there. We had a great time there, some great memories. We went in and accomplished something. My third year, a man named Gene Stallings (former Alabama head coach, who won national championship) came in and evaluated the program for the president and board of regents. He evaluated us and said it is impossible to win under the circumstances your football program is under, playing three, four, five money games every year. Fortunately for us, we had four years that we did what in his mind was almost impossible. We were able to overcome the money games, get to conference play, went on nice run, won 26 consecutive conference games, the second-longest streak at the time next to Boise (State). ... That was great, that was a lot of fun. Then, a year and a half later the school made a decision to go in another direction. It was tough to leave because we built something. ... I have no bitterness toward North Texas. I’m looking forward to the future.

HJ: What made your teams from 2001-04 so dominant in the Sun Belt Conference?

Dickey: What we did is one of the things coach Guy is doing here. We brought young players in, redshirted them, developed them, played them when they were young. They suffered some tough losses, then all of the sudden we had a nucleus of very good players at every position. We had pretty solid back-ups at every position. During our non-conference schedule, we were fortunate not get anybody really hurt. ... Luck factors in a little bit too.

HJ: North Texas always seemed to have good running backs. That is one area Utah State has struggled in. Will you be emphasizing the run here?

Dickey: When my tenure was over, you look back and the four top rushers in the history of the school all played while I was there. They all played against Division I opponents, but the 25-30 years before we got there, they were a I-AA program; a lot of their historical numbers were against I-AA opponents. Ours was against Oklahoma, Colorado, Texas, Kansas State — the cream of the crop — and then good Big West or good Sun Belt teams. ... There is a misconception all we did was run. We also left there with the all-time passing efficiency leader in the history of the school in quarterback Scott Hall, and the leading receiver in number of catches and receiving yards just graduated. We were more known for our running game. I think that’s where everything starts. I don’t think you can play offensive football and be one dimensional. At some point, if we are going to be successful, we are going to have to have solid running game.

HJ: What is your offensive philosophy?

Dickey: Balanced. When we got over the hump at North Texas, we played pretty good on defense, pretty good on special teams and we could run the ball, but we weren’t very good throwing the ball, and we lost some close games. When we went to winning games is when we developed a very good play-action passing game, started using more gadget plays, trick plays. ... My philosophy now is more what is the defense doing to keep us from running the ball, giving us something else. If they give us things in the passing game, let’s start doing it. Kids are more excited about playing when they know there is some excitement in the offense. We got to where we would run five, six trick plays a game. All offenses are boring when they are not productive.

HJ: Have you had a chance to evaluate the players here yet?

Dickey: Not really. The last time we played two years ago up here the game could have gone either way. They had a guy, No. 6, ran punts, thought every time we punted he was going to run it back for a touchdown. He got kicked out of game for excessive celebration. It was pretty ... I don’t know about the call, but I know it didn’t go in ya’ll’s favor.

HJ: That was Kevin Robinson, and he is still here. That has to make you happy?

Dickey: Oh, he is. Wow, great. I remember a pass down the middle and he (Robinson) had split our two safeties and it was just barley overthrown. ... It was an exciting football game with a lot of big plays. That was the last time I saw Utah State. I have talked with coach Guy and he feels there is some talent here. ... We just need to build some confidence. That is all I have ever done since going to Kansas State as a player. ... You got to get kids in a position in the fourth quarter on a consistent basis where the game is still being decided.

HJ: Tough competition is something you’re used to. What do you think of the WAC?

Dickey: I think the WAC is the fastest developing conference as far as people gaining respect for it. ... People in Texas think only the old Southwest Conference are the only people that can play any football. We beat Boise a couple of times while I was at North Texas and people were, ‘who are they?’ Well they are pretty good. Coach Weatherbie won some games here, John L. Smith won some games here and coach Guy is going to win some games here. You can build a good program here. ... This is a great conference. I’m excited to be a part of Utah State and a part of the WAC.

HJ: How are you adjusting to the cold?

Dickey: It’s not that bad. I was born on the beach, but I went to school at Kansas State. It was not only cold, but the wind would blow and ripe you apart.

HJ: I remember some good one-liners when Utah State was in the Sun Belt. Have you always been a witty person?

Dickey: I think sometimes when you say something stupid, somebody says that was pretty funny. I’ll be honest. I try to enjoy everything. We work hard, but we made it fun too.

HJ: You have been through some scary times. How is your health?

Dickey: I’ve always been an early morning person. In college, I would get up at 3:30 in the morning. When I started working, I would get up at 3:30 in the morning. The main reason was to get things done, so I could spend time with my daughter. ... Two years ago after our last bowl game, my energy level got bad. I was tired all the time. I had never been a sick person. I had that football mentality, tough it out. ... Last February I doubled over in my office, thought I was having a heart attack. I went to hospital and my gal bladder had gone goofy on me. That was not that big of a deal. ... After that I was eating like a horse and losing weight. My vision got a little blurry, and I gradually lost 40 pounds. I went to see the doctor and was diagnosed diabetic. It’s in my family. I got that under control, gained 25 pounds back and was cruising along. Then, in the middle of (the 2006) season during our open week, I had a heart attack at 3 o’clock in the morning. ... I lived a hard life for a long time. I smoked cigarettes, which I will never do again. I never exercised after I got done playing in 1982. The only exercise, if you want to call it exercise for 25 years, was go sit in a steam bath. I have made an adjustment in my lifestyle and exercise every day. I’m very lucky.

Two weeks later I got fired, so I had to make that adjustment also. They tried to kill me, when that didn’t work, they just decided to go ahead and fire me. When they want to get rid of you, they are going to get rid of you somehow. ... I have been given a total clean bill of health. I just need some place to channel it and thank goodness coach Guy offered me an opportunity to channel it somewhere

[GreenBat]

The 25-30 refers to years in 1-AA, which is still in correct.

But he's gone lets not worry about any longer.

Dickey's a prick, we all know that but let him live his miserable life in Utah State.

[the green rokemi]

He was saying the same old things while he was here...he's gone now, put the tissue box away he can hurt us no longer

That aside who wants to slash his tires, fork his yard, and TP his trees?

[Eagle Man]

That was the best $500,000 plus dollars we have ever spent!

So long Dickey! You don't work here anymore.

Edited January 24, 2007 by Eagle Man