Extra Notes From Cbs Sportsline Story

[Peacock]

Cleaning out the Todd Dodge notebook

Leftovers from the North Texas story and former high school coach Todd Dodge:

• For the record, Dodge looks like an older version of Kyle Chandler, the coach on Friday Night Lights.

• Son Riley is a rising senior quarterback at Southlake (Texas) Carroll who is being recruited heavily by BCS conference schools.

• On the team: "We're going to be physical on defense. I haven't talked a whole lot of X's and O's with them. How are we going to treat the lady in the academic center, RAs (resident assistants) in the dorm, how are we going to be perceived in the community? If you can put an exciting brand of football on the field but if you have a team that the fans don't respect, all that falls by the wayside pretty quickly. "

• A few of Dodge's 10 game-day expectations: 1) Never underestimate the power of kindness; 2) Kill the will of your opponent; 3) Success can come through short bursts; 4) Visualize the game before you play it; 5) Show class and poise.

• More on the team: "I would love to see this football program become one that this metroplex wraps itself around. You just do it and let it flow. We have 160,000 alumni right here, 31,000 students. If you had 10,000 students that stayed and went to the game, some of those alumni get fired up about it. It wouldn't take long to get that sucker (stadium) packed."

• In 1992, when Dodge was hired as a then 28-year-old offensive coordinator he was asked to change the offense from an old flexbone option system to a no-huddle with a double slot. Expect more of that, only more sophisticated, at North Texas.

• On a memorable speaking engagement: "You talk about a great day for me. Roger Staubach was the lead speaker at this big deal. I was one of the lead-ins. I'm standing backstage and it's me and Roger Staubach. I'm sitting there chatting with my childhood hero. They've got a ton of these autograph balls he's signing for executives. He and I start playing catch."

• Former Alabama coach Gene Stallings was hired as a consultant at North Texas in 2000. His report concluded that it would be very difficult to win at North Texas. The Mean Green went on to win four consecutive Sun Belt titles under former coach Darrell Dickey.

• Sun Belt teams are known for having to play non-conference "body bag" games to balance the athletic budget. Part of the attraction for Dodge was making the schedule more manageable. That translates to the Mean Green playing "only" at Arkansas and Oklahoma next season. The other non-conference games are against SMU and Western Kentucky.

• On quarterbacks: "I run quarterback camps. I'll talk to seventh- and eighth-grade quarterbacks. ... I bet I could go to any middle school in the middle of footballs season on a Tuesday morning, park my car, stand and just watch the kids as they come to school in the morning I bet I can pick out the starting quarterback. I bet I can pick out whether you won or lost."

• AD Rick Villareal also interviewed former University of San Diego coach Jim Harbaugh and Nebraska offensive coordinator Jay Norvell. Norvell has since taken the same job at UCLA. There was contact with Jimbo Fisher as well. Fisher eventually went to Florida State as O-coordinator.

• Villareal on hiring a high school coach: "Around the rest of the country I'm sure they're going, "They hired a high school coach.' I told my president, 'We're not worried about Pennsylvania or Tacoma, Washington. We're worried about Dallas and the metroplex. What's the reaction going to be in Dallas? What's the reaction going to be in our market? What's the reaction going to be with our fans?"

[Eagle1855]

• Former Alabama coach Gene Stallings was hired as a consultant at North Texas in 2000. His report concluded that it would be very difficult to win at North Texas. The Mean Green went on to win four consecutive Sun Belt titles under former coach Darrell Dickey.

I'd be interested to see what everyone thinks of the difficulty to win post-Mean Green Village and post-Sun Belt run.

I'd also like to note that I could really are less what anyone from the University of Alabama thinks about anything. That school epitomizes every negative southern stereotype.

[Mean Green 93-98]

"I haven't talked a whole lot of X's and O's with them. How are we going to treat the lady in the academic center, RAs (resident assistants) in the dorm, how are we going to be perceived in the community? If you can put an exciting brand of football on the field but if you have a team that the fans don't respect, all that falls by the wayside pretty quickly. "

What is there not to like about Todd Dodge?

[MeanGreenBuzz]

• Sun Belt teams are known for having to play non-conference "body bag" games to balance the athletic budget. Part of the attraction for Dodge was making the schedule more manageable. That translates to the Mean Green playing "only" at Arkansas and Oklahoma next season. The other non-conference games are against SMU and Western Kentucky.

So what happened to our Akron on NIU or whoever we are supposed to play from that conference next season? Did it get bumped for WKU?

[BleedGreen64]

Gene Stallings is a Texas (Paris) and was the last successful coach at Alabama. He is a true example of a Southern gentleman.

[Eagle1855]

Gene Stallings is a Texas (Paris) and was the last successful coach at Alabama. He is a true example of a Southern gentleman.

I was talking about the University of Alabama in general, not specifically Stallings.

And regardless of whether he is a nice guy or great coach, I still think he is/was wrong about his assessment of NT.

[NCMeanGreen]

What is there not to like about Todd Dodge?

Well, for starters he is going to put up a lot of points against fellow teams in our conference on his way to creating some very lop-sided games. He is going to pack Fouts Stadium, creating a potential safety hazard (can that old stadium fit that many fans????), he is going to create infectious excitement with the students on campus, thereby jeopardizing their ability to learn...

Oh, and back to the stadium he is going to create traffic jams along I-35 and streets surrounding the stadium. I do not know about you, but I am concerned with all of this potential National exposure he is going to create - my alma mater will no longer be my our best kept secret.

Now ask me, fellow Mean Green'ers, what is not to LOVE about TD??????

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

I was talking about the University of Alabama in general, not specifically Stallings.

And regardless of whether he is a nice guy or great coach, I still think he is/was wrong about his assessment of NT.

---I agree with your comment...... He had lived in Dallas a long time as a coach with the Cowboys and was the Head-Coach at A&M during the 60's and I think he had too much memory of the past and not thinking about the current situation. During the era he coached in Texas, the SWC was THE conference in Texas and we were not in it and "thanks" to SMU were not admited during the Fry era. The situation is now completely changed. The SWC is gone and there a lot of universities in Texas that are not in THE conference anymore. Then we and UTEP were pretty much ignored (note their win/loss record in the era before the SWC break-up also) We can easily compete with SMU, Rice, Houston, TCU, and UTEP now and we are much larger than every one of them except Houston. Baylor may be in the Big-XII but they are near the bottom and regularly take a beating so we can get as much respect as they do as well.

--We just need to get our act together and I personally think hiring Dodge was the first step and it has created more fan and media interest. Now we need to win especially against some name (even other Texas) teams and hopefull get a better stadium.

--- I respect Stallings but I think he missed this one, beside the SWC had just disappeared when he made his comments and the Belt was just getting started. Things have changed... This past season showed that the Belt is not a lot different than CUSA... To us CUSA would provide more regional opponents but other than that it is NOW not a great deal better with a lot of small universities.

---I hope you read the Rice post on another thread when someone trashed us and the Belt--- then the next Rice "poster" reminded the others that Troy which clobbered them in a bowl game [41-17] was a Belt team. Rice was the #2 CUSA-West team behind Houston.

Edited February 2, 2007 by SCREAMING EAGLE-66

[NT91]

Well, for starters he is going to put up a lot of points against fellow teams in our conference on his way to creating some very lop-sided games. He is going to pack Fouts Stadium, creating a potential safety hazard (can that old stadium fit that many fans????), he is going to create infectious excitement with the students on campus, thereby jeopardizing their ability to learn...

Oh, and back to the stadium he is going to create traffic jams along I-35 and streets surrounding the stadium. I do not know about you, but I am concerned with all of this potential National exposure he is going to create - my alma mater will no longer be my our best kept secret.

Now ask me, fellow Mean Green'ers, what is not to LOVE about TD??????

This is all talk.. they need to WIN!!!

[CO Green]

• On the team: "We're going to be physical on defense. I haven't talked a whole lot of X's and O's with them. How are we going to treat the lady in the academic center, RAs (resident assistants) in the dorm, how are we going to be perceived in the community? If you can put an exciting brand of football on the field but if you have a team that the fans don't respect, all that falls by the wayside pretty quickly. "

I think this is going to be a key factor to why Dodge is going to be so successful this season. I think we will see a lot more discipline in this team.

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

---Lets us hope NT fans jam up I-35 this fall to the point that the State Department of Highways will want us to do something ( build a new stadium and more parking lots) to help the traffic situation.

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

I think this is going to be a key factor to why Dodge is going to be so successful this season. I think we will see a lot more discipline in this team.

--Hopefully on the field and off... I am tired of these stupid unsportmanlike penalitues and the the other really dumb ones. Penalities and turnovers are two big factors that lose games.

[BleedGreen64]

Eagle1855 we will have to agree to disagree on the University of Alabama. They have been down on their luck lately but it is a fine educational institution mcu aligned by our Northern brethern. As they say the "victors write the history".

For the SMU game, I am hoping to see more green in the stands than red, blue, etc. and a full house for the MAC game to kick off Dodge Ball.

[NT80]

I'd be interested to see what everyone thinks of the difficulty to win post-Mean Green Village and post-Sun Belt run.

I'd also like to note that I could really are less what anyone from the University of Alabama thinks about anything. That school epitomizes every negative southern stereotype.

"• Former Alabama coach Gene Stallings was hired as a consultant at North Texas in 2000. His report concluded that it would be very difficult to win at North Texas."

That quote was taken a little out of context. More like: "it would be very difficult to win at North Texas....without fencing around your practice fields", and other suggestions for facility and department improvements, such as fewer money games, etc. He did not say it solely as quoted.

Stallings is a class guy and was very informative at that "State of NT Athletics" meeting hosted by Dr. Pohl. This was right before RV was hired as AD. Also just before Trilli was fired as basketball coach by Dr. Pohl when Stallings noted us playing a non-scholarship program and losing! Stallings was hired to report what he saw that North Texas needed to change to be successful, including more donations and supporters; and he was correct on many points.

[PlummMeanGreen]

"• Former Alabama coach Gene Stallings was hired as a consultant at North Texas in 2000. His report concluded that it would be very difficult to win at North Texas."

That quote was taken a little out of context. More like: "it would be very difficult to win at North Texas....without fencing around your practice fields", and other suggestions for facility and department improvements, such as fewer money games, etc. He did not say it solely as quoted.

Stallings is a class guy and was very informative at that "State of NT Athletics" meeting hosted by Dr. Pohl. This was right before RV was hired as AD. Also just before Trilli was fired as basketball coach by Dr. Pohl when Stallings noted us playing a non-scholarship program and losing! Stallings was hired to report what he saw that North Texas needed to change to be successful, including more donations and supporters; and he was correct on many points.

Thank you for that most important clarification, NT80.

Stallings also said we'd never be another Alabama, but aren't there probably about 80 plus other NCAA D1-A schools who would fit that criteria, too?

I am as much a Gene Stallings fan as the next guy (probably more) and it was an honor to shake that man's hands that evening, but for all of the "non new" info Stallings brought to the table in his report that evening and the boo-koos of monie$ UNT paid him to do so, I would have preferred UNT had paid Hayden Fry the same (or more) but rather to have turned Fry loose on Texans as to have had him go out and do what he has been known to do quite effectively............fundraising.................and to do some fundraising among DFW'ers (specifically here in the North Texas Metroplex where he served as a NCAA D-1 head football coach for almost 2 full decades at 2 different schools. The man had a wealth of knowledge as to many of the ones who had the big bucks right here in our own backyard.

UNT can probably do some things that makes it easier on itself in fundraising (if it only would) over hiring a bunch of non-Texans non-stop who don't know downtown Dallas' Commerce Street from Ervay Street; and hence therefore, for darn sure wouldn't know Trammell Crow from Zig Ziglar.

Edited February 2, 2007 by PlummMeanGreen

[FirefightnRick]

Former Alabama coach Gene Stallings was hired as a consultant at North Texas in 2000. His report concluded that it would be very difficult to win at North Texas.

No it didn't, at least that's not what he told us the night he presented his findings. And thank you to NT80 and Plummer for first clarifying this. This is the second time I have seen this qoute in print and was wondering if there was anyone left here on this board who was actually there that night?

I was sitting on the front row and the above qoute is NOT at all what he stated or meant. He said as things currently were at North Texas it would be very difficult to win. He said so after pointing out some rather surprising and unknown deficiencies within the program. Some of those were:

1. No meeting place for the team to have a unified place to go over game plans etc.....Thank you to Connie and Denny Kalk for quickly stepping up to the plate and taking care of this.

2. Players living all over Denton. He said, and I'm paraphrasing: "Folks, how can you know what your young men are up to when you have no idea where they are?". He then gave examples of how he knew where his players were after hours at Alabama to make sure they were taking care their business of school and getting proper rest

3. He said many of our players told him they were leaving practice and going back to the apartment and stopping off on the way to get fast food for supper(I believe he mentined Taco Bell?). He then again made a statement like "Folks, you can't win football games if your players are not eating right". Then reiterated the importance to getting them BACK on campus and not living all over Denton in apartments etc.

That last part embarrased me the most. This country may be a lot of things but we damn sure are not short of food. I lived on $40 worth of foodstamps a month and $120 a week stocking groceries at the Piggly Wiggly on East McKinney street for over a year. I know what it's like to not get to eat right and the thought of some of our top recruited students living like that didn't sit well with me at all.

At the end coach Stallings had some somewhat shocking things to lay down to us about our program and few were very good. He even went so far as to bring up a basketball game that he had attended a week earlier in which North Texas nearly lost to a non scholarship program and then pointed out in a remark that I can't remember exactly how it went, but it went like, "I don't know about the rest of you but there's something wrong when your losing by ? to a guy who doesn't even give out scholarships". I remember everyone in the room sinking in their chairs and trying to hold in the groans because I believe Trilli was in attendance to the event that night? But it was an eye opening experience as to how far Helwig let this program sink and Dr. Pohl and RV came in and immediately started to rectify the problems. But in no way did coach Stallings come out and say or leave the impression that it would very difficult to win or succeed here. He was simply saying that as it stands now it woud and that some things could easily be addressed to make it more feasable, and that's exactly what happened, starting with Sun Belt Conference play later that season.

Rick

Edited February 3, 2007 by FirefightnRick

[MGW]

Gene Stallings is a Texas (Paris) and was the last successful coach at Alabama. He is a true example of a Southern gentleman.

The only thing Paris has going for it is that it's not as crappy as Texarkana.

[untbowler]

The only thing Paris has going for it is that it's not as crappy as Texarkana.

amen to that lived in clarksville for 2 years and mother is a Bogota-rivercrest Alum

Would not go back for any amount of money

[Mean Green 93-98]

amen to that lived in clarksville for 2 years and mother is a Bogota-rivercrest Alum

Would not go back for any amount of money

What you need to do is slide south a little into Titus County, where you start getting into some of the timber. Lived in Mount Pleasant 2 years, loved it--best place this side of Denton, Texas.