Would Mike Leach Come Here?

[SilverEagle]

You really think it would take Leach to get people interested in the program? Heck, we had 23,740 out to see a 4th year coach who had a career record of 5-32 coming in to this game.

I think our fans are there. And I think they would be there to give ANY new coach a chance. Leach or anybody. And I'm not anti-Leach.....just speaking up for our fanbase.

John, you make an excellent point. The high profile name of Todd Dodge has pretty much faded by now and yet we still get 23K to show up for games. For the umpteenth time I will suggest that throwing a lot of money at the coaching problem is not the answer. I know for sure that we could have had this guy four years ago when we hired Coach Dodge..... http://www.gobuffsgo.com/staff.aspx?staff=45. He is not a household name, but what he lacks in name recognition, he makes up for in lots of hard work and a willingness to get out into the community and promote. He's also a pretty good coach.

One very notable portion of his profile is this paragraph...

In 2005, during his first season in Canyon, Carthel and the Buffs surprised everyone, as, after having been picked to finish last in the LSC preseason poll, as they registered a 10-1 regular season record and captured the school’s first Lone Star Conference Championship in 19 years. Excitement surrounding Carthel’s program was evident as attendance soared, with a regular-season average of over 14,000 fans per game at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium. In addition to garnering local praise from alumni and area media outlets, Carthel was honored by his peers as the 2005 Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year.

14,000 may not sound too impressive for many of you out there, but you have to keep in mind that the student enrollment this year at WT A&M is....7700. I don't know what it was back in 05.

We should have hired someone like Carthel. Someone who has been involved in building programs that have been down, and someone who can be very involved in promoting the program. Hayden Fry was good at doing that, and to a certain degree, so was Corkey Nelson.

[Eagle1855]

For our sake, I hope not.

Because being irrelevant and losing is far more exciting?

[UNTX]

If Leach is back in coaching next season, it's far more likely that he'd end up in Boulder.

[LoveMG]

north texas is too close to celina for him.

[VideoEagle]

While Leach would be interesting, I don't think our new stadium is big enough for his ego. Plus, he will be coming out of a lawsuit against the State of Texas and it doesn't make sense to go back to work for the same organization. Lastly, I think he has too much of a Bob Tyler attitude in him ("The previous college didn't treat me right" "Rules don't apply to me") and both the NCAA and trial lawyers are paying far more attention now to places like NT than they were in 81.

I agree that Colorado is a far better fit for Leach.

[VideoEagle]

north texas is too close to celina for him.

Very true!

[wardly]

100% agree. Excluding Hayden Fry, North Texas is where FBS head coaching careers die.

jerry moore replaced fry, went 11&11 in 2 years, got the texas tech job, was fired, and has had a great career at app. state. those are only 2 head football coaches since my freshman year of 61' that moved up instead of out. can you name a basketball coach that did the same? we should name our new football stadium "the boneyard".

[JayDub]

100% agree. Excluding Hayden Fry, North Texas is where FBS head coaching careers die.

And, considering the fact that most major programs consider Leach as "too toxic to touch" right now, I think that's all the more reason we have a shot at him.

North Texas needs something like Leach. Say what you will about that guy, the students LOVED him. I think he's the kind of character that could ignite some serious interest amongst the students...and, in turn, keep them involved after they graduate.

[PlummMeanGreen]

Leach is a good coach but I'm not even sure that he's available until his law suit is settled. He wouldn't be my first or second choice, however. Those would belong to two brothers with the same last name. Do we have enough money to hire either Terry or Tommy Bowden? Another candidate that I'd like to see here is Jeff Bower. And why not? It seems like half of our staff was at Southern Miss at one time or another.

LET ME PREFACE THIS BY SAYING: If we hire a new coach (don't forget DD opened his 4'th losing season in a row at 0 & 5 before the infamous MUTS game and a fledgling ugly duckling new league called the Sun Belt Conference with some schools just up from 1-AA helped him win that league in what was still a 5 & 6 season in his 4'th year so at UNT..............anything can happen in the 12'th hour but (admittedly) the stakes are so much higher with TDodge and a football team with so many key injuries now that this thing may not be salvageable for Coach Dodge. The first thing Dodge said upon his hiring was "UNT must start building a new football stadium." I think a cruel irony will be in store for him on that subject. You know, the old adage that many times bad things happen to nice guys is just so gol' darned true.

NOTE: I as a poster back in the day over-did it with DD because I know that words from many of you was that he was a nice guy--good family man, etc, but the very thing that I think turned him south toward the end at UNT (and maybe his getting a tad bitter) was the glaring fact that he (along with his assistants who usually follow) could not get a a more high profile football job after the first 2 or 3 bowl games. And truth to told, that would be a normal re-action from most any coach who would want to move up the NCAA totem pole.

I'm with you, Jack, on candidates. I live SilverEagle's idea, too, and I also remember when that guys name was being shopped around on this forum pre-Todd Dodge hiring. George Dunham and many of us on this board were on the Todd Dodge bandwagon and we still pull for him today--it just looks like a tough deal for him with so few wins.

I'm also with NT80 inasmuch as I also think Leach is too much of a pirate. He had some non-football related issues that I just don't think this football program and campus community are at the level that it can stand that kind of thing. Leach showed a tremendous amount of bull-headedness when he was dealing with the TTech Board of Regents plus his firing split the Tech community in half right before their bowl game. I dont' think the TT Board of Regents would give the UNT Board of Regents a recommendation for Coach Leach. His future will probably be the NFL as it is.

GMG!

Edited September 12, 2010 by PlummMeanGreen

[UNT90]

And, considering the fact that most major programs consider Leach as "too toxic to touch" right now, I think that's all the more reason we have a shot at him.

North Texas needs something like Leach. Say what you will about that guy, the students LOVED him. I think he's the kind of character that could ignite some serious interest amongst the students...and, in turn, keep them involved after they graduate.

Your right., I don't think there is any way a BSC program will touch Leach right now. People need to keep in mind that there are only 120 of these jobs in the world. When you look at it from that perspective, do you really think Leach is such a long shot?

There are huge risks with him, almost all of them involving nothing to do with football. You look at TTech before Leach and the parallels to UNT are striking (with the exception of BCS conference membership, of course). The things that Leach did for that university in terms of not only the football program, but national recognition will never be forgotten by that fan base. Don't believe me? Ask a Tech grad.

If Leach came here, we would get an instant boost in recruiting, some national publicity, and instant, INSTANT, improvement on the football field.

Plumm, is this program really in any other position than to take a chance like this? Really? We are not TCU, or hell, even SMU now. We are at the very bottom of FBS football. Seems to me now is exactly the time to take this type of chance.

[ParksAndRecRick]

Selling your soul is not accpetable to a great University like North Texas!

[SilverEagle]

LET ME PREFACE THIS BY SAYING: If we hire a new coach (don't forget DD opened his 4'th losing season in a row at 0 & 5 before the infamous MUTS game and a fledgling ugly ducking new league called Sun Belt Conference with some schools just up from 1-AA helped him win that league in what was still a 5 & 6 season in his 4'th year so at UNT..............anything can happen in the 12'th hour but (admittedly) the stakes are so much higher with TDodge and a football team with so many key injuries now that this thing may not be salvageable for Coach Dodge. The first thing Dodge said upon his hiring was "UNT must start building a new football stadium." I think a cruel irony will be in store for him on that subject. You know, the old adage that many times bad things happen to nice guys is just so gol' darned true.

NOTE: I as a poster back in the day over-did it with DD because I know that words from many of you was that he was a nice guy--good family man, etc, but the very thing that I think turned him south toward the end at UNT (and maybe his getting a tad bitter) was the glaring fact that he could not get a a more high profile football job after the first 2 or 3 bowl games. And truth to told, that would be a normal re-action from most any coach who would want to move up the NCAA totem pole.

I'm with you, Jack, on candidates. I live SilverEagle's idea, too, and I also remember when that guys name was being shopped around on this forum pre-Todd Dodge hiring. George Dunham and many of us on this board were on the Todd Dodge bandwagon and we still pull for him today--it just looks like a tough deal for him with so few wins.

I'm also with NT80 inasmuch as I also think Leach is too much of a pirate. He had some non-football related issues that I just don't think this football program is at the level that it can stand that kind of thing. Leach showed a tremendous amount of bull-headedness when he was dealing with the TTech Board of Regents plus his firing split the Tech community in half right before their bowl game. I dont' think the TT Board of Regents would give the UNT Board of Regents a recommendation for Coach Leach. His future will probably be the NFL as it is.

GMG!

....and our board of regents should care about TT's recommendation because???????...

Here is another example of the type of coach that we need at North Texas......Turner Gill

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/09/11/2216187/ku-bounces-back-with-28-25-upset.html

Last week people were laughing at Kansas for getting beat by North Dakota. Does Gill go into a panic mode? It doesn't appear so. Does he go into a bunker mentality mode? Nope. He changes QB's, makes other adjustments and turns things completely around in a weeks time.

Some people on this board are still talking about giving TD more time because it takes time to bring about changes and get your program going.

Tell that to Turner Gill. Tell that to Don Carthel.

[NT03]

We will sell the remaining club seats if Leach is named HC. There are several available. No change and the price will have to drop or they will be empty

[PlummMeanGreen]

Your right., I don't think there is any way a BSC program will touch Leach right now. People need to keep in mind that there are only 120 of these jobs in the world. When you look at it from that perspective, do you really think Leach is such a long shot?

There are huge risks with him, almost all of them involving nothing to do with football. You look at TTech before Leach and the parallels to UNT are striking (with the exception of BCS conference membership, of course). The things that Leach did for that university in terms of not only the football program, but national recognition will never be forgotten by that fan base. Don't believe me? Ask a Tech grad.

If Leach came here, we would get an instant boost in recruiting, some national publicity, and instant, INSTANT, improvement on the football field.

Plumm, is this program really in any other position than to take a chance like this? Really? We are not TCU, or hell, even SMU now. We are at the very bottom of FBS football. Seems to me now is exactly the time to take this type of chance.

Of Course, We All Are Merely Speculating:

I think with a new stadium we even quit our forever multi-decade infatuation/comparisons with SMU and TCU. We will do "OUR" thing and let those 2 do "THEIR" thing. In their dreams they cannot touch the student diversity/racial balances we have at UNT and if anyone does not think that that does not get noticed by recruits on their visits to UNT well lets talk about some ocean front property in Arizona......... Hey, TCU will come back down to earth in due time and with that occurring so will their crowds--they've been there done that before. In fact the kind of crowd we had last night is what TCU would draw during losing years (except when UT and TAMU came to Amon Carter Stadium, that is).

Leach? I can't remember his first few years at Tech as far as his W/L record goes. He would be a go for me if they all had a "come to Jesus" sit-down talk with him and make sure he and UNT are on the same page with zero tolerance for any non-football legal issues that might come up. (He has legal issues now that have not played out last I heard). Yet, he may have learned a lesson in life with what happened at Tech and never even come close to repeating it again. That whole thing with Leach and the TTech Prez' and BOR's was just so wheels-off. Everyone deserves a 2'nd or 3'rd chance in life, maybe UNT would be his 2'nd chance.

Edited September 12, 2010 by PlummMeanGreen

[jimbob]

Give the job to Canales and be done with it.

[SilverEagle]

Give the job to Canales and be done with it.

I'd call that suggestion "viable", but only if he has ever wanted to be, or has been, a head coach in the past. If he's never gone after that position, I'd be concerned about dropping the job into his lap.

[adman]

I would love leach to come to NT...

We took their tortillas. Why not their coach.

[meanJewGreen]

something to consider for UNTs leaders.... When Leach was head coach, Tech had one of the highest graduation rates among FBS teams. I would think if we ever want to take ourselves seriously as not only an athletic but an academic school as well, we should look at what Leach did with the academic side of athletics. That should be a real selling point for our administration as well, IMHO.

[UNT90]

Selling your soul is not accpetable to a great University like North Texas!

Selling your soul?? We would be selling our soul because Leach put James's son in an air conditioned, 400 sqr foot room for a couple of hours?

Or are you scared Leach will build a program so strong and accumulate so much power here that the regents will feel forced to oust him to restore order?

One can only dream.

Edited September 12, 2010 by UNT90

[Green Mean]

If Leach came here the hottest ticket in town would be going to UNT football games period. I have quite a few Tech friends/alums and they all still adore Leach and will do what it takes to fix that administration up there. One of my buddies pretty much said that Lubbock is a god awful place but when Leach got there...it became a place where many players wanted to come. Leach has single handedly sort of made Lubbock into a town that has grown significant over the last few years with new developments and stuff. Say what you wanna say about Leach but the man knows football and he gets the job done on all levels other than football.

[GreenMachine]

If we hired Leach, our football team would be greatly improved before he even stepped foot on campus has our HC. There is no more risk in hiring him than anybody else mention, it would be a great hire. If Leach weren't available I would go after Dennis Franchione, he would bring instant credibility to the program as well. Either or those two coaches and our new stadium next year, I can't even imagine the attendance numbers we'd have every single game.

[Stan R]

Mike Leach is the equivalent of a Rivals 5 star skill player as it relates to coaching. HOWEVER, in this case it is perfectly acceptable to pay this player whatever we want, throw perks at him like free BMWs, Free 6,000 ft. condos, etc.. Think about that for a minute. And then thing about the additional revenue from the student athletic fees. Then put your elongated index finger to your temple and say aloud "HMMMMM"....

[El Paso Eagle]

Like the ponies, or not… follow their lead – Invest what is needed to bring in a top level coach. With a new stadium we can recover the additional cost.

[TheTastyGreek]

Selling your soul?? We would be selling our soul because Leach put James's son in an air conditioned, 400 sqr foot room for a couple of hours?

Or are you scared Leach will build a program so strong and accumulate so much power here that the regents will feel forced to oust him to restore order?

One can only dream.

I think that if Mike Leach had "lock people in a shed" written into his contract, there would be a LINE of people (me at the front) volunteering for prisoner duty to keep him happy and around to coach this team.

[UNT90]

I think that if Mike Leach had "lock people in a shed" written into his contract, there would be a LINE of people (me at the front) volunteering for prisoner duty to keep him happy and around to coach this team.

Better to be locked in a closet/shed than to be locked into 5 years of losing football.

Couldn't be any worse than the bathrooms at Fouts.

But would you eventually come out of said closet???

Edited September 12, 2010 by UNT90