Interesting Fact About Corky Nelson...

FirefightnRick · October 5, 2010

Just something to think about when hearing the "It's gonna take several years for the next coach to get us in the right direction" arguments.

Maybe many of you knew this, I never did. But after firing Bob Tyler, who coached here for only one season in 1981, North Texas hired Corky Nelson on July 1st, 1982. He met his team when they showed up for two-a-day August workouts. That's not much time to prepare for a season.

A few weeks later North Texas played a Grant Teaff coached Baylor team(4-6-1 SWC) to a 21-17 loss in the first game of that season, which was our first year in division 1-AA.

The next year, North Texas played Oklahoma State to within 7 points and beat New Mexico State 49-3 and finished 8-4 overall and won the Southland Conference Championship.

Rick

meaniegreenie · October 5, 2010

While we're headed down memory lane...(if my memory doesn't fail me)

about 5 years later, we would be ranked in the I-AA standings and headed out to face NLU (ULMonroe for you youngsters) led by Stan Humphries. Scott Davis led the MG to a great comeback in the 4th quarter only to have Keith Chapman hit the upright on the extra point to tie. I was on the sideline near the endzone and the echo of that "clang" still rings in my head. (No disrepect to Keith - he was a great kicker). Now, it wasn't a last second kick. IIRC, there was a over a minute or two to go, but it pretty much sealed the loss.

The result, NLU was ranked ahead of us and we had to travel back to Monroe for the first round of the playoffs a few weeks later and we lost. Had we won the first game, our rankings would have gotten us a home playoff game and things might have been a lot different.

BTW, NLU went on to win the I-AA championship that year, beating Marshall 43-42.

SilverEagle · October 5, 2010

That team had New Mexico (10-1 that year) on the ropes and only lost 17-20 on the last play of the game on a hail Mary pass. The team could have cratered after that, but went on and beat Richmond, and then in the last game of the season they faced a Tulsa team who were 9-1 and looking at a bowl bid.

As I recall, Corkey lost some key players during that time and so he cobbled together the damndest game plan. It mainly consisted of Rusty Hill doing a "three-step-and-throw" passing game the whole afternoon. We lost 38-20, but Tulsa was sweating most of the day.

It was a hell of a show. Rusty Hill had a 61-42 day. Marvin Walker received 22 of those passes.

Corkey Nelson's teams (at least the ones in those early years) always showed up with their "I DIDN'T COME HERE TO LOSE" t-shirt on under their uni's.

KRAM1 · October 5, 2010

That team had New Mexico (10-1 that year) on the ropes and only lost 17-20 on the last play of the game on a hail Mary pass. The team could have cratered after that, but went on and beat Richmond, and then in the last game of the season they faced a Tulsa team who were 9-1 and looking at a bowl bid.

As I recall, Corkey lost some key players during that time and so he cobbled together the damndest game plan. It mainly consisted of Rusty Hill doing a "three-step-and-throw" passing game the whole afternoon. We lost 38-20, but Tulsa was sweating most of the day.

It was a hell of a show. Rusty Hill had a 61-42 day. Marvin Walker received 22 of those passes.

Corkey Nelson's teams (at least the ones in those early years) always showed up with their "I DIDN'T COME HERE TO LOSE" t-shirt on under their uni's.

Thanks for the stroll down memory lane....maybe having been around the program for all these years is one of the reasons I know that things can and do change over time. The Mean Green will be "back on top", and that's a very good thing indeed.

GreenEggs&Ham™ · October 5, 2010

What's even more impressive, is that Corky was likely three sheets into wind by halftime of all of these games. Corky is still to this day my all time favorite HC at North Texas because he got it done with less and had a few drinks to help smooth things along the way.

Bring Back Corky !

SilverEagle · October 5, 2010

What's even more impressive, is that Corky was likely three sheets into wind by halftime of all of these games. Corky is still to this day my all time favorite HC at North Texas because he got it done with less and had a few drinks to help smooth things along the way.

Bring Back Corky !

Last I heard, Corky was very ill....very very ill.

How about someone on their way up that's just like him?

adman · October 5, 2010

Last I heard, Corky was very ill....very very ill.

How about someone on their way up that's just like him?

Someone who leads NT to an overall losing record? I think we already have that. In spades.

Corky Nelson 48-52-1

gruu · October 5, 2010

While we're headed down memory lane...(if my memory doesn't fail me)

about 5 years later, we would be ranked in the I-AA standings and headed out to face NLU (ULMonroe for you youngsters) led by Stan Humphries. Scott Davis led the MG to a great comeback in the 4th quarter only to have Keith Chapman hit the upright on the extra point to tie. I was on the sideline near the endzone and the echo of that "clang" still rings in my head. (No disrepect to Keith - he was a great kicker). Now, it wasn't a last second kick. IIRC, there was a over a minute or two to go, but it pretty much sealed the loss.

The result, NLU was ranked ahead of us and we had to travel back to Monroe for the first round of the playoffs a few weeks later and we lost. Had we won the first game, our rankings would have gotten us a home playoff game and things might have been a lot different.

I was there standing at the goal line and can still hear that sound in my nightmares. I believe it was Keith's only PAT miss of the year.

GrandGreen · October 5, 2010

I like Corky, but his legend grows the farther we get away from his time. You do realize that Corky first couple of years, he was playing in 1aa with a team primarily recruited at the higher classification, so he should have had a big advantage. Going down to 1aa was almost the death knell of the NT football program. I think the NT decision makers believed being one of the biggest and traditionally best teams in that classification, that NT would dominate. It never happened primarily because of much higher academic standards than the norm in the Southland. Both Nelson and Parker stated that they won almost every recruiting battle between NT and other Southland conference teams, but the problem was that NT just could not qualify most of athletes they played against. This situation was not remedied until Parker last years when the NCAA set minimum qualifying standards.

Corky could get the team up for the big games, and the 1988 squad should have won the 1aa championship. That was a sophomore dominated squad that I thought was up for great things the next two years, but it did not happen. Corky overall was a below .500 coach with all but one year in 1aa, he had some great wins but he never really consistently won. It is amazing that NT has been so bad in football that Corky would be considered one of our best coaches.

Edited October 5, 2010 by GrandGreen

wardly · October 5, 2010

he had 5 winning seasons in 9 years. since he was fired, we have had 5 winning seasons in 20 years. he looks pretty good to me, since about 20 of his losses were against the likes of texas tech,a&m, smu, okla.state,baylor,texas,tcu,kentucky,kansas state,oklahoma,new mexico,tulsa,etc. during his tenure we beat new mexico,kansas state,tcu,texas tech,rice,smu, and were robbed in austin in 1988 24-27. only hayden fry had a better modern? day record 1973 to 1978, winning twice as many as he lost.

Green Dozer · October 5, 2010

Just something to think about when hearing the "It's gonna take several years for the next coach to get us in the right direction" arguments.

Maybe many of you knew this, I never did. But after firing Bob Tyler, who coached here for only one season in 1981, North Texas hired Corky Nelson on July 1st, 1982. He met his team when they showed up for two-a-day August workouts. That's not much time to prepare for a season.

A few weeks later North Texas played a Grant Teaff coached Baylor team(4-6-1 SWC) to a 21-17 loss in the first game of that season, which was our first year in division 1-AA.

The next year, North Texas played Oklahoma State to within 7 points and beat New Mexico State 49-3 and finished 8-4 overall and won the Southland Conference Championship.

Rick

Well Rick I guess I fall into that argument. But falling into that class does not mean 0-10 seasons or 2-9 seasons are justified in building a program Was Boise built within a couple of years? Or a few weeks into a season? I am looking at Boise State as the mark, and you don't get there over night. Other schools like Fresno, TCU, and Southern Miss laid a strong foundation and stuck with a plan. They did not bring in the latest offensive genius or even the biggest names to do it. Boise has a unique offense, but they promoted Petersen when Hawkins left. We are 137-214-3 since Fry, and the average tenure of our coaches since Fry has been 4.4 years. Only one coach since Fry has left here to move to another Div 1 school and that was Moore, the rest (except Dodge) have been fired. Firing Corky was one of many stupid decisions here. I don't want to nearly beat people, and be number one in the lowest conference in the land forever. It takes a start of a plan and staying with it. We have never done it here. I am tired of this 4 years and the coach is gone stuff. I want a guy who is brought in here, and is given some real ammo to hunt with. Then in 5 or 6 years, when he retires or moves on to another job, we are built to promote from within and not miss a beat. Your right, you can win right away, but continuity in winning is what takes time. To clarify, you are correct in your post. I am just giving my view as "It's gonna take several years for the next coach to get us in the right direction" arguer.

Edited October 5, 2010 by Green Dozer

GrandGreen · October 5, 2010

he had 5 winning seasons in 9 years. since he was fired, we have had 5 winning seasons in 20 years. he looks pretty good to me, since about 20 of his losses were against the likes of texas tech,a&m, smu, okla.state,baylor,texas,tcu,kentucky,kansas state,oklahoma,new mexico,tulsa,etc. during his tenure we beat new mexico,kansas state,tcu,texas tech,rice,smu, and were robbed in austin in 1988 24-27. only hayden fry had a better modern? day record 1973 to 1978, winning twice as many as he lost.

Geez, being I saw most of those games, including the infamous win-loss against Texas, I am will aware of his record. The other side of the coin is that he did not consistently win against SHSU, SFA, McNeese, NE La, etc. I am not knocking Nelson, I liked him but he definitely had off the field issues and despite the last twenty years, I hope for more than a break even coach.

wardly · October 6, 2010

we are in violent agreement. my point is that we have not had a coach with a winning record in 32 years. we have a history of having a sorry football program that is getting worse instead of better. in that context, corky did ok in my book.

adman · October 6, 2010

we are in violent agreement. my point is that we have not had a coach with a winning record in 32 years. we have a history of having a sorry football program that is getting worse instead of better. in that context, corky did ok in my book.

I think, and I may be wrong here, but in our history we've only had one coach whose tenure ended on the plus side of win/loss - Fry.

McKinneyMiner · October 6, 2010

I think, and I may be wrong here, but in our history we've only had one coach whose tenure ended on the plus side of win/loss - Fry.

Fry was the last coach to do it, but there have been 2 others...

Jack Sisco was 74-38-11 from 1929-1941

Odus Mitchell was 122-85-9 from 1946-1966

Interestingly, the only other coach to have even a .500 record was Jerry Moore who was 11-11 from 1979-1980...

If he weren't 70 something years old, I would LOVE to have Jerry Moore back... He has done incredible things at Appalachian St. and his teams are ALWAYS ready to play...

Edited October 6, 2010 by McKinneyMiner

Green Dozer · October 6, 2010

I think, and I may be wrong here, but in our history we've only had one coach whose tenure ended on the plus side of win/loss - Fry.

16 head coaches since 1913, and only 5 have had overall winning records:

Jack Sisco (192 5-1938) 74 wins 37 losses 10 ties

J.W. St. Clair (1915-1919) 20-10-3

Theron Fouts (1920-1924) 23-14-2

Odus Mitchell ( 1946-1966) 122 wins 85 losses 9 ties (*also won 9 conference championships)

Hayden Fry (1973-1978) 40 wins 23 losses 3 ties

Darrel Dickey had a little over .608 winning avg in conference play where he had 31 wins and 20 losses.

Edited October 6, 2010 by Green Dozer

adman · October 6, 2010

Fry was the last coach to do it, but there have been 2 others...

Jack Sisco was 74-38-11 from 1929-1941

Odus Mitchell was 122-85-9 from 1946-1966

Interestingly, the only other coach to have even a .500 record was Jerry Moore who was 11-11 from 1979-1980...

If he weren't 70 something years old, I would LOVE to have Jerry Moore back... He has done incredible things at Appalachian St. and his teams are ALWAYS ready to play...

Thanks for the input.

So as far as storied programs in the region go - The OU's, UT's etc anyone know what their coaches have done? Switzer and Stoops had many successful years at OU but they (OU) had to have their dogs too.

I guess the question I am asking is: Are mediocre or less than mediocre coaches the norm and only a very few catch lightening in the bottle?

What would Alabama look like if you take Bear Bryant out of the equation?

GrayEagle · October 6, 2010

Uhh, I believe that there are a couple missing...

J.W. St. Clair 1915-1919 20-10-3

Theron Fouts 1920-1924 23-14-2

Overall, North Texas ranks 73rd in winning percentage all-time of the current FBS teams with a winning percentage of .51268 (at least they did at the beginning of the season). They have won 468, lost 444, and tied 34.

Green Dozer · October 6, 2010

Uhh, I believe that there are a couple missing...

J.W. St. Clair 1915-1919 20-10-3
Theron Fouts 1920-1924 23-14-2

Overall, North Texas ranks 73rd in winning percentage all-time of the current FBS teams with a winning percentage of .51268 (at least they did at the beginning of the season). They have won 468, lost 444, and tied 34.

Sorry...overlooked those, perused to fast.

NT80 · October 6, 2010

Interestingly, the only other coach to have even a .500 record was Jerry Moore who was 11-11 from 1979-1980...

If he weren't 70 something years old, I would LOVE to have Jerry Moore back... He has done incredible things at Appalachian St. and his teams are ALWAYS ready to play...

NO to Jerry Moore. He already ruined NT football once. He took a fine 9-2 multi-offense Hayden Fry team with several returning starters and converted it to the Nebraksa-I offense, finishing a poor 5-6.

Let that also be a warning about hiring assistants at major programs that have not been HCs at major programs (ie DD and Matt Simon). They will require several years of learning curve and bring the offense of their former school regardless if they have the players to run it or not.

Edited October 6, 2010 by NT80

UNT_playmaker · October 6, 2010

I would also love to have Jerry Moore back.

I truly believe that whatever EXPERIENCED COLLEGE FOOTBALL COACH" comes in here will turn this program around immediately and we will see a big impact in recruting, wins, and attendance...

Man I can't wait...

eulessismore · October 6, 2010

Fry was the last coach to do it, but there have been 2 others...

Jack Sisco was 74-38-11 from 1929-1941

Odus Mitchell was 122-85-9 from 1946-1966

Interestingly, the only other coach to have even a .500 record was Jerry Moore who was 11-11 from 1979-1980...

If he weren't 70 something years old, I would LOVE to have Jerry Moore back... He has done incredible things at Appalachian St. and his teams are ALWAYS ready to play...

Jerry Moore won't be holding down a coaching position anywhere but Boone, North Carolina.

FirefightnRick · October 6, 2010

Some missed the point here. Corky had a great ability to get his teams to play above themselves against what should have been better teams. Some years he had a much tougher non conference road schedule than what we have played the past two years and competed well and even won some of those games. The folks who witnessed those games know this. But to meet your players 1 month prior to kickoff and nearly walk out of Baylor with a win to me is amazing. Then to win conference in only his second year with only one recruiting class under his belt is even more amazing. And the main point is, if it can be done before in such a short time, it can again at North Texas, which is what the doctor is ordering for the opening of the new stadium.

Rick

Green Dozer · October 6, 2010

NO to Jerry Moore. He already ruined NT football once. He took a fine 9-2 multi-offense Hayden Fry team with several returning starters and converted it to the Nebraksa-I offense, finishing a poor 5-6.

Let that also be a warning about hiring assistants at major programs that have not been HCs at major programs (ie DD and Matt Simon). They will require several years of learning curve and bring the offense of their former school regardless if they have the players to run it or not.

Even the defensive coaches bring the offense of their former school. Hopefully, Venables is not on the list.

UNT90 · October 6, 2010

Some missed the point here. Corky had a great ability to get his teams to play above themselves against what should have been better teams. Some years he had a much tougher non conference road schedule than what we have played the past two years and competed well and even won some of those games. The folks who witnessed those games know this. But to meet your players 1 month prior to kickoff and nearly walk out of Baylor with a win to me is amazing. Then to win conference in only his second year with only one recruiting class under his belt is even more amazing. And the main point is, if it can be done before in such a short time, it can again at North Texas, which is what the doctor is ordering for the opening of the new stadium.

Rick

With the right hire, this team wins 6 games next year. Anyone who was at the LaLa game knows that we had superior talent, but threw the game away with a key turnover, penalties, and another special teams blunder. Hire the right guy, and we will all enjoy at least a break even year in the first year of the new stadium.

Edited October 6, 2010 by UNT90