Jim Leavitt - The Hayden Fry Connection

[gangrene]

Sorry if this has already been mentioned, but I thought it was worth noting to some of the Hayden Fry worshipers that Jim Leavitt actually worked as Graduate Assistant on Hayden Fry's staff at Iowa in 1989.

http://en.wikipedia....wiki/Hayden_Fry

Fry also gave USF Head Coach Jim Leavitt one of his first breaks in college football, making him a graduate assistant coach at Iowa in 1989.

And because some of you don't trust wikipedia (and with good reason), that information can been cross-referenced with Jim Leavitt's USF bio.

[SilverEagle]

Sorry if this has already been mentioned, but I thought it was worth noting to some of the Hayden Fry worshipers that Jim Leavitt actually worked as Graduate Assistant on Hayden Fry's staff at Iowa in 1989.

http://en.wikipedia....wiki/Hayden_Fry

And because some of you don't trust wikipedia (and with good reason), that information can been cross-referenced with Jim Leavitt's USF bio.

He also worked as DC under Bill Snyder....who was Hayden Fry's OC both at North Texas and Iowa. So he's worked under two great coaches and he could talk to either one of them (or both) to get their opinion about the job.

I like that this guy has a defensive background.

[NT80]

That settles it. Hire him!

[jperg2]

We now playing 6-degrees of Hayden Fry (a la Kevin Bacon)?

[PlummMeanGreen]

Sorry if this has already been mentioned, but I thought it was worth noting to some of the Hayden Fry worshipers that Jim Leavitt actually worked as Graduate Assistant on Hayden Fry's staff at Iowa in 1989.

http://en.wikipedia....wiki/Hayden_Fry

And because some of you don't trust wikipedia (and with good reason), that information can been cross-referenced with Jim Leavitt's USF bio.

As a UNT alum, I'm trying to think of the 2'nd person besides Hayden Fry to, uh, "worship"; that is, one to worship their results at a higher level who has ever been a HFC at North Texas. I'll get back with an answer if I can find one.

So we have to invoke the name of Fry to further support this latest of what could very well become a flavor of the week once this is all done and said? This board sometimes has a mob mentality on some subjects. I could throw out a name right now that would leave the Leavitt choice as yesterday's news by the mob. I love this board--it's very entertaining to hear those who have witnessed nothing but terrifically terrible hires (from top to bottom) and mediocrity the last 3 plus decades while they were students and now alums who suddenly have become bonafide experts on what this program needs.

We've had UNT AD's thru the decades who refused to copy our hiring success of the 1970's and then we started bringin in "our own alums" to "so called" straighten out this mess(?) Hayden created." All that we endure in Denton is enough to make you slap yo' mama! Hellbells, we are a reality show waiting to happen in Denton. Yet this intellect is even catching, though, because I, too, forgot Dennis Parker's non-succeess and then I started taking Jub-Jub's radio advice to think Todd Dodge would be the answer. How silly we can all be at times in the name of persevering mediocrity.

More Pie In Our Face As We Eat Even More Southern Deep Fried Crow? I fully expect (and even hope) TDodge will in due time be snatched up by some BCS school who needs his offense of which he himself will install (a la as he did for the Missouri Tigers?) and then become their new offense coordinator making many of us on this board wonder "why in the hell can't this kind of thing ever happen in Denton?" Holy "we left this guy's name out of this mix" Cow! Is Ara Parseghian still available?

Edited October 26, 2010 by PlummMeanGreen

[VideoEagle]

I have a feeling the Hayden Fry NT hired in '73 would not have impressed most on this board. His career was 49-66 for a .426 winning percentage. In 11 years he only had 3 winning seasons. Everyone we have discussed has done far better than that!

[gangrene]

I have a feeling the Hayden Fry NT hired in '73 would not have impressed most on this board. His career was 49-66 for a .426 winning percentage. In 11 years he only had 3 winning seasons. Everyone we have discussed has done far better than that!

I'm convinced many on this board would find something wrong with Bear Bryant, Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry, even if they had applied for the UNT HC position while they were in their coaching prime.

[PlummMeanGreen]

I have a feeling the Hayden Fry NT hired in '73 would not have impressed most on this board. His career was 49-66 for a .426 winning percentage. In 11 years he only had 3 winning seasons. Everyone we have discussed has done far better than that!

SMU was a tough gig, but he still overcame much at North Texas because of his "Texas-wide" name value and charismatic appeal. Step inside a hall like the Silver Eagle Suite filled with people and with Hayden Fry in that same room. I saw that a few years ago right after he had left Iowa and had come to a UNT homecoming. There are some things you just cannot explain about those that have the "it" factor, ie, charisma, but Fry had "it".

So far, the Bowden name is the only name I've seen in this board's coaching hunt (outside Coach Fran) that would have anything close to what Fry had state-wide with name appeal. Most college football fans in Texas know the Bowden name.

All college football fans in SWC cities across Texas knew who Hayden Fry was because most major Texas cities had beat reporters for almost each SWC team--the coverage was unbelievable quite frankly and is probably one reason back then that I thought North Texas was in Denison, Texas, because the Houston Post and Chronicle never covered the Mean Green even during the Mean Joe Greene era--except in those dastardly, diminutive blurbs. (SMU now has blurb status in the Fort Worth Star Telegram if you out here in the West O'Plex haven't noticed).

Some felt Fry had the impossible challenge at SMU (which was so politically charged back in those days with the late 40's Doak Walker era alums who wielded much power). Fry had hacked off many on the Hilltop because he had integrated SMU with Jerry Levias. He had many battles politically at SMU.

I attended the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl game in the Astrodome when SMU beat OU in a back and forth game much like Boise and OU a few years ago in their bowl game. I was duly impressed with the guy's coaching even as a high school kid from Danbury, Texas.

http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/north-texas/

21 1978 Ind 9 2 0 .818 9.03 -0.27 Hayden Fry (9-2)

22 1977 Ind 9 2 0 .818 10.33 0.17 Hayden Fry (10-1)

23 1976 Ind 6 5 0 .545 1.67 -1.77 Hayden Fry (7-4)

24 1975 Ind 7 4 0 .636 -0.25 -1.57 Hayden Fry (7-4)

25 1974 MVC 2 7 2 .273 -12.19 -3.05 Hayden Fry (2-7-2)

26 1973 MVC 5 5 1 .500 -13.34 -9.83 Hayden Fry (5-5-1)

GMG!

Edited October 26, 2010 by PlummMeanGreen

[VideoEagle]

SMU was a tough gig, but he still overcame much at North Texas because of name value.

I was just pointing at when he STARTED at North Texas, his record was just 49-66. He had a winning record here and at Iowa.

If we tried to bring in a coach with just 3 winning seasons out of 11 now, the fans would scream bloody murder.

[MeanGreenTexan]

I'm convinced many on this board would find something wrong with Bear Bryant, Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry, even if they had applied for the UNT HC position while they were in their coaching prime.

It would cost too much to exhume these guys, let alone hire two guys to walk them around like Weekend at Bernies.

And do you know how rude these guys were to their players? Have you seen Junction Boys?

JUST SAY NO TO BRYANT, LOMBARDI, & LANDRY!