Coach Mac Is A Good Hire

Yellow Snow · November 28, 2010

Hey guys - Cyclone fan here...

I just wanted to come over here and give props to you guys for picking up Coach Mac. I'm a Mean Green fan now!

I've noticed that there is some consternation on the board with the hire. Understandable... but you got a good coach. I don't know who the other candidates were, or who you guys were hoping to get, but you didn't make a mistake with Coach Mac. The guy is a winner - you will see soon enough.

Some things you will notice right away (from my experience when he was hired at I-State)...

1. He is excellent at evaluating talent. Iowa is not a state known for it's homegrown football talent. Going head to head with Iowa and Nebraska isn't easy, yet he more than held his own. He had a knack for identifying quality players and getting in on them early. It payed huge dividends as he was able to secure early commitments from guys that would have otherwise gone elsewhere. Loyalty is big to him. All in all, he was the best recruiter we had at I-State up to the point he was hired.

2. He coaches fundamental football. You WILL run the ball. I don't know how well you guys ran the ball in the past (without looking it up), but you will be a solid running team. I-State hasn't been the same in this regard since he left.

3. You will NOT turn the ball over. Goes without saying, but guys that put the ball on the ground won't play. Simple as that.

4. You will have EXCELLENT special teams. He puts a huge emphasis on special teams. It is a phase of the game that can really change the complexion of a game, and he coaches as such.

5. His record at I-State is misleading. He took over a program that went winless the season before and due to absolutely dismal recruiting in prior years had about 3 BCS caliber players on the roster. Once he got established on the recruiting trail - marked improvement. It isn't easy to win at I-State, yet he tied for the Big 12 North twice (missed winning outright on a dropped INT in overtime at Nebraska and a missed 27 yard field goal against Mizzou). In 12 years, we basically went to bowl games every other year. Hadn't been in ~20 years prior to Mac.

6. Your players will run through walls for the guy. He is honest and lets guys know where they stand and what they need to do in order to play. He doesn't pussyfoot around and the guys all appreciate that.

Anyway - I just wanted to give you my impressions of the guy. Great man... you will find out.

Good luck and I'm pulling for you!

MeanGreenGlory · November 28, 2010

1. He is excellent at evaluating talent. Iowa is not a state known for it's homegrown football talent. Going head to head with Iowa and Nebraska isn't easy, yet he more than held his own. He had a knack for identifying quality players and getting in on them early. It payed huge dividends as he was able to secure early commitments from guys that would have otherwise gone elsewhere. Loyalty is big to him. All in all, he was the best recruiter we had at I-State up to the point he was hired.

3. You will NOT turn the ball over. Goes without saying, but guys that put the ball on the ground won't play. Simple as that.

4. You will have EXCELLENT special teams. He puts a huge emphasis on special teams. It is a phase of the game that can really change the complexion of a game, and he coaches as such.

6. Your players will run through walls for the guy. He is honest and lets guys know where they stand and what they need to do in order to play. He doesn't pussyfoot around and the guys all appreciate that.

Thanks for stopping by and letting us know! I'm particularly excited about points 1, 3, 4, and 6. I saw a video with him talking about the way he grades and ranks his players that I found very interesting. Apparently he posts it in the locker room so all of the players know exactly where they stand and what they need to improve upon if they want to play more. I think that is a great system to have in place if he continues to use it. No favorites, just facts and hard work.

The Fake Lonnie Finch · November 28, 2010

Thanks for the post. The folks here that keep running him down don't have a clue as to how far down ISU was when he was hired - taking over an 0-10-1 team with the lowest budget in a league that had 3 or 4 Top 10 teams in every season he was there.

People who know anything about football understand he did a great job at ISU. Having a 6-6 record versus Iowa tells me all I need to know. We'll welcome a coach who can get more than "moral victories" against BCS schools.

I think this hire, also, makes us a more legitimate contender to move to a better conference. McCarney has played and coached in the Big Ten and coached in the Big 12, Big East, and SEC. There won't be a team in the country that will confuse him the way our coaches were confused from 2007-to-mid 2010.

Green92 · November 28, 2010

Thanks for the information! I'm getting excited about next season.

Eastwood Eagle · November 28, 2010

It will be interesting to see how he pairs up with Lance Dunbar the #5 leading rusher in the nation, hopefully its a match made in heaven. Also I am excited about Mac's special team ability because that is an area that has killed us.

I don't know much about Mac but it seems like he is a no nonsense kind of guy, is this accurate? Also will he reach out and be open with the media, students and alumni?

Thanks for the insight.

clone96 · November 28, 2010

One of the other reasons he was hired is that he has had experience turning around programs:

When Hayden Fry took over an Iowa program that had 20 straight losing seasons, Mac was one of his first hires, and they turned around Iowa into team that won several Big Ten titles

When Barry Alvarez took over a dead Wisconsin program, he hired Mac as his DC and they went on to win the Rose Bowl

When Mac took over ISU, he took a team from a winless season to winning it's first bowl win ever within five years.

I know a lot of ISU fans will be cheering on Mac & the Mean Green....

Yellow Snow · November 28, 2010

Thanks for the post. The folks here that keep running him down don't have a clue as to how far down ISU was when he was hired - taking over an 0-10-1 team with the lowest budget in a league that had 3 or 4 Top 10 teams in every season he was there.

People who know anything about football understand he did a great job at ISU. Having a 6-6 record versus Iowa tells me all I need to know. We'll welcome a coach who can get more than "moral victories" against BCS schools.

I think this hire, also, makes us a more legitimate contender to move to a better conference. McCarney has played and coached in the Big Ten and coached in the Big 12, Big East, and SEC. There won't be a team in the country that will confuse him the way our coaches were confused from 2007-to-mid 2010.

Good point on the budget. When he took over our facilities were hideous compared to Big 12 standards. He still managed to recruit well, show serious improvement on the field and exponentially grow attendance at games. Our football facilities have been upgraded to BCS standards as a result of this.

Don't get me wrong - you'll have your share of gutwrenching moral victories... i'm all to familiar with those at I-State. The thing that made things like this different with him was the fact that we didn't beat ourselves. If we got beat by a better team, that was easier to take.

The biggest problem he had at I-State that prevented him from achieving greater success was losing assistants. We didn't pay well enough to keep the good ones. Steve Loney to the Vikings, Pete Hoener to A&M, Bobby Elliot to K-State, etc. We were trying to replace good coaches every year it seems.

He'd still be at Iowa State if he could have kept a staff together. Not his fault, just the way things were at the time.

Harry · November 28, 2010

One of the other reasons he was hired is that he has had experience turning around programs:

When Hayden Fry took over an Iowa program that had 20 straight losing seasons, Mac was one of his first hires, and they turned around Iowa into team that won several Big Ten titles

When Barry Alvarez took over a dead Wisconsin program, he hired Mac as his DC and they went on to win the Rose Bowl

When Mac took over ISU, he took a team from a winless season to winning it's first bowl win ever within five years.

I know a lot of ISU fans will be cheering on Mac & the Mean Green....

Thanks so much for sharing your insight on Coach Mac. It's hard not to get excited about this hire and the impact it could have on our program! GMG!

UNT90 · November 28, 2010

Hey guys - Cyclone fan here...

I just wanted to come over here and give props to you guys for picking up Coach Mac. I'm a Mean Green fan now!

Well, then, may I interest you in club level seating at the beautiful new Mean Green Stadium? I'll even throw in a free Mean Green T-Shirt.

Seriously, thanks for the info.

All About UNT · November 28, 2010

Well, then, may I interest you in club level seating at the beautiful new Mean Green Stadium? I'll even throw in a free Mean Green T-Shirt.

Seriously, thanks for the info.

I was thinking the same thing... :lol:

November 28, 2010

My problem with the hire is that Rick ignored the wishes of the players on the team. So, how is a near 60-year-old man with a 56-85 record going to get a bunch of young men who have no idea who is to respond? I had high hopes for next year and now I expect another 2 or 3 win season. McCarney and Rick will be gone after year two.

Yellow Snow · November 28, 2010

I recommend to everyone to go read this thread on Cyclonfnatic.com.

The mix of lofty expectations and unrealistic expectations is always going to lead to heart break. It might help to look at UNT from an outsiderss perspective not as a die hard like everyone on here actually is.

When the local and national perspective of fans thinks it is a good hire then maybe we are on to something. After running through various Bi12, Big Ten Big East and SEC, the worst complaint I could find is that the FL fans were disappointed in their DL play and had to be reminded of how little healthy talent was available on the DL and ISU fans still disappointed that DM could not take the program all the way to the Big 12 title game. The biggest suprise is how at every stop everyone talks about his ability to recruit and run a professional no nonsense unit.

If that is the worst problems form his previous stops then this is a great move for UNT.

As a fan base, we were pretty mixed when he left. Half were ticked and half were glad. We wanted more at the time and hadn't yet come to the realization that losing assistants every year didn't help matters at all.

We then got Gene Chizik who proceeded to go 5-19 the next two years. We have our guy now in Paul Rhoads, but there was alot of "justification" by the faction of the fan base that wanted Mac gone while Chizik was sucking it up. You are seeing that in that thread. Since it was such a polarizing change (getting rid of Mac) there are still people in our fan base with an axe to grind.

Mac is nothing if not professional and honest. I'd be willing to bet that you guys will be a winning program in 3 years tops (if not sooner). You can't underestimate the value of good recruiting. The guy can flat out get it done. He takes the guys that are maybe an inch too short for Texas or A&M to offer and gets on them early. He gets football players and these guys have a chip on their shoulder. I-State isn't in a position to beat the likes of Oklahoma or Texas for recruits head to head, but the guys he gets can sure play winning football.

UNT90 · November 28, 2010

My problem with the hire is that Rick ignored the wishes of the players on the team. So, how is a near 60-year-old man with a 56-85 record going to get a bunch of young men who have no idea who is to respond? I had high hopes for next year and now I expect another 2 or 3 win season. McCarney and Rick will be gone after year two.

So, if all the players on the team had wanted to keep Dodge, you would have been OK with a contract extention?

18-22 year olds don't always know what is best for themselves, much less what is best for UNT.

Edited November 28, 2010 by UNT90

November 28, 2010

So, if all the players on the team had wanted to keep Dodge, you would have been OK with a contract extention?

18-22 year olds don't always know what is best for themselves, much less what is best for UNT.

It's not just that they want him, it's how they played for him. Are you blind? Did you not see the difference in the way they played the past five weeks? Whatever school hires Canales will make a bowl game before we do with the senior citizen as head coach.

KingDL1 · November 28, 2010

It's not just that they want him, it's how they played for him. Are you blind? Did you not see the difference in the way they played the past five weeks? Whatever school hires Canales will make a bowl game before we do with the senior citizen as head coach.

Canales turns 50 in June and Mac is 57 wow you are a joke.

November 28, 2010

Canales turns 50 in June and Mac is 57 wow you are a joke.

Big talk on an internet message board, you are precious!

UNT90 · November 28, 2010

It's not just that they want him, it's how they played for him. Are you blind? Did you not see the difference in the way they played the past five weeks? Whatever school hires Canales will make a bowl game before we do with the senior citizen as head coach.

I wonder if you will still be posting here after Tuesday, or will your allegiance follow Coach Canales to his new coaching stop?

Edited November 28, 2010 by UNT90

November 28, 2010

I wonder if you will still be posting here after Tuesday, or will your allegiance follow Coach Canales to his new coaching stop?

Now my allegiance stays with the Mean Green for the rest of my life. Just because I don't like the coaching hire does not mean I will stop being a fan of UNT.

KingDL1 · November 28, 2010

Big talk on an internet message board, you are precious!

I have never been hard to find just ask around.

Tony

FirefightnRick · November 28, 2010

Thanks for the insight. Most here on this board, all except for one in particular, are die hard Mean Green supporters who attend the games and are invested in this program with their hearts and their wallets and will support Coach Mac regardless of how they feel about this hire today.

Rick

Edited November 28, 2010 by FirefightnRick