Congratulations to Jerry Moore

[Charlie NT 73]

Congratulations to my cousin, Jerry Moore, for being named to the 2014 College Football Hall of Fame!

Outstanding person, family man, and winning football coach!

www.meangreensports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/052214aad.html

[Greenrex]

Congratulations to Coach Moore!

[drex]

After the Michigan game he should have been knighted.

[GrandGreen]

One of the worst hires every at NT, but obviously got much better with time.

[Charlie NT 73]

Worst hires? Remember BobTyler, Todd Dodge? These guys did wonderful things for North Texas didn't they?

Jerry got much better with time? Duh! Very good observation there Grand Green!

24 years at Appalachian State, 215 wins 87 losses, 3 National titles, 10 Conference titles, and a run of 26 straight conference game wins!

Coached 99 All Americans, 257 All Conference players! Jerry developed and coached countless NFL players too!

Worked for Hayden Fry @ SMU, Tom Osborn @ Nebraska, Ken Hatfield @ Arkansas! Jerry has his principals, Christian, and does not put up with any BS.

Jerry's former player and Dallas Cowboy LB Dexter Cloakley is in this 2014 CFHOF class with Jerry too.

I certainly hope Coach Mac can have a great career here at North Texas just like Jerry had at Appalachian State!

That way Grand Green will not say "one of the worst hires ever" about Coach Mac!

Edited May 25, 2014 by charlie nt73

[GrandGreen]

GrandGreen ! Way to go coaching expert! Pop off the "Worst Hires" moniker ! Every?? What the heck is every?

It is clear you do not know Jerry Moore!

The deal was the other way around. North Texas made the huge mistake of letting Jerry go to Tech.

Remember 1-AA was creeping up to North Texas.

Hopefully Grand Green will become better with time, but I really doubt it! Certainly a blind opinion of a know it all big mouth

wanting to say something cognitive to justify himself as a judge of people. Especially coaches.

Worst hires? Remember BobTyler, Todd Dodge? These guys did wonderful things for North Texas didn't they?

Jerry got much better with time? Duh! Very good observation there Grand Green!

24 years at Appalachian State, 215 wins 87 losses, 3 National titles, 10 Conference titles, and a run of 26 straight conference game wins!

Coached 99 All Americans, 257 All Conference players! Jerry developed and coached countless NFL players too!

Worked for Hayden Fry @ SMU, Tom Osborn @ Nebraska, Ken Hatfield @ Arkansas! Jerry has his principals, Christian, and does not put up with any BS.

Jerry's former player and Dallas Cowboy LB Dexter Cloakley is in this 2014 CFHOF class with Jerry too.

I certainly hope Coach Mac can have a great career here at North Texas just like Jerry had at Appalachian State!

That way Grand Green will not say "one of the worst hires ever" about Coach Mac!

He was one of the worst hires ever at NT and I will tell you why. First, he was a coach with no head coaching experience coming in after Fry. He was a horrible hire not because he was a terrible coach, but he was the wrong hire for NT at the time. NT in all their wisdom hired Moore who wanted to turn NT into Nebraska when he was left with a team that had got double digit wins the year before based on speed and deception with almost all the players returning. Moore tried to make this team into a three yard and a cloud of dust outfit ignoring the team's ability he had inherited. He turned a 10-1 team into mediocrity in one year.

Here is what I remember about Moore. He had three or four returning starters in the defensive backfield from a team that was in the top three in interceptions the year before and not one of those players started for Moore. He also demoted Bernard Jackson, one of the leading rusher in the nation under Fry to a backup. He recruited the biggest bunch of linemen I can remember at NT his first year, five guys 6'5 and over all weighting over 300 lbs. Giants for that time, problem only one ever played and than only as a backup. In essence he rebuild a club that didn't need it.

Notice, I say he was a bad hire for NT at the time, I never say he wasn't an excellent coach at Appalachian State.

So take a suggestion from this "know it all big mouth wanting to justify myself as a judge of people", try to look pass your obvious bias and look at his performance at NT. If you can find a handful of NT fans that were around in those days that think Jerry Moore was a good hire I would be very surprised.

If you are so intent on defending Moore's days at NT, I suggest you do so based on his performance at NT and not name calling or a rehash of his tenure at Appalachian State. About your last statement, that is just pure foolishness.

Edited May 25, 2014 by GrandGreen

[UNT90]

Sadly, Moore became a hall of fame coach from his performance at another university.

Typical UNT luck.

[the green rokemi]

Sadly, Moore became a hall of fame coach from his performance at another university.

Typical UNT luck.

Just like the rangers ;-)

[SilverEagle]

He was one of the worst hires ever at NT and I will tell you why. First, he was a coach with no head coaching experience coming in after Fry. He was a horrible hire not because he was a terrible coach, but he was the wrong hire for NT at the time. NT in all their wisdom hired Moore who wanted to turn NT into Nebraska when he was left with a team that had got double digit wins the year before based on speed and deception with almost all the players returning. Moore tried to make this team into a three yard and a cloud of dust outfit ignoring the team's ability he had inherited. He turned a 10-1 team into mediocrity in one year.

Here is what I remember about Moore. He had three or four returning starters in the defensive backfield from a team that was in the top three in interceptions the year before and not one of those players started for Moore. He also demoted Bernard Jackson, one of the leading rusher in the nation under Fry to a backup. He recruited the biggest bunch of linemen I can remember at NT his first year, five guys 6'5 and over all weighting over 300 lbs. Giants for that time, problem only one ever played and than only as a backup. In essence he rebuild a club that didn't need it.

Notice, I say he was a bad hire for NT at the time, I never say he wasn't an excellent coach at Appalachian State.

So take a suggestion from this "know it all big mouth wanting to justify myself as a judge of people", try to look pass your obvious bias and look at his performance at NT. If you can find a handful of NT fans that were around in those days that think Jerry Moore was a good hire I would be very surprised.

If you are so intent on defending Moore's days at NT, I suggest you do so based on his performance at NT and not name calling or a rehash of his tenure at Appalachian State. About your last statement, that is just pure foolishness.

First of all, Congratulations Coach Moore, you deserve to be in the CFHOF.

I graduated from NT in 75, so I was right in the middle of the Hayden Fry era. I wouldn't call Moore a "horrible" hire, but I agree with most of your assessment of what he did here. You're right, he took a bunch of players who were better suited to be in a pro style offense and tried to turn them into Nebraska. The ultimate result was a two year record of 11-11, vs the previous two years of 19-3 (damn!.. those were the days!). I still scratch my head over the demotion of Bernard Jackson, who's only sin was gaining 1400 yards the year before. He shared starting time with Malcolm Jones in 79 and still ended up the rushing leader @ 749 yrds. Before he tragically died in 1980 Jackson appeared to be gaining his starting position back.

One of the best things that Moore did was start a real weight training program. It might be an exaggeration, but some sports reporter's description of Hayden Fry's weight room at NT during that era sounded more like a home gym, than a real D-1 weight room. Coach Moore went about getting my favorite QB, Jordan Case, into a weight lifting regiment to address his congenital back ailment rather than the pain injections that were used the year before by Fry's assistants.

Anyway, Moore obviously did enough good stuff to get the attention of Texas Tech and they subsequently hired him away from us. The last time that that happened BTW. It was THEN that the most horrible hire in NT history (Bob Tyler) took place.

It's my belief that Jerry Moore was the anti-Fry hire. Fry had a lot of people that loved him @ NT (and he still does) but he had a lot of people at NT that hated him. And those people (to the great detriment of our program) were the ones in charge of hiring the next coach. And it wasn't going to be anyone remotely like, or associated with, Hayden Fry.

When Fry left, he recommended that Bill Brasher be hired as his replacement. Brasher didn't have any College HC experience, but neither did Jerry Moore. However, he had put together an excellent defense at NT and he knew the personnel that was coming back. When Hayden made his recommendation, the hiring bureaucrats at NT just sniffed and said "we'll consider his application along with all other candidates". Well, Bill Brashier (like Bob Dylan said in Subterranean Homesick Blues) didn't "need a weather man to know which way the wind blows", and decided to join Hayden at Iowa.

The rest is our dysfunctional history.

Edited May 27, 2014 by SilverEagle

[GrandGreen]

First of all, Congratulations Coach Moore, you deserve to be in the CFHOF.

I graduated from NT in 75, so I was right in the middle of the Hayden Fry era. I wouldn't call Moore a "horrible" hire, but I agree with most of your assessment of what he did here. Your right, he took a bunch of players who were better suited to be in a pro style offense and tried to turn them into Nebraska. The ultimate result was a two year record of 11-11, vs the previous two years of 19-3 (damn!.. those were the days!). I still scratch my head over the demotion of Bernard Jackson, who's only sin was gaining 1400 yards the year before. He shared starting time with Malcolm Jones in 79 and still ended up the rushing leader @ 749 yrds. Before he tragically died in 1980 Jackson appeared to be gaining his starting position back.

One of the best things that Moore did was start a real weight training program. It might be an exaggeration, but some sports reporter's description of Hayden Fry's weight room at NT during that era sounded more like a home gym, than a real D-1 weight room. Coach Moore went about getting my favorite QB, Jordan Case, into a weight lifting regiment to address his congenital back ailment rather than the pain injections that were used the year before by Fry's assistants.

Anyway, Moore obviously did enough good stuff to get the attention of Texas Tech and they subsequently hired him away from us. The last time that that happened BTW. It was THEN that the most horrible hire in NT history (Bob Tyler) took place.

It's my belief that Jerry Moore was the anti-Fry hire. Fry had a lot of people that loved him @ NT (and he still does) but he had a lot of people at NT that hated him. And those people (to the great detriment of our program) were the ones in charge of hiring the next coach. And it wasn't going to be anyone remotely like, or associated with, Hayden Fry.

When Fry left, he recommended that Bill Brasher be hired as his replacement. Brasher didn't have any College HC experience, but neither did Jerry Moore. However, he had put together an excellent defense at NT and he knew the personnel that was coming back. When Hayden made his recommendation, the hiring bureaucrats at NT just sniffed and said "we'll consider his application along with all other candidates". Well, Bill Brashier (like Bob Dylan said in Subterranean Homesick Blues) didn't "need a weather man to know which way the wind blows", and decided to join Hayden at Iowa.

The rest is our dysfunctional history.

You are very accurate, I liked Moore and certainly join in congratulating him on his very successful career. In that very popular hindsight Brasher should have been the easy choice. Following Fry would have been an almost impossible job for anybody with the prevailing attitude by the decision makers at NT. Their number one priority was cutting expenses and Moore was highly praised for doing that.

Fry really was not into weight lifting and I think he may have had the right attitude. Conditioning back then often did more harm to a football team than good. The predominating techniques often got stronger players at the expense of flexibility and quickness. Strength training has come a long ways and now is a necessity, but there was a lot of promising players ruined back in the day by the wrong focus and improper techniques.

Edited May 25, 2014 by GrandGreen

[SilverEagle]

You are very accurate, I liked Moore and certainly join in congratulating him on his very successful career. In that very popular hindsight Brasher should have been the easy choice. Following Fry would have been an almost impossible job for anybody with the prevailing attitude by the decision makers at NT. Their number one priority was cutting expenses and Moore was highly praised for doing that.

Yeah, one of the things that Coach Moore started was a Nebraska-like walk-on program. Or he at least talked about doing that. I bet those NT bureaucrats who hired Coach Moore must have thought he was going to get a bunch of free athletes for the football team. They probably wet themselves in their excitement/anticipation of such a thing.

[HoustonEagle]

Every time I read these threads of years past my mind contemplates then and now and the crux of all UNT problems. We have never had and still don't the finances to be big time. Fixing that has to be job one both on the academic and athletic side. Athletics has come a long long way just to be a moderately funded mid major program. Our schools endowment is probably smaller than the interest earned on Rice's. We can rant and rave all we want but until substantial progress is made to bolster the schools balance sheet we are just spinning our wheels.

[oldguystudent]

until substantial progress is made to bolster the schools balance sheet we are just spinning our wheels.

We'll get the UNT Finance and Accounting Department right on that. Oh. Too soon?

[oldguystudent]

Sadly, Moore became a hall of fame coach from his performance at another university.

Typical UNT luck.

When Westlake purchases a state championship in the not distant future, we'll wonder how we let yet another one get away.

[Green92]

When Westlake purchases a state championship in the not distant future, we'll wonder how we let yet another one get away.

So you're saying Jerry Moore didn't earn his wins, but somehow bought them? What did that michigan win cost???

[UNT90]

When Westlake purchases a state championship in the not distant future, we'll wonder how we let yet another one get away.

Ya....

No.

[oldguystudent]

Ya....

No.

Heh. Thought that might get a bit of a rise out of you!

[GreenMachine]

Every time I read these threads of years past my mind contemplates then and now and the crux of all UNT problems. We have never had and still don't the finances to be big time. Fixing that has to be job one both on the academic and athletic side. Athletics has come a long long way just to be a moderately funded mid major program. Our schools endowment is probably smaller than the interest earned on Rice's. We can rant and rave all we want but until substantial progress is made to bolster the schools balance sheet we are just spinning our wheels.

then we have to get away from being a liberal arts school and concentrate on business, engineering and the sciences. No other way around it.

[untjim1995]

then we have to get away from being a liberal arts school and concentrate on business, engineering and the sciences. No other way around it.

That will never happen at UNT. The school's history is from education. The citizenry and the administration love being renowed for music and arts. Athletics isn't anywhere close to being high on their agenda or their liking.

[GreenMachine]

That will never happen at UNT. The school's history is from education. The citizenry and the administration love being renowed for music and arts. Athletics isn't anywhere close to being high on their agenda or their liking.

I agree, then we need to be content with our present endowment.

[GrandGreen]

That will never happen at UNT. The school's history is from education. The citizenry and the administration love being renowed for music and arts. Athletics isn't anywhere close to being high on their agenda or their liking.

No one seems to have noticed but education in today's market is one of best fields to insure a good paying job with excellent benefits. Business is I would guess one of the best fields for producing monied alumni. And while music and arts don't produce a lot of high dollar donors, they are a relatively small part of NT alumni.

The truth in my opinion is that the difficulty NT has in athletic fund raising is more due to the historical lack of effort, and not finding the right people to solicit than the degree mix of alumni. The shear number of NT graduates should offset the historically low number of engineers, lawyers, etc.

[Mean Green 93-98]

The shear number of NT graduates should offset the historically low number of engineers, lawyers, etc.

Interesting thought. But it seems the smaller schools seem to generate quite a bit of alumni donations. I wonder if being smaller can actually provide an advantage in the sense of providing students and alumni a more intimate relationship with a university, and in feeling that each student and alumnus is actually important to the university.

[ragpicker]

Sadly, Moore became a hall of fame coach from his performance at another university.

Typical UNT luck.

Remember, Hayden Fry would have been a hard act to follow for anyone. One must admire Moore for hanging in there. Congrats.

[UNT86]

I agree that Coach Moore was a terrible hire for North Texas.

I have no doubt that he is a good guy and deserving of his awards, but at NT he was in way over his head. Coach Moore took a couple of the best teams we have ever had and went 11-11. I remember at the time how glad I was when he left.

I also remember how glad Tech was to get rid of him too. He was almost a complete disaster in Lubbock as well. He started as a head coach with seasons of 5-6, 6-5, 1-9-1, 4-7, 3-7-1, 4-7, 4-7 for a total of 27-48-2.

I'm glad he found success somewhere else. No matter how it turned out for us, I'm glad we didn't wait for it.

And, I wish NT would take it off the website.

[UNT90]

Remember, Hayden Fry would have been a hard act to follow for anyone. One must admire Moore for hanging in there. Congrats.

Or realizing the culture he was up against and GTFO.

Obviously a smart coach.