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IOWA CITY, Ia. – Legend has it that Hayden Fry threatened to fire Dan McCarney and Kirk Ferentz one day at practice. "True story," McCarney said. "I remember it like it was last week. Kirk and I still laugh about it. But we weren't laughing at the time." It's a story that McCarney, now the head football coach at North Texas, and Ferentz, in his 17th season as Fry's successor at Iowa, might chat about when they shake hands before Saturday's 2:30 p.m. kickoff in Kinnick Stadium. "Coach Fry was pretty fired up," Ferentz recalled. It was 1981, Fry's third season at Iowa. McCarney was his defensive line coach. Ferentz was in his first season as the offensive line coach. Fry believed that the best way to develop a team was to have the starters practice against reserves. "I wanted the No. 1s to get used to winning," Fry said. "I did it from a psychological standpoint, to create a winner. I wanted them to feel good about themselves." But McCarney and Ferentz got together and changed things up one day. read more: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/sports/college/iowa/football-rick-brown/2015/09/23/brown-day-hayden-fry-nearly-fired-mccarney-ferentz/72626890/

McCarney, 62, used to crawl under a snow fence and sneak into Iowa games at Kinnick Stadium as a kid. Later, he used tickets his mom, June, got through her job at the dental school. "Then they started giving me tickets because somehow, some way, I fooled them into thinking I was a Division I player," said McCarney, who graduated from City High. Growing up in Iowa City had other advantages. Dan's father, Patrick, was a policeman who worked his way up to chief. "I've been known to have a lead foot, and I'd get pulled over for speeding," McCarney said. "(The officer) would tell me, "I can either give you a ticket or call your dad. I always told them, "Hey, call mye dad, will ya?' " McCarney was small by today's standards. He was captain and started his senior season as a 227-pound right guard. Jordan Walsh, who will start at right guard for Iowa against McCarney's team, weighs 290. McCarney stuck around after graduating in 1974 to work as a graduate assistant at Iowa. He became a full-time assistant in 1977 and was one of two coaches Fry retained when he left North Texas to replace Bob Commings at Iowa following the 1978 season. Fry reversed fortunes in a hurry with a staff that included future head coaches like McCarney, Kirk Ferentz, Bill Snyder, Barry Alvarez and Bob Stoops. "You cherish the relationships you have through all these years, the players that you coach, the opportunities that coach Fry gave us," McCarney said. "He saw things in each of us we probably didn't see in ourselves." read more: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/sports/college/iowa/football/2015/09/23/kinnick-stadium-dan-mccarney-north-texas-iowa-hawkeyes-football/72678916/

"This isn't about the homecoming of Andrew McNulty and me," McCarney said. "This isn't Bill Belichick and Tom Brady coming back. It's just two Iowa City natives, proud to have this opportunity. Proud of our roots. We'll always be proud to be Iowans. But we're going to try and put ourselves in a position to pull off a major upset and still win a football game that most people don't think we can."Saturday will also be a homecoming for McCarney's starting quarterback, Andrew McNulty. The senior graduated from Iowa City High, as did McCarney. McNulty's dad, Jim, was a split end at Iowa and McCarney's teammate. Read more: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/sports/college/iowa/football/2015/09/21/dan-mccarney-returns-kinnick-stadium-underdog/72575842/

“I have a pretty good perspective when you talk about going from the worst in college football (Iowa was 0-11 when McCarney played there in 1973), to the top of the mountain, and everything in-between.” He is in his fifth season at North Texas of Conference USA, and it isn’t easy. His team is 0-2, having suffered double-digit losses to SMU and Rice. As you would expect, he calls the fans, students and administration at North Texas “phenomenal.” “I just want them to be proud that they brought me here as the head football coach.” He took over a program that was 8-40 over the four years before he arrived. The Mean Green are 22-29 since, including a 9-4 season in 2013 capped by a win in the Heart of Dallas Bowl. “The day-to-day stuff is really no different than it is whether you’re in a Power 5 conference or not,” McCarney said. “You’re trying to leave the office at night and make sure your program is better than when you got there in the morning. You’re trying to teach young people how to win on and off the field.” To learn about resilience and positive attitude, North Texas’ players need only to look as far as their head coach. read more: http://www.thegazette.com/hlas-dan-mccarney-is-a-portrait-in-resilience-20150922

IOWA CITY — North Texas’ football past resembles Jello in the summer heat. There’s a slight formation at first but there’s little to mold into something of substance. The Mean Green’s history begins with consensus All-American and Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive tackle “Mean” Joe Greene. There also are connections with Iowa, which is important this week when North Texas comes to Kinnick Stadium. Hayden Fry coached the Mean Green from 1973-78 and led the squad to 10-1 and 9-2 seasons before accepting the job at Iowa. Fry’s former defensive coordinator, Bill Brashier, still holds school records for interceptions in a season (10) and career (19). He played from 1949-51. North Texas quarterback Andrew McNulty led Iowa City High to the 2009 Class 4A state title. North Texas Coach Dan McCarney played for the Hawkeyes in the early 1970s and coached under Fry in the ‘80s. He guided Iowa State from 1995-2006 and became head coach at North Texas in 2011. Two games into his fifth season, McCarney has compiled a 22-29 record at North Texas. In 2013, he directed the Mean Green to a Heart of Dallas Bowl victory and a 9-4 season. It was just the sixth time in 100 football seasons the school won at least nine games. Half of those seasons have come from either Fry or McCarney. North Texas’ journey from FCS after 1994 to its current home in Conference USA featured one season as a Division I independent and three conference shifts. That has fed a stereotype that the program doesn’t match the stature of its larger Texas competitors or even the history of comparable in-state foes like Rice, UTEP, SMU or Houston. “When I got here the perception was it was just a small-time program,” McCarney said. “It’s one thing rolling up your sleeves and working like crazy, and it’s another overcoming that perception. You’re I-AA, you’re Division I, you’re big time, you’re small time, you’re making a commitment, you’re not making a commitment. We heard all that stuff as soon as I took the job here.” read more: http://www.thegazette.com/subject/sports/north-texas-battles-perception-inconsistency-20150921

Dan McCarney doesn’t plan to sneak off for a pizza at Pagliai’s or grab a burger down the block at the Hamburg Inn when he returns to his hometown this week. This will strictly be a business trip for the Iowa City native, whose North Texas football team visits unbeaten Iowa on Saturday. “I have great memories of growing up in Iowa City and of Kinnick Stadium as a player and a coach. I’m proud of my Iowa City roots, proud to be an Iowan,” McCarney said Monday before quickly adding, “but this week we’re working to give our players a chance to create a special memory of their own.” With Iowa City native Andrew McNulty starting at quarterback, the Mean Green will take the field for the 2:30 p.m. game looking for their first win of the season following double-digit losses to SMU and Rice. The oddsmakers list Iowa as a 26.5-point favorite this week. McCarney rates the task as “daunting challenge,” but that is not totally foreign territory for the 62-year-old coach who has made a career out of overcoming the odds. From forging ahead as the head of North Texas’ program after suffering a stroke in 2012 and undergoing open heart surgery a year later, to being a part of unexpected successes on the field, first as a player and assistant at Iowa and later as a head coach at Iowa State, McCarney repeatedly has found a way. read more: http://globegazette.com/sports/north-texas-mccarney-ready-for-business-trip-to-iowa-city/article_bf0fdaad-efbc-54e2-aa64-df83080a49e7.html

UNT wins 3 or less games this football season and then wins 14 or less games this basketball season. Does Rick Villerreal final face any form of consequence? Who does UNT Fire? Mac? Benford? Both? This is the scenerio staring this university president dead in the face. What should happen is all three should be let go. Clean slate for the new AD to bring in his guys to transform the two biggest sports in a morbid athletic program. Does the will exist at this university do even contemplate such an endeavor?

On facing North Texas: “It’s their opener. I know those guys will be extremely ready to go, especially opening up the season. I’m going to challenge our guys with the embarrassment that they had up there. Watching that game from last year was very disheartening. Our guys will be excited about getting back on the field for a Saturday night game and perform in front of our fans and our crowd, which I thought was outstanding.” On if having a bye week to open the season gives North Texas an advantage: “I guess it’s a little bit of an advantage because they got to see the personnel we have on the field and watch us play. I guess that’s an advantage. If that were us, I would definitely be saying it’s an advantage. But in the same sense, as a coach, you always try to get that first game out of your system because there are a lot of things that are unknown in your first ball game, especially a first ball game on the road.” read more: http://collegesportsblog.dallasnews.com/2015/09/smu-quotable-chad-morris-challenges-team-after-last-years-embarrassment-vs-unt.html/

Last year, I had a countdown. I ranked the games on Iowa’s football schedule by how much I was looking forward to them, 12 through 1. It took 12 posts, 12 days. That was smart of me. Or not. Don’t look back in anger. My 12-through-1 last year: 12. Ball State, 11. at Purdue, 10. Northern Iowa, 9. Iowa State, 8. Indiana, 7. at Illinois, 6. at Pittsburgh, 5. at Minnesota, 4. Northwestern, 3. at Maryland, 2. Nebraska, 1. Wisconsin. I was right about No. 1 and 2, anyway. The Wisconsin-Iowa game, a 26-24 Badgers win in Iowa City, was the game of the year. And Nebraska’s 37-34 overtime victory over the Hawkeyes the following Friday in Kinnick Stadium was No. 2. What would you have said was the third-most interesting game Iowa played last season, assuming you agreed with the first two? The 17-13 squeaker over Ball State? The 24-20 comeback win at Pitt? Something else? This year I’ll knock it all off in this one post, and you can tell me how wrong I am. Just like Iowa State fans did last August when I said the ISU-Iowa game didn’t grab me. They were right. The game bore no resemblance to a classic, but Iowa State’s 20-17 win was definitely interesting. So let’s do this from 12 to 1 this year in one swoop. 12. North Texas (Sept. 26 in Iowa City): The only hook is it’s the return of former Iowa player/assistant coach and former Iowa State head coach Dan McCarney. McCarney got the Mean Green to a bowl win two seasons ago, then they dipped to 4-8 last season. They are 5-20 in road games under McCarney and 1-6 against teams from Power Five conferences. This should be Iowa’s easiest win, but I said the same thing about Ball State last year. read more: http://www.thegazette.com/subject/sports/ranking-iowas-football-games-1-through-12-20150827

Following a coaches caravan tour stop in Gainesville … “These people are great. We know we have phenomenal people behind us. This is a step in the right direction to expand our fan base. We have to expand. We can’t stay where we are at. The fans we have are phenomenal. It has to grow if we want to compete for championships in every sport. This is the grass roots and what it’s all about.” – From an interview with the Denton Record-Chronicle read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2015/06/the-best-dan-mccarney-quotes-of-the-offseason-including.html/

On today's News Sentinel Sports Page radio show, North Texas football coach Dan McCarney joined Vince Ferrara and Dustin Dopirak to discuss the Mean Green and their matchup with Tennessee. UT takes on North Texas on Nov. 14 at Neyland Stadium. "No question one of the most athletic teams that we saw on tape last year," McCarney said of the Vols. "(UT coach) Butch (Jones) has done a phenomenal job." McCarney, an assistant head coach at Florida from 2008-2010, says he knows a talented SEC team when he sees one and believes Tennessee fits that mold. "They'll be really hard to beat, no matter who they play, next year," he said. "There's speed, there's talent, there's depth. ... You see playmakers all over the field." McCarney said he's "not real wild" about playing a team like Tennessee late in the season, and noted that the matchup was already set when he came aboard at North Texas. "The game's scheduled, we're going to play, (and) we're not going to walk in with a white flag and surrender," he said. Listen to audio here: http://www.knoxnews.com/govolsxtra/football/gvx-audio-north-texas-coach-looks-ahead-to-matchup-with-the-vols

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/hotseat

I think somebody mentioned this a while back as well, but since Iowa State has an open date the day that we play Iowa, does anyone know if they plan to give us a sort of "home away from home field" advantage and come out to cheer with the Mean Green (and against the Hawkeyes)? Dan sure seems to still have plenty of fans back there, and the fact that we're 1) playing their big in-state rival 2) with their old head coach 3) on a day when they don't play sure seem like 3 great reasons to try to rally some extra support from the Cyclone faithful and get a nice, big, LOUD section helping to give us a little edge against the Hawkeyes, who will likely be heavily favored. Thoughts?

The first stop of UNT’s summer camps tour took place this afternoon at Apogee Stadium. The video at the top of this post includes a few drills and Dan McCarney’s pre-camp speech. McCarney is in his element in those situations and did a bang-up job. There were a little short of 200 players at the camp, the first of two stops in Denton this year. UNT’s first camp went head-to-head with Texas Tech’s camp in Euless. Having an extra date gives the players UNT wants to see a couple of opportunities to hit a camp at Apogee. read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2015/06/the-sunday-leftovers-unt-camp-report-with-mac-video.html/

The teams in Conference USA West Division have all wrapped up spring drills and their spring games in the last few weeks. I am a big advocate of not over reacting to the outcome of spring games, but one can at least get a sense of where teams might be headed in the fall from what takes place. One can also get an idea of who the key players will be for each team in the conference. We have talked a ton about UNT over the last few weeks. Andrew McNulty is in position to hold on to the starting quarterback job heading into the Mean Green’s opener at SMU. There is a chance that JUCO transfer DaMarcus Smith could become academically eligible, beat McNulty out in the span of just a few practices in the fall and convince coach Dan McCarney/offensive coordinator Mike Canales to start him even though he really hasn’t had a lot of time to prove himself. Read more; http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2015/05/spring-games-around-c-usas-west-division.html/

3. Eight head coaches have a maximum potential bonus of $1 million or more, including North Texas' Dan McCarney. Of course, McCarney would have to take the Mean Green to the national championship to earn the his full $1,010,000 potential bonus. Steve Spurrier has the highest potential bonus among head coaches at $1.7 million. 5. Alabama administrative assistant Linda Leoni ($101,160) makes more than an assistant football coach. North Texas safeties coach Perry Carter makes $100,000. Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/headlines/20150417-10-interesting-things-regarding-college-salaries-in-the-big-12-and-sec-from-ticket-allotments-to-laundry-attendants.ece

The players were in shorts/jerseys and helmets. No Pads. The following is only based on 1 practice, so take it with a grain of salt, but this is what I saw: The first 1/4 of practice was primarily stretching/warmup, 2nd 1/4 was individual positional drils, 3rd 1/4 was team/group drills (QB/WR vs DBs, Linemen together, ST), and the last 1/4 was 11 on 11 touch with 1 vs 1, 2 vs 2, and 3 vs 3 (although there were 5 QBs that saw action). Not surprisingly, I spent a lot of time focused on the QBs, so I will just summarize them in this post. The good news is that I don't think there will be as much of a logjam as people thing. The bad news is that some of the people that are expected to be part of that log jam did not look like they were close to competing (at least for today). In terms of who was getting the most reps, it seemed pretty clear that McNulty was getting the most, then Greer, then I would say DW, then Means, then the rest (although Cousins did get a series during 11 on 11 and the rest of the rest did not). McNulty - Looked pretty much like the end of last year. He did not get an arm transplant over the winter. Greer - Seemed to get reps as the #2 most of the day. I hope he was just having a bad day, because IMO he looked bad. Really bad. Even in individual drills he took way too long getting rid of the ball and accuracy was not there. It did not get any better for him in the skill position drills or the 11 on 11. I would not even have him in the top 4 based on what I saw today. I am sure Greer will continue to get opportunity since he is starting out at 2 on the depth chart, but would not surprise me to see him drop down before end of spring if any of the guys below can push him. DW - Looked similar to last year. Not much extra bulk from what I could tell. Some positive moments, but then would follow it up with mental mistakes, fumbled snaps, etc... Means - Maybe just a bad day, but I did not think he looked good at all. His accuracy was off most of the day. Release was slightly quicker than Greer. Did not seem to have a lot of zip on the ball to me. I was disappointed by what I saw today. Chumley - Man is he athletic, but raw/raw/raw. His mechanics make Jameis Winston look like Tom Brady. He was clearly lost during most of the early drills, could not throw a spiral, and was throwing everything high, real high. Maybe some of it was nerves. He settled down a bit, but not before setting a first impression. It would be hard for me to envision him making the top 3 or 4 of the depth chart by the start of the season, but not sure that is the plan anyway. I expect him to work his tail off during a redshirt season if he wants to play QB. Wells - Lefty. Reasonably strong arm with decent speed. Not tall. Actually got in a series during the 11 on 11 drill. It would surprise me if he is ready to make the jump into the top 3 on the depth chart, but if he keeps working, he has some potential/ability down the road. Cousins - Makes McNulty's arm look strong. Not sure the story here, but will need to continue working hard and increase arm strength to see time as a QB. Shanbour - Did not participate in 11 on 11 so did not get to evaluate with active linemen rushing him. Of the drills he participated in, I would say he looked the most impressive. He seemed to be the smallest of the QBs. Maybe the same height as Wells, but not the girth. Strong, accurate arm. Kept the ball down. Looked very good in the WR vs DB drills where there were 3 or 4 WR in the pattern. Picked apart the defense in the drill. Quickest release of the QBs I saw today. Canales had him (only him) signalling plays during the 11 on 11. He was coaching up some of the new guys (Chumley for example) during the drills when they didn't know what to do. Showing leadership. Grimm - Seemed to have a decent arm. Speed did not stand out to me. Did not get in 11 on 11 and I am not sure if he got in the WR vs DB drill. Kind of gets an incomplete since I did not see him enough to form a strong opinion. I say it was Grimm that I was watching. The payer had a red jersey with #16 on it. Grimm is listed on the roster as a WR. There was also a WR wearing #16 white jersey. I was not watching close enough to see if it was the same player and just removing the red jersey, but the WR #16 seemed to have a little something and definitely had some size on the outside. Would like to know who it was playing WR if it was not Grimm. If I had to knee jerk rate the QBs after day 1, mine would be (I am sure others would see it differently): McNulty Williams Shanbour Wells/Means Greer Chumley/Cousins/Grimm

The 2015 version of UNT’s Spring Game did not offer any major surprises. The chance for that set sail when it was announced talented junior college transfer quarterback DaMarcus Smith would not be eligible to participate in Spring Ball due to academics. There was however some interesting footnotes which are worth mentioning. I will preface this by restating a recurrent theme of my close to 20-years of following UNT football. In the bigger scheme of things, the Spring game doesn’t matter that much. Sure, it matters to the team and certainly the players who are vying for playing time at their respective positions. But it’s one day out of 20+, which is a small subset of the total evaluation. Too often, players who make the biggest impact in the game end up not returning in the Fall or drop back down the depth chart once a bevy of scholarship and preferred walk-ons enter the picture in late August [see Erick Evans last year who barely played on Saturday]. Junior college guys who just arrived are still learning the plays and the schemes. Injuries keep some of the better players off of the field [Tillman Johnson]. With that disclaimer out of the way, it is still exciting to be in beautiful Apogee stadium one last time before the dreaded UNT 5-month off hibernation period begins. The weather Saturday was nice, almost too nice as the 1st half of the game got pretty hot. I saw some older fans leave prior to 2nd quarter due to the heat. Cloud cover saved the day at around half time and by the second half things started cooling off and actually perfect game day weather as the sun set in the west. Read more: This post has been promoted to an article PS thanks to UNT 90 Grad for the pic!

North Texas head coach Dan McCarney confirmed Tuesday night that Frank Wintrich, the team's Director of Football Performance, is leaving the Mean Green to accept a position at BYU. This was first reported by Brett Vito at the Denton Record-Chronicle. Wintrich seems all but set to be the replacement for Jay Omer, 43-year strength coaching veteran who announced his retirement from BYU in November. Omer was the head strength and conditioning coach. (Typically, a head strength and conditioning coach at a school like BYU is assigned directly to the football team and oversees assistant coaches, graduate assistants, and interns who are assigned across other sports.) Wintrich has some connection to the BYU staff, having been an associate strength coach at Utah State in the year current Cougar linebacker coach Kelly Poppinga spent as a player with the Aggies before transferring to BYU. (Hat tip to Ben Criddle for the lead there.) However, Wintrich oversaw non-football sports at Utah State. Read more: http://www.vanquishthefoe.com/byu-cougars-football/2015/1/14/7543815/byu-football-staff-frank-wintrich-head-strength-conditioning-coach

AUSTIN, Texas Spring drills were over. The final intrasquad game in April 2013 was in the books, and Dan McCarney finally went in for a simple angiogram for chest pains as he had promised his wife. When the North Texas football coach awoke from the procedure, he saw a look of concern on her face. She looked like somebody shot both of our dogs, McCarney said. She told me, You have four blocked arteries. Theyre 95 percent blocked. Surgery was not an option. It was mandatory. And within 48 hours, McCarney was on an operating table undergoing quadruple heart bypass surgery. That he was in good health and had run the 140 stadium steps in North Texas Apogee Stadium end zone each day helped. Did the 60-year-old McCarney take off the rest of the spring and summer to recover and recharge for the next season? I was back in the office in five days, he said almost apologetically. As a totally driven football coach obsessed with doing the job right, McCarney remains more the rule than the exception in his profession. Read more: http://www.bendbulletin.com/home/2698200-151/coaches-juggle-long-hours-with-sleep-exercise#

DENTON – North Texas head football coach Dan McCarney has announced the hiring of Chris Cosh as defensive coordinator. Cosh comes to North Texas with a wealth of experience having served as a defensive coordinator for 16 of his 30 seasons in coaching, including time at Kansas State, Maryland, South Carolina, Michigan State and Illinois. Cosh spent the 2014 season as the defensive line coach at the University of Buffalo. He will replace John Skladany who retired at the end of the season. “Chris has a tremendous blend of experience and success and comes highly recommended by some of the most respected football coaches at both the collegiate and professional levels,” McCarney said. “He has a proven track record as a coordinator and linebacker coach in the Big 10 Conference, the SEC and the Big 12 and his reputation as a tireless recruiter precedes him. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Chris to the Mean Green family.” Cosh, 55, was the defensive coordinator at South Florida in 2012 and in his one season in Tampa he helped produce two All-Big East defenders. From 2009-11, Cosh was the defensive coordinator at Kansas State, where he helped rebuild the Wildcat defense culminating with a Cotton Bowl appearance in 2011. The Wildcats defense was ranked 37th in the nation in 2011 and produced three All-Big 12 performers, including Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Arthur Brown. The Wildcats finished the season with a 10-3 record. In 2010 Cosh guided the Wildcat defense and saw true freshman Ty Zimmerman earn freshman All-America honors after recording 74 tackles, three interceptions, three PBUs and two fumble recoveries. In 2009 under Cosh, K-State’s defense made tremendous strides, from 117th nationally in total defense in 2008 to No. 39 in 2009. The 2009 Wildcat defense yielded just 105.4 yards per game on the ground, which ranked 16th nationally, and surrendered 339.9 total yards per contest. As defensive coordinator at Maryland, the Terrapins (7-5) ended the 2008 regular season 35th nationally in scoring defense (21.4 ppg) and were led by All-ACC performers Alex Wujciak at linebacker and Jeremy Navarre on the defensive line. In 2007, the Terrapin defense was highlighted by first-team All-ACC performers Erin Henderson and Dre Moore. Henderson led the league in tackles from his weakside linebacker spot, while Moore, a defensive tackle, went on to become a fourth-round draft choice of Tampa Bay in the 2008 NFL Draft.. Cosh’s defense ended the year at No. 24 nationally in scoring defense (21.5 ppg) and No. 33 in pass defense. In 2006, Cosh was responsible for a unit that contributed to the school’s first nine-win season since 2003 and a victory in the Champs Sports Bowl. The Terps defense held the opposition to an average of 21.8 points per game. Under Cosh’s leadership, the defense marked breakout performances by cornerback Josh Wilson and Henderson, who each earned All-ACC honors. Wilson went on to become a second-round choice of the Seattle Seahawks in the 2007 NFL Draft. Prior to his stint at Maryland, Cosh made his first stop at Kansas State for two seasons, 2004-05, under head coach Bill Snyder as linebackers coach. The Wildcat defense ranked 30th nationally in 2005 allowing an average of 128.9 rushing yards per game. Junior linebacker Brandon Archer was an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection in 2005, an accolade which came a year after Cosh helped coach the newcomer to second-team honors in his first year as a starter. In the five years prior to his first stop in Manhattan, Cosh served under Lou Holtz as linebackers coach (1999-2002) and defensive coordinator (2003) at South Carolina. While at South Carolina, he helped produce some of the Southeastern Conference’s top linebackers, including Kalimba Edwards (two-time first team all-league, Butkus and Lombardi Awards finalist in 2001). His resume as a position coach also includes tutoring New York Jets’ first-round pick and Pro Bowler John Abraham (1999) and freshman All-American Lance Laury (2002). During his time in Columbia, S.C., the Gamecocks won back-to-back bowl games for the first time in school history. Read more: http://www.meangreensports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/121714aaa.html This post has been promoted to an article

UNT coach Dan McCarney will begin interviewing candidates to become the Mean Green’s new defensive coordinator next week. John Skladany spent three seasons in that capacity at UNT before electing to retire. McCarney’s long-time right-hand man completed his career with the Mean Green this past season, the pair’s 13th working together. McCarney has said ever since announcing this fall that Skladany is retiring that there has been tremendous interest in the position. Skladany was a veteran coach who worked as a coordinator at Central Florida, Houston and Iowa State, where he spent 10 seasons with McCarney, before arriving at UNT. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2014/12/unt-defensive-coordinator-update.html/