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UNT looking for running backs coach AGAIN


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Football: UNT looking for running backs coach again

Douglas stayed only days before leaving for South Florida

08:48 AM CST on Tuesday, March 28, 2006

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

North Texas coach Darrell Dickey found himself back in the market for a running backs coach much sooner than he expected last week.

Dickey originally hired Troy Douglas to take over for Bruce Bell after the longtime UNT assistant retired following last season. Douglas stayed only a few days before South Florida lured him away.

USF introduced Douglas as its safeties coach last week.

Dickey said UNT couldn’t announce that Douglas had joined the Mean Green’s staff due to a holdup in his paperwork on campus. Douglas worked with UNT’s running backs during spring practice and was a member of the staff for 10-12 days before he left for USF.

“Although it is a compliment to our program that our coaches continue to be hired away to other programs, we have lost seven in the last three years,” Dickey said. “It’s beginning to be troubling that we are losing them because we can’t pay them what other schools do. I can understand Texas A&M, Arizona State and Mississippi State. Without any lack of respect, the Tulsas and South Floridas of the world hiring away our coaches is a concern of mine.

“We want to be on the same level with those teams, but they are hiring our coaches and paying them substantially more money. We are well behind South Florida and they have only been playing football for 10 years.”

Several of UNT’s former assistants have advanced their careers by going to schools in more prominent conferences.

Defensive backs coach Van Malone left UNT for Arizona State after last season before ending up at Texas A&M.

Freddie Kitchens left for Mississippi State and is now with the Dallas Cowboys, while former offensive line coach Eric Wolford is now at Arizona. Former UNT offensive line coach Spencer Leftwich is now the offensive line coach at Tulsa, while former UNT defensive coordinator Gary DeLoach is now the secondary coach at UCLA.

Former defensive backs coach Sam McElroy is now the head coach at Tarleton State.

“I realize that we have had turnover in coaches, but six of them have gone to BCS schools and one became a head coach,” UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal said. “The amount of dollars those schools get from the BCS alone is almost as much as our total budget. Turnover, for that reason, is not uncommon for schools in our situation. I think it’s important to realize that we have increased our total salary pool for football coaches nearly $300,000 since the 2001 season.”

Dickey sees the turnover on his staff as an indication UNT’s coaches have earned the respect of their peers.

“One thing the people who criticize our coaches should do is look up and see everyone else in the country appears to think that they are pretty good coaches,” Dickey said. “We are brining in good coaches and they are leaving for more money.”

UNT hired tight ends coach Thomas Dunson, a former graduate assistant, along with Douglas since the end of last season. Both worked with the Mean Green during spring practice.

Dickey said he wants to fill his opening for a running backs coach in the next few days so that he can assign the coach a territory for the spring recruiting season. UNT’s new coach will enter the fall without having worked with any of the Mean Green’s players, including former national rushing champion Jamario Thomas.

“I am not concerned that we will be starting with a new running backs coach next season,” Dickey said. “It would be better to have a coach to go through spring practice, but it’s not going to set us back.”

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Let me translate:

“Although it is a compliment to our program that our coaches continue to be hired away to other programs, we have lost seven in the last three years,” Dickey said. “It’s beginning to be troubling that we are losing them because we can’t pay themwhat other schools do. I can understand Texas A&M, Arizona State and Mississippi State. Without any lack of respect, the Tulsas and South Floridas of the world hiring away our coaches is a concern of mine.

“We want to be on the same level with those teams, but they are hiring our coaches and paying them substantially more money. We are well behind South Florida and they have only been playing football for 10 years.”

Dickey: RV, get me some more money for my coaches. Sell plasma, scam fake Mean Joe Greenes autographs on ebay, be the weekend DJ at Silver City. What ever it takes.

Several of UNT’s former assistants have advanced their careers by going to schools in more prominent conferences.

Vito: I think the OC position at Abilene Cooper paid more.

“I realize that we have had turnover in coaches, but six of them have gone to BCS schools and one became a head coach,” UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal said. “The amount of dollars those schools get from the BCS alone is almost as much as our total budget. Turnover, for that reason, is not uncommon for schools in our situation. I think it’s important to realize that we have increased our total salary pool for football coaches nearly $300,000 since the 2001 season.”

RV: Our fans our cheap, do you know how many of them refused to pay a $250 license to get the best seats in Fouts? Unless I start holding up 7-11's, we are still going to have some of the least well paid coaches in the SBC. Fund raising plans?Right now our main plan is to wait for green grenade to pass so we can dig up the 1.7 million he has buried in folgers cans all over his back yard.

Dickey sees the turnover on his staff as an indication UNT’s coaches have earned the respect of their peers.

“One thing the people who criticize our coaches should do is look up and see everyone else in the country appears to think that they are pretty good coaches,” Dickey said. “We are brining in good coaches and they are leaving for more money.”

Dickey: Either I'm not an idiot, or everyone is an idiot. I'm at peace with either one.

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“We want to be on the same level with those teams, but they are hiring our coaches and paying them substantially more money. We are well behind South Florida and they have only been playing football for 10 years.”

Wasn't someone called a moron for implying this same thing yesterday?

Nate Dogg drops his pants in 4 minutes - who's going with me to witness AD history?

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Our coaches are going other places to get more money guys, plain and simple/ COach Dickey told me one of them wanted to stay here, but left because he could get $25,000 more a year at another job. There is little we can do about that now unless the budget was adjusted, and that money has to come from somewhere?

It's a losing battle in most cases. I am just glad we can find coaches who are willing to do the job more for the love of it, and not so much the money. I dont know that I could do that if it were me, so it's tough to fault them.

GMG!!!

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Our coaches are going other places to get more money guys, plain and simple/ COach Dickey told me one of them wanted to stay here, but left because he could get $25,000 more a year at another job. There is little we can do about that now unless the budget was adjusted, and that money has to come from somewhere?

It's a losing battle in most cases. I am just glad we can find coaches who are willing to do the job more for the love of it, and not so much the money. I dont know that I could do that if it were me, so it's tough to fault them.

GMG!!!

They (UCLA) must have really paid DeLoach a lot more money, because the cost of living (especially the housing) in California is significantly higher than the North Texas area.

I don't know about the cost of living in Central Florida.

Edited by SilverEagle
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All I was saying was that that programs are not zooming by us.  Yes, they are above us in a few aspects, and probably as a whole.  I was just saying they did not zoom past us.  We are close!!!!!  We will be there.

I keed cause I love.

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I am going to start recording all of DD's excuses to explain his future failures. His total budget for assistants salaries is completely in his control. He divides the money where he wants to. If he would hire young coaches for less than he paid the ones who left, then he could afford to pay his offensive and defensive coordinator more. Instead of allocating a big raise to his admin, he could pay his coaches more.

All of this doesn't matter. He knows next season is put up or shut up time. There are several teams in our conference that quite possibly have left us behind. Time will tell. Which man are we going to get? I failed because I didn't work hard enough, or I failed because I didn't get a new academic center, practice facility, athletic center, new turf at Fouts, new video equipment, a brand new truck to drive for free.

After we pay coaches more than we can afford, what is going to be the next excuse?

I am wondering if DD has a mirror in his house?

How about just win, don't kill the momentum that the rest of the athletic department staff has helped to build.

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thinking the same thing, does the Athletic's Department even have staff outside of coaches and the AD, maybe the occassional PT Webmaster.

ph34r.gif

2 WORDS:

Nate Dogg.

Check yoself at the front desk before he wrecks yoself

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No it is not a joke. Mandy bust her butt to build the mean green club. Rick bust his butt to get new facilities built. Hank goes out and sells corporate sponsorships to help raise money. We are all going to be playing golf at the Trophy Club on Monday in support of athletic scholarships. What about all the behind the scenes work at the New Orleans Bowl. Heck I helped set up that tent that you guys stand under at the away games last year.

A lot of people do a lot of work behind the scenes, and their reward is that the Coach talks about how difficult the situation is, and how the house is divided.

Your darn right I am serious.

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laugh.gif  laugh.gif  laugh.gif  laugh.gif  laugh.gif  laugh.gif  laugh.gif  laugh.gif  laugh.gif  laugh.gif  laugh.gif  laugh.gif

Mandy is taking up valuable oxygen, meant for USEFULL humans!!!

A classic quote from the radio commercial:

"If you haven't joined the Mean Green club it's because you haven't called me or I haven't called you."

So, either I should take it upon myself to give you money or I should wait for my phone to ring?....................I'm still waiting for my phone to ring.

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If you know about the mean green club, know what it means to UNT athletics, and love your (our) university, then why does Mandy need to personally call you and ask you for a donation? This is our place, not hers. The more help we give her the better she can do her job. Just getting that tent set up at the away games is a huge ordeal. Not to mention finding a local beer store, finding a small amount of food, catering to supervising cheerleaders, and making sure donors on the trip with the team are taken care of. You may not believe it, but she works long thankless hours.

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