Todd Graham From Rice To Tulsa

[MeanGreen61]

Rice's new football regime didn't last lost.

From the sportscaster's blog:

Thursday, January 11, 2007

College Fball Sources: Graham accepts Tulsa offer

Hi folks. Ahhh, the college football coaching carousel is simply amazing. Here's the scoop and it involves Rice Head man Todd Graham. Just when you thought he felt at home at Rice, Tulsa comes calling. There's an opening with Steve Kragthorpe exiting to Louisville and College Football sources confirmed with Local 2 sports that Tulsa officials called Graham, offered the job and that Graham has accepted the job with Tulsa. It will become official on Friday.

In Graham's first season at Rice, he led the Owls to their first bowl game in 45 years leading Rice to a 7-6 record after the team finished 1-10 in 2005. Graham last spoke with Local 2 Sports earlier this week and Rice AD Chris Del Conte has not returned phone calls all week.

Also on the Major Applewhite front, college football sources tell Local 2 Sports Applewhite will accept a position at either Alabama or LSU in the next 24 hours. Sources tell us he will NOT be the new head coach of Rice.

[runt96]

Rice to Tulsa? That doesn't sound like an upward move, does it?

Edited January 12, 2007 by runt96

[Harry]

Pretty sorry of Graham IMHO.

[DeepGreen]

Pretty sorry of Graham IMHO.

You got that right. I thought Rice just signed him to a new multi-year contract?

[PlummMeanGreen]

You got that right. I thought Rice just signed him to a new multi-year contract?

He did...thru 2012.

I am not sure why moving from Rice U to Tulsa U (both private schools) would be considered a move up by Graham; and in the same conference to boot.

Build it...........UNT! Or we, too, will find ourselves to be a player in all this mid-major coaches fruit-basket turnover anytime the dominos start falling and this long before we ever want. If a company offers you 10 X's the money you are making now, don't you have to at least listen to that company? Most HFC's have familys that making 10X's what they are making now would make moving to such a job a very easy decision. On the other hand, some coaches (like the ones at Rutgers and Boise) are not going to get caught up in all this as they want to build onto what they have started at their respective schools.

I don't think Graham left Rice U for the money aspects and I can't believe Tulsa officials would stay inside their own CUSA to find their next coach. Used to sorta' be an unwritten law for most confernces that you usually didn't hire your HFC from within your same league, for sure not a coach from within the same division of said conference.

UNT (like any other mid major) needs to give a coach very many reasons to want to stay and we all know what we all need to be looking at very soon (with much pride) that will set between those 2 interstates at the Mean Green Village.

[NT80]

Also on the Major Applewhite front, college football sources tell Local 2 Sports Applewhite will accept a position at either Alabama or LSU in the next 24 hours. Sources tell us he will NOT be the new head coach of Rice.

That's like a double slap at Rice. First losing your head coach to Tulsa in what seems like a lateral move at best, then having your OC say not interested in your HC job. Wow.

[Danish42]

Pretty sorry of Graham IMHO.

Don't be surprise if TD does the same thing. There is no loyality and I think it will get worse in coaching.

[Green Nightmare]

Don't be surprise if TD does the same thing. There is no loyality and I think it will get worse in coaching.

Dodge seems like a stand up guy and that hs family is more important. They have roots here in NoTex

I would not blame TD if he left for the big time schools.

I dont see him moving around at all among mid Majors

Also he already turned down rice so no worries

Edited January 12, 2007 by Green Nightmare

[PlummMeanGreen]

Don't be surprise if TD does the same thing. There is no loyality and I think it will get worse in coaching.

Danish42, I wouldn't go as far as saying there are "no loyalties" out there, but I do think there are fewer loyalties in this era of college football.

I think Todd Dodge will always be grateful to UNT that it was our school who gave him his first college gig which might create some semblance of loyalty, but UNT needs to just keep TCB or as Elvis and his former Memphis Mafia big motto was "taking care of business" that will make his UNT job worth staying for. I think we all know what some of those things can be that will create such a scenario and we will all be a very big part of this, too. NOTE: Could this 2007 MG football campaign actually be the breakthrough season that we finally leave all these 15K per home game averages behind forever and warp speed up to 25-30,000 per home game averages like (especially in light of our enormous constituency) we should already be?

BUT STILL...........all the stars and coaching scenarios elsewhere (somewhat) have to be aligned for schools in the bottom half of NCAA D1-A (is that better than saying "non-BCS" or "mid-majors") to be able to hang onto a coach that they (in deed) want to hang onto. Do we need to hope Mack Brown stays at UT another 10 years if some rumors we've heard are true? That is what I mean by those stars have to be in right alignment (although I don't really believe in astrology) for things to remain as they are on coaching staffs across NCAA D1-A. We've all seen how domino effects can affect us all at the NCAA's top level.

Rice U did try to hire Todd Dodge last year and he turned the Owls down. Sorta' ironic, but Rice U also tried to hire Fry after his big 1975 Mean Green football season (his 3'rd year in Denton) when that season was capped off by our Mean Green's big University of Tennessee win. Fry came back to Denton after a whirlwind plane trip down to Houston to visit with Rice officials saying: "I've got a better job at UNT." (Keep in mind, this was when the SWC was still in tact).

My take on all this is that we just enjoy the time we do have with Todd Dodge on our staff because anyone can "what if" all this till the cows come home.

"What if" Todd Dodge plays a very big part in helping our campus fundraisers identify our Big Donor who under-writes most (or all) our new football stadium out at the Mean Green Village? "What if" Coach Todd Dodge makes our UNT Mean Green the next Boise State that finished in the Top 5 at the end of the season (after a BCS Championship Series win over the Michigan Wolverines)? So what I am saying is: If we're going to "what if" at all, lets "what if" with scenaros such as the aforementioned.

GMG!

Edited January 12, 2007 by PlummMeanGreen

[Eagle1855]

Pretty sorry of Graham IMHO.

I agree. I feel bad for Rice. Graham came in, sold everyone on Rice football, got the boosters excited, even got the city behind it in their first bowl trip in ages- then takes off for a LATERAL move at best after ONE YEAR.

There is no loyalty left in college football except that of the almighty dollar. This has been a rough off-season to watch , regarding the coaching carousel. Well, except ours of course!

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

---Before going to Rice he had been the defensive co-ordinator at Tulsa for three years. It is sort of like going home. It may be a sorry deal on his part but I think I would rather live in Tulsa than Houston, especially to raise a family. He apparently went to college at East Central in Oklahoma as well. [apparently he grew up in Dallas/Ft Worth area ] He has a large family and I suspect his kids have a lot of friends in Tulsa and family may have liked Tulsa better. This decision may not be all about coaching or money but family issues as well. Yahoo is not listing this a a final decision ... just as he has been offered the job.

Edited January 12, 2007 by SCREAMING EAGLE-66

[buff64]

Recruiting at Tulsa would be much easier than recruiting players to Rice. This may have been a big factor in his decision.

[Eagle1855]

---Before going to Rice he had been the defensive co-ordinator at Tulsa for three years. It is sort of like going home. It may be a sorry deal on his part but I think I would rather live in Tulsa than Houston, especially to raise a family. He apparently went to college at East Central in Oklahoma as well. [apparently he grew up in Dallas/Ft Worth area ] He has a large family and I suspect his kids have a lot of friends in Tulsa and family may have liked Tulsa better. This decision may not be all about coaching or money but family issues as well. Yahoo is not listing this a a final decision ... just as he has been offered the job.

It's a done deal. The way it all went down was kinda shady as well. When you take everything into account, its a raw deal for Rice no matter how you slice it. Even worse, it's to a team that is in the same division in the same conference. And 1.1 mill for 8 years- I promise you it was about the money. The family thing is just icing. I wont even get into the Houston/Tulsa thing for raising a family as that's just an exercise in futility on this board.

Edited January 12, 2007 by Eagle1855

[DeepGreen]

But didn't he just sign a CONTRACT EXTENSION? Are these not binding in any way? If not, then what the hell good are they and what's to keep Dodge from taking the Rice job today? Other than his son having one year left at SLC. College football is starting to reek, just like the pros.

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

---Restating what I said... it is a sorry deal on his part...... It seems now that the Coaches have the advantage on contracts now. They break them but if the school does they owe the coach a "fortune" for doing nothing. There is no penality for the coach to break a contract because the institution that hires him generally pays any penalty for doing so (if there is one).

--A similiar thing a few years ago (1986) when David McWilliams left TxTech ( before their Bowl game and after only one season ) to go to Texas as head coach. This is how Spike Dykes became the head so quickly after coaching in HS for years. Obviously both colleges were in the same conference then also.

Edited January 12, 2007 by SCREAMING EAGLE-66

[Quoner]

--A similiar thing a few years ago (1986) when David McWilliams left TxTech ( before their Bowl game and after only one season ) to go to Texas as head coach. This is how Spike Dykes became the head so quickly after coaching in HS for years. Obviously both colleges were in the same conference then also.

Agreed, and the BC coach jumping suddenly to NC State right before the bowl was pretty bad too.

We've entered the Fran era of NCAA football coaching (minus the riding LT to an undeserved genius reputation)

[JayDub]

There is no loyalty left in college football except that of the almighty dollar.

Look a little further than college football, my friend. There's no loyalty left, period.

[Cool]

Look a little further than college football, my friend. There's no loyalty left, period.

Re-posted......see new topic -

Wake Up Dorothy (UNT)

The response deserved its own topic.

Edited January 13, 2007 by Cool

[GreenBat]

THANK YOU COOL!!!!!!!!!

[Cool]

THANK YOU COOL!!!!!!!!!

Don't thank me. Thank your AD and whoever else had the insight to make the decision to bring in TD. If/when TD ever does leave UNT he will leave it like SLC, better than he found it. That’s who he is and that’s what he does. May I suggest that he will also leave with his integrity in tact and a parade of cheers from the fans, players, and alumni? TD knows that integrity may fall short but it will never fail a coach or those who believe in him. Believe.

[SilverEagle]

Everyone has an important part to play and this coach appreciates every single contribution down to the last fan. Enjoy the ride.

Cheers for UNT with this hire!

Edited January 13, 2007 by SilverEagle

[the green rokemi]

Look a little further than college football, my friend. There's no loyalty left, period.

Wow...then I guess half way through the season you will be supporting Middle Tennessee?

I think this board exists because loyalty is alive and well, you live in a bleak world my friend...