Fire Dodge Talk

[FirefightnRick]

Folks, please keep in mind we are two plays away from being 3-2 right now.

We are North Texas. Progess comes in baby-step fashion around here and those of us who are monetarily and emotionally invested in this program know this. It's not easy being Mean Green, but just like we would realize in the weeks to come after that really bad night in Monroe on October 6, 2001 it was well worth the wait for the progress to come.

Rick

[KRAM1]

I can attest to what FFR Rick is saying about the "baby steps". I became a Mean Green fan in 1965! It has been awhile for me, but it has been and still is great to be a Member of the Mean Green nation.

And, part of the reason is.....Mean Green "fans" tend to jump on and off the bandwagon so very easily...heck, we even have some folks on this site that "claim" to be big fans and live in the local area, but still do not purchase tickets or come to games. That's being part of the problem, not part of the solution in my book and says a great deal about why it takes the Mean Green "baby step" moves to move forward. Still, move forward UNT will, and it's great to be part of it.

See you Saturday for the BIG win against FAU and Capt. K.

GO MEAN GREEN...and thanks to all the fans who stand by the Mean Green through thick and thin because it is THEIR UNIVERSITY!!!!!

[Censored by Laurie]

Folks, please keep in mind we are two plays away from being 3-2 right now.

We are North Texas. Progess comes in baby-step fashion around here and those of us who are monetarily and emotionally invested in this program know this. It's not easy being Mean Green, but just like we would realize in the weeks to come after that really bad night in Monroe on October 6, 2001 it was well worth the wait for the progress to come.

Rick

Agreed.

If we can make it through 9/11, we can make it through these struggles.

/Pitino'd

[SilverEagle]

I can attest to what FFR Rick is saying about the "baby steps". I became a Mean Green fan in 1965! It has been awhile for me, but it has been and still is great to be a Member of the Mean Green nation.

And, part of the reason is.....Mean Green "fans" tend to jump on and off the bandwagon so very easily...heck, we even have some folks on this site that "claim" to be big fans and live in the local area, but still do not purchase tickets or come to games. That's being part of the problem, not part of the solution in my book and says a great deal about why it takes the Mean Green "baby step" moves to move forward. Still, move forward UNT will, and it's great to be part of it.

See you Saturday for the BIG win against FAU and Capt. K.

GO MEAN GREEN...and thanks to all the fans who stand by the Mean Green through thick and thin because it is THEIR UNIVERSITY!!!!!

You know, if you've been a fan that long I'd think you'd be sick of "baby steps" by now. If nothing else, I would think you'd be sick of the same old mistakes (policy wise) made by the administration (except for a brief period of lucidity in the mid-70's) for 44 years.

[letsgiveacheer]

Ahem. We have become UNY...the University of Next Year.

[filmerj]

He will still be here for at least another year so chill. Nothing will be done IMO because it's all about a lack of money, and you don't want this place to become a revolving door for coaches. I do hope he decides to go with a more experienced OC.

Dear Tiny Football Jesus, wrapped up in your Mean Green Jersey and Tiny NT helmet, laying in the manger so sweet, please put it in this Head coaches heart to humble himself enough realize a change must be made for the betterment of the program. OH and gives us a win this Saturday. Amen

Edited October 16, 2009 by filmerj

[FloMoGrad]

I've said it a thousand times... It's not easy being a mean green fan, but when this program finally catches fire, it's going to be well worth the trials, heart break and persecution from co-workers and other fans...

Keep the faith, keep buying season tickets, keep donating to the Mean Green Club, keep coming to games... If you're not doing those things then don't bitch...

Find it hard to believe we have "fans" that call for our coaches heads but don't even drive the 30-60 minutes to come to home games...

If we had 1,000 more "fans" at each home game, at $10.00 a head, that's $10,000 per home game, or $60,000 per season in increased revenue...That could afford us increased coaching salaries, better recruiting budgets...you see where I'm going..

Bottomline, love the coach or hate the coach, you're perrogative, but support the program, try to do what you can to attract new fans and build it up, or you're going to be stuck with worse when it's all said and done...

[KRAM1]

You know, if you've been a fan that long I'd think you'd be sick of "baby steps" by now. If nothing else, I would think you'd be sick of the same old mistakes (policy wise) made by the administration (except for a brief period of lucidity in the mid-70's) for 44 years.

One reason the administration "gets away" with this stuff is because the Mean Green fan base is so small compared to its student and alumni base. The apathy of many of its grads and current students makes it easy for the administration to keep doing the same old stuff. When you finally get an AD like RV who has some vision and really delivers on promises such as upgraded facilities the fan base needs to really get behind the program instead of continuing to complain about "stuff". Start getting students and alums to support UNT...both athletically and academically...and things will definitely move away from the baby step mode. I do think the new stadium and overall athletic facilities upgrades we have seen under RV are much more than baby steps.

SilverEage, you have been around a long time too, and you are still a real Mean Green fan who puts his rear in the seats and supports the program. UNT is MY university....come what may, I'll be there to support the Mean Green and UNT overall. Heck, there are lots of things I would like to see changed at UNT, but I prefer to try to be part of the solution by donating money and my time to UNT and by attending events when I can. It is easier for me than some as I live in Denton, but there are plenty of local grads who jump on and off the bandwagon depending on the won-loss record and who never donate time nor money to their Alma mater. That, in my opinion, needs to change.

See you at the Game Saturday, SilverEagle.

GO MEAN GREEN!

[GoMeanGreen1999]

Agree.

While I see some progress this year and am willing to give TD another season (like I get a vote), what other program is 4-25 and still retains it's coach??

I agree. I mentioned earlier in this thread that if this was the record at any of the top 70% of D1 schools and the end result this year wasn't at least 4 wins, there wouldn't be a fourth year. But then again, if his first two seasons had happened in any of the top 50, there probably wouldn't have been a 3rd year.

[gangrene]

I agree. I mentioned earlier in this thread that if this was the record at any of the top 70% of D1 schools and the end result this year wasn't at least 4 wins, there wouldn't be a fourth year. But then again, if his first two seasons had happened in any of the top 50, there probably wouldn't have been a 3rd year.

I'd also add that those schools learned the lesson about directly hiring high school coaches when Gerry Faust failed at Notre Dame.

[eppy4life]

I agree. I mentioned earlier in this thread that if this was the record at any of the top 70% of D1 schools and the end result this year wasn't at least 4 wins, there wouldn't be a fourth year. But then again, if his first two seasons had happened in any of the top 50, there probably wouldn't have been a 3rd year.

And if our program was in the top 70% of d1 programs when he arrived I'd agree with you. But when he came in, he had to first clean up all the crap left before him.

I can promise you this, he is a major reason we'll have a new stadium in 2011 and he will be coaching that first game at the new stadium.

[Stan R]

I think that this year our fans have 78,000,000 reasons to be happy.

Edited October 16, 2009 by Stan R

[GrandGreen]

At second glance 1-4 is still butt ugly. We should be willing to cut some slack because

1. Much of the legitimate Division 1A talent had disappeared by the time Dodge got here.

2. The drug problem that was unknown to most of us.

3. The loss of scholarships due to deficiency in the APR.

4. The racism accusation was a distraction. Not a major distraction but a distraction nonetheless.

5. Dodge's system was the antithesis to the players on hand.

6. The team concept had to be instilled.

7. Dodge had a learning curve on being a college head coach.

8. He did not have enough time to assemble a college coaching staff. In retrospect he should have retained the more competent from Dickey's staff.

All except #8 have pretty well been overcome and there is little in the way of an excuse for the current losses. While we do see improvement in all areas it has not manifested itself to the win column. Dodge has done a very good job (perhaps excellent under the conditions) in recruiting. I feel that it is on par with the rest of the SBC although, in some cases, a little younger. But now is where the rubber meets the road. Improvement is good; improvement in wins is better.

Frankly, if we don't see at least four wins this season we could lose a lot of fans (and financial support). I appreciate the talent that Dodge and staff have garnered and his efforts toward the new stadium. However, the name of the game is WINNING. So far we haven't seen that and, at the present, don't know if this staff is capable of that. Perhaps this week will be the start of something big. I sure hope so.

I believe that talking about T. Dodge future at this point is silly, he ain't going nowhere unless the team really crumbles in the next 7 games. My comment on your lists of factors:

1. Much of the legitimate Division 1A talent had disappeared by the time Dodge got here. A very valid point, DD's recruiting had gotten about as bad as a FB program could get. However, Dodge did inherit a veteran team especially on the defensive side that should have performed much better than they did in Dodge's first year.

2. The drug problem that was unknown to most of us. I really disagree with this. I don't think NT had any more of a drug problem than most teams. I certainly was not surprised by the percentage of failures and I would wager that it is not far from the norm if any other coaching staff in the nation was foolish enough to do mass testing.

3. The loss of scholarships due to deficiency in the APR. I think DD did take more risks than necessary with his questionable effort in recruiting and it ultimately hurt the program. However, I think the turnover in coaches also contributed to this as players left the program.

4. The racism accusation was a distraction. Not a major distraction but a distraction nonetheless. Not a major distraction? I am not sure there are many things that end a career faster than even a hint of racism in a program. This was truly unfortunate and put Dodge and the whole school on the defensive. To his credit, Dodge handled it as well as possible.

5. Dodge's system was the antithesis to the players on hand. True, however the offensive team actually performed better than expected with the change in the first year.

6. The team concept had to be instilled. Not sure about this point. I not sure that loyalty to the team or team concepts were a problem with Dickey's team. What was a problem is the bunker mentality fostered by DD in the team.

7. Dodge had a learning curve on being a college head coach. That is putting it mildly, Dodge was not close to being ready to be a fb division coach. IMO most of the problems stem from TD and many of his coaching staff not having the experience or skill necessary to coach at this level. This translated not only to lopsided loses but also quickly losing the confidence of the team. Hopefully, after a painful two seasons, the coaching staff is getting to be where it should have been in year one.

8. He did not have enough time to assemble a college coaching staff. In retrospect he should have retained the more competent from Dickey's staff. I don't think time or as other have suggested, money were big factors in his selection of coaches. I think he greatly overestimated the ability of high school coaches to successful at the next level. It takes time to learn the college game, and Dodge basically started his head coaching career with probably the most inexperienced staff in the recent history of division 1 football.

Dodge has made a bunch of major mistakes in my opinion, but he also has demonstrated that he is willing to work and to change. I too, think he has significantly raised the talent level of the team, improved the coaching staff, and has got the program headed in the right direction. I have little doubt that he will be back next year and I also believe that the team will continue to improve this year.

[oldschoollefty]

Quoner is going to be upset.

I was just trying to draw him offsides. That hard snap count gets them everytime.

[Huff]

Todd Dodge will not be fired at the end of the 2009 season or at the end of the 2010 season regardless of how many games his team wins. Rick V has a tremendous investment in his hiring and will give him all the time he possibly can to pull the rabbit out of the hat. Those who want him gone before that are going to be VERY disappointed.