Getting to know UNLV’s Heart of Dallas opponent, North Texas

[Harry]

UNLV isn’t the only success story playing at Cotton Bowl Stadium on Wednesday in the Heart of Dallas Bowl. North Texas (8-4) has had a better 15-year run than the Rebels but recently their situations have been very similar, with the Mean Green winning only 22 games from 2005-12..

Under third-year coach Dan McCarney, who led Iowa State from 1995-2006, the Mean Green have broken out of their rut to play in a bowl game located less than an hour’s drive from campus. North Texas has done it with a top-10 defense that should pose significant challenges for UNLV’s potent offense.

To get to know UNT a little better, the Sun reached out to Brett Vito, who covers the Mean Green for the Denton Record-Chronicle:

North Texas went to four bowl games in the early 2000s and then drastically fell off. Do you attribute that fall to one coach — Todd Dodge — or is it larger than that?

You have brought up what is a great debate among UNT fans. The reality of it is, UNT had a tough 2005 season under Darrell Dickey, the coach who guided the Mean Green to all four of those bowl games, and then had a tough start the next year. UNT fired Dickey in the middle of the season and hired Todd Dodge, the worst coach in the history of the school’s athletic program – program, not just football – any way one looks at it. Dodge dug UNT a hole it has taken McCarney a long time to pull the program out of.

Read more: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2013/dec/30/bowl-bites-getting-know-unlvs-heart-dallas-opponen/

[NorthTexan95]

Hey! Vito got the origin of "Mean Green" correct!

[emmitt01]

Hey! Vito got the origin of "Mean Green" correct!

And described Teflon Todd for what he was.

[Cooley]

Worst coach in program history? Didn't this guy recruit a majority of the key players on this 8-4 team? Was he and staff paid anywhere near what this staff is paid? I don't know where he should rank but he certainly didn't get near the support this current staff has been afforded.

This slap at Dodge sure seems personal! Geez, potential coaches and their families read these message boards.

Bob Tyler

Dennis Parker

Rod Rust

Tina Slinker

Shanice Stephens

Gene Robbins

Judy Buckles

Tony Benford

Tommy Newman

Vic Trilli

Edited December 31, 2013 by Cooley

[THOR]

so if dodge were paid the same amount of cash that mac gets, he would have produced better results???

disagree...if dodge could coach and develop, he would have...he recruited good players, but couldn't develop or coach them to victory like the dmac has...

and yes, worst coach in program history...well...maybe benford...but his time isn't done here yet...

Edited December 31, 2013 by THOR

[SilverEagle]

Hey! Vito got the origin of "Mean Green" correct!

I'm impressed that the question was asked in the first place. Most people outside of North Texas either "assume" the "Mean" Joe Greene thing,.....or they don't really care.

For that matter, if you got a random group of North Texas fans (20 or more) in a room and asked the group the origins of the nickname "Mean Green" probably most of them would answer "Mean" Joe Greene.

[DirtySavage]

Ouch the truth kinda stings on the Dodge question. But I believe those answer was factual and not a shot at Todge.

[meangreener]

Worst coach in program history? Didn't this guy recruit a majority of the key players on this 8-4 team? Was he and staff paid anywhere near what this staff is paid? I don't know where he should rank but he certainly didn't get near the support this current staff has been afforded.

This slap at Dodge sure seems personal! Geez, potential coaches and their families read these message boards.

Bob Tyler

Dennis Parker

Rod Rust

Tina Slinker

Shanice Stephens

Gene Robbins

Judy Buckles

Tony Benford

Tommy Newman

Vic Trilli

Dodge had no ability to develop players-make no mistake he is the worst coach ever at NT.

[FirefightnRick]

Dodge had no ability to develop players....

Then how do you explain Danny Meager coming from an all rushing-handoff world to record setting passing QB, or Casey Fitzgerald from no-name walk-on to record setting wide reciever, or Lance Dunbar, from Katrina transplant who played on an 0-10 high school team to college phenom and the NFL?

Rick

Edited December 31, 2013 by FirefightnRick

[UNTFan23]

Then how do you explain Danny Meager coming from an all rushing-handoff world to record setting passing QB, or Casey Fitzgerald from no-name walk-on to record setting wide reciever, or Lance Dunbar, from Katrina transplant who played on an 0-10 high school team to college phenom and the NFL?

Rick

... and then benching said QB after his record setting performance for a true freshman.

Dodge's biggest failure was bringing in HS coaches and installing HS level defensive schemes. We suffered some pretty bad losses (OU and Rice come to mind).

[untjim1995]

Then how do you explain Danny Meager coming from an all rushing-handoff world to record setting passing QB, or Casey Fitzgerald from no-name walk-on to record setting wide reciever, or Lance Dunbar, from Katrina transplant who played on an 0-10 high school team to college phenom and the NFL?

Rick

All three of the guys you just listed played HS ball in suburbs...that question will just have to be ignored because of the implied evilness of suburbia.

[foutsrouts]

Worst coach in program history? Didn't this guy recruit a majority of the key players on this 8-4 team? Was he and staff paid anywhere near what this staff is paid? I don't know where he should rank but he certainly didn't get near the support this current staff has been afforded.

This slap at Dodge sure seems personal! Geez, potential coaches and their families read these message boards.

Bob Tyler

Dennis Parker

Rod Rust

Tina Slinker

Shanice Stephens

Gene Robbins

Judy Buckles

Tony Benford

Tommy Newman

Vic Trilli

I agree that the comment is a little over the top, and I was pretty much always a TD skeptic. Say worst performing football coach or something along those lines, but no need to get mean toward a guy who simply was in over his head.

[meangreener]

Then how do you explain Danny Meager coming from an all rushing-handoff world to record setting passing QB, or Casey Fitzgerald from no-name walk-on to record setting wide reciever, or Lance Dunbar, from Katrina transplant who played on an 0-10 high school team to college phenom and the NFL?

Rick

So...let's see...3 players he "developed." Dunbar's team sucked but his stats were great in high school, btw.

Get your nose out of Teflon Todd's ass.

Edited December 31, 2013 by meangreener

[oldguystudent]

The numbers speak for themselves.

Edit: That said, and to be clear for the five people who are unaware, I can't stand that guy and I hope he gets exposed for the coaching fraud that I think he is at Marble Falls (so far, so good on that front). But Brett Vito is a journalist. Pretty unprofessional for him to so blatantly lay out his personal hatred toward Dodge in writing like that.

Edited December 31, 2013 by oldguystudent

[FirefightnRick]

So...let's see...3 players he "developed." Dunbar's team sucked but his stats were great in high school, btw.

Get your nose out of Teflon Todd's ass.

You said he couldn't develope talent, not me.

We know Dodge was a failed coach in several areas. But recruiting talent and developing it were two of his better areas.

And for your quip about nose and ass, I'd say something about Vito and your knees and something dripping downyour chin,... but I won't.

Rick

Edited December 31, 2013 by FirefightnRick

[ColoradoEagle]

I saw nothing wrong with what Vito said about Dodge. I wonder if the TCU slight was intentional or just habit.