What a mess!

We have a senior heavy team that was picked to at least contend for the conference title, but can't beat good or even average teams. Here are 5 thoughts on where the Mean Green stand as a program....

1. Littrell isn't Worth $1.8 million- Seth hasn't won a bowl, or conference title, and Littrell struggles against average & good programs. In short he isn't earning his contract.

2. Offensive & Defensive Coordinators Have Bad Systems- Neither side of the ball has been consistent this season. Our defense has certainly regressed. Against Charlotte, the UNT defense gave up 5 TD's on all 5 second half Charlotte possessions. And, aside from the Charlotte game, the offense has not been much better.

3. We Have FCS Caliber Offensive and Defensive Lines- Most of the two deep players on UNT's O-line ranked 186th or worse at their positions when they were recruited out of high school. That is terrible. And, aside from Hamilton, who was ranked 84th, all of the players in the two deep on the defensive line ranked worse than 150th coming out of high school. Games are won and lost on the line, and we are losing.

4. Fans are Fleeing- The Mean Green Nation is ready to get behind a winner. In 2018 UNT broke the school attendance record twice (SMU 29,519 & LA Tech 30,105). This season North Texas broke the record again when Houston came to town (30,123). UNT won't see numbers like that again any time soon, especially if changes are not made on this coaching staff.

5. The Wagons are Circled and That is a Bad Sign- UNT has always released post-game video of Littrell's comments after games. Last night, after losing to Charlotte, that was not the case. Nothing is being tweeted from anyone associated with the program. The only thing available are the "highlights" of the game, which have drawn some very colorful comments on Twitter and Youtube. Now is not the time to cut contact with the fan base. It is time to face the music.

Some time has past since the season ended, and it is time grade out and analyze what UNT has done to address our needs....

1. Littrell isn't Worth $1.8 million- Seth hasn't won a bowl, or conference title, and Littrell struggles against average & good programs. In short he isn't earning his contract.

B- For the first time since taking over as UNT's head coach, Littrell is not receiving a new (bigger) contract. Had Littrell produced the 10 season a senior heavy team should, he would probably have been looking at earning over $2 million for the 2020 season. While UNT can't and shouldn't reduce his salary, it is obvious UNT expects better results if Littrell wants to earn more money.

2. Offensive & Defensive Coordinators Have Bad Systems- Neither side of the ball has been consistent this season. Our defense has certainly regressed. Against Charlotte, the UNT defense gave up 5 TD's on all 5 second half Charlotte possessions. And, aside from the Charlotte game, the offense has not been much better.

F Yes, North Texas fired both coordinators, but are the replacements good enough to fix our problems? Maybe. On offense, Littrell has decided to call the plays next season, which means the collection of coaches that hold the offensive coordinator title are not really in charge of the offense. I'm no fan of micromanaging, and it seems like Littrell either can't find quality coaches he trusts to run the offense or he wants to run the offense himself. On defense Littrell tapped Clint Bowen to take over as the DC. Bowen has a long history on that side of the ball, but it is mostly bad history of losing at Kansas.

3. We Have FCS Caliber Offensive and Defensive Lines- Most of the two deep players on UNT's O-line ranked 186th or worse at their positions when they were recruited out of high school. That is terrible. And, aside from Hamilton, who was ranked 84th, all of the players in the two deep on the defensive line ranked worse than 150th coming out of high school. Games are won and lost on the line, and we are losing.

B+ North Texas has brought in much high quality line recruits over the last two years. The most resent recruits are particularly good. North Texas is now bringing in Mike Bloesch the current line coach at Tulsa, Though I don't know why he is getting the title of co-offensive coordinator. But, he should be able to fix our O-line. On defense Bowen is most likely to switch back to a more traditional D-line. UNT will likely have a new D-line coach next season, but that possible hire has not been decided.

4. Fans are Fleeing- The Mean Green Nation is ready to get behind a winner. In 2018 UNT broke the school attendance record twice (SMU 29,519 & LA Tech 30,105). This season North Texas broke the record again when Houston came to town (30,123). UNT won't see numbers like that again any time soon, especially if changes are not made on this coaching staff.

F I think the fans that were bailing out have done so. The problem is that nothing UNT has done in the off-season is exciting the remaining fans, or stop the exodus. Bowen doesn't move the needle. Bloesch doesn't move the needle. And, Wallis, a guy that is currently a high school coach and former SMU QB, certainly doesn't get fans digging into their pockets to fork over more money to the athletic department. And, none of them generate any positive press for the program. It looks even worse when you look around C-USA and see FAU hiring Jim Leavitt. This will ultimately be recorded in next season's attendance average. I can't see us breaking attendance records next season.

5. The Wagons are Circled and That is a Bad Sign- UNT has always released post-game video of Littrell's comments after games. Last night, after losing to Charlotte, that was not the case. Nothing is being tweeted from anyone associated with the program. The only thing available are the "highlights" of the game, which have drawn some very colorful comments on Twitter and Youtube. Now is not the time to cut contact with the fan base. It is time to face the music.

F The athletic department has been silent since the end of the season. No one knows why it took so long to hire the coaches we apparently getting. It should not take that much time to get coaches of their caliber. New fans that were getting behind UNT following the back to back 9 win season have fallen away. If the rumored hires are actually on the new staff, then there is little to get excited about, and North Texas will likely need to produce a few more back to back winning seasons before those people jump back on the Mean Green Football wagon.


Some of these weaknesses will be reevaluated after spring ball finishes, and hopefully some grades will improve.