(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
A lot of North Texas fans want Todd Dodge's head today. I think they need to back up and look at things logically rather than emotionally.
UNT's AD has said that if Dodge's team is competitive this season Dodge will be retained for next season. That is the stated criteria on which Dodge will be judged. Changing the criteria and firing Dodge would only make this job appear less stable and the administration appear less honest for incoming coaching candidates.
Based off that alone, Dodge will probably be back. His team has been competitive, probably nothing any fans or alumni do will change the criteria.
To me, it is not enough that fans begrudgingly accept the likely status quo while calling for Dodge's head on every forum.
This kind of behavior can do a lot of additional harm to the program and for that reason, I think they should stop.
I think that they should forget that his record record is the worst all-time record at UNT. They should stop throwing out the "he hasn't earned more time" and the "his record is worst than X coach we fired" arguments.
Not because those arguments aren't true or valid.
They are.
Rather, they should stop because those arguments hurt this team's chances to win this year, hurt the team's potential in recruiting in the upcoming offseason, and most importantly, are trumped by bigger issues.
Current Year
This team is trying to move from being a team that is competitive to a team that can win every game. That's hard enough for a team with few seniors to do. They don't need the in-season distractions of alumni calling for their coach's head.
Postseason Recruiting
Obviously it hurts the team to have public calls for Dodge's head while the team is chasing recruits. Every three-star recruit that Dodge might lose hurts UNT over the next four years—even if Dodge is not here. That is something that really needs to be understood.
"I can't complain in season or after the season? Forget that!" Certainly you can complain. I am just encouraging you to do it in a way that it doesn't hurt the university. Write the president or the AD and voice your concerns—just don't be lazy about it and complain in forums that potential recruits or current players may read.
Complain all you want, just don't do it in a way that hurts UNT.
The Bigger Issues That May Lead You To Reconsider Complaining
There are a lot of factors that make a coaching changes something likely to set back the football program several more years.
UNT Needs a Big Name Recruiter To Outweigh All of the Other Issues at the School
The last coach was fired because his recruiting classes had fallen off a cliff.
Like him or not, most would agree Dodge is flat out a very good to great recruiter, especially in this area of the country. The fact this team had the worst defensive unit and special teams unit in the country last season on it's way to being the second worst team in FBS last year should have killed recruiting this season. That team was totally non-competitive.
In spite of that, Dodge brought in very promising players like Shavod Atkinson, Kelvin Jackson, Jamaal Jackson, Michael Outlaw, Kyle White, Hilbert Jackson, Tyler Statford, KC Obi, LaChris Anyiam, Daniel Prior, John Webber, Will Atterberry, and DeWayne Baziel.
Off the 2008 season, there is no way UNT should have been able to pull that kind of talent. That may be the best class UNT has had since the big class that ran off the titles in the early years.
And it isn't like UNT has recruited poorly over the other years of the Dodge run either, in spite of the record, the lack of stadium, the lack of TV exposure, and the lousy athletic budget. His classes have generally had a lot more talent than the classes of previous UNT coaches.
Maybe most importantly, Dodge and his staff have clearly gotten a lot better at targeting the right guys lately. They find guys who show the ability to play at the FBS level at some time in their UNT career and who UNT has a legit shot at landing.
The Riley Dodge Factor
If you run off Todd Dodge, you lose Riley Dodge.
I know a ton of fans would think that is perfectly acceptable considering the fragile flower Riley Dodge is today, but consider the fact that the younger Dodge added 10 lbs of muscle in the last year. If he can come close to that over the next two offseasons, he is going to be a much stronger and more durable player.
His mechanics and decision making vs. FBS speed will only improve. By next season he may have sufficient arm strength and timing to hit the deep ball.
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