Football
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- UNTFootball@unt.edu
- Alma Mater:
- Oklahoma, 2001
Seth Littrell was named UNT’s head football coach in December 2015. He has a 37-38 record in six seasons with five bowl berths and one conference championship game appearance. Littrell’s 37 wins at North Texas are sixth-most in program history.
Under Littrell’s guidance, North Texas has boasted one of the nation’s most dynamic offenses demonstrating an ability to excel both in the pass and run games. UNT’s offenses ranked in top three in total offense, top two in pass offense, and top three in scoring in Conference USA for four consecutive seasons from 2017-20. His teams boast four of the top seven highest-scoring offenses in school history.
The Mean Green also led CUSA in rushing in both the 2020 and 2021 seasons, both totals that rank among the top 10 in North Texas history.
Not to be outdone, the UNT defense in 2021 posted the biggest improvement of any FBS program cutting its total yards allowed by 144.3 ypg. The Mean Green finished the season with 38 sacks and 87 tackles for loss.
Led by standout linebacker KD Davis in 2021, Littrell’s UNT teams have produced 25 first or second team All-Conference USA selections.
The Mean Green had the eighth-ranked total offense in the nation in 2020, averaging 513.2 yards per game, and averaged 6.59 yards per play (22nd-best in FBS). Littrell took over offensive play-calling duties and helped guide the Mean Green to 34.4 points per game, which ranked 23rd in the country. It also marked the fourth consecutive season with an average of 30+ ppg under Littrell. UNT's passing attack ranked 25th in the country at 283.0 yards per game, and the rushing attack ranked 13th nationally at 230.2 yards per game.
Senior wide receiver Jaelon Darden had an All-America season, earning honors from every major outlet/awards group at either first or second team levels. Darden caught 74 passes for 1,190 yards and 19 touchdowns in just nine games, and was named the Conference USA Most Valuable Player. Darden finished his Mean Green career as the all-time program leader in career receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Four players made the Conference USA All-Freshman team, the highest total in Littrell's tenure (tight end Jake Roberts, defensive ends Gabriel Murphy and Grayson Murphy and corner Upton Stout).
After the season, Darden was selected in the fourth round (No. 129 overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
North Texas averaged 30.6 points per game in 2019. Senior quarterback Mason Fine concluded his collegiate career with 12,505 yards passing and 93 touchdowns after another productive season as the Mean Green signal-caller. Fine surpassed 3,000 yards passing for the third straight year (3,088), with 29 passing touchdowns to just nine interceptions. Wide receiver Jaelon Darden had an explosive season for UNT in 2019, hauling in 76 receptions for 736 yards and 12 touchdowns, on his way to first team all-conference honors.
Littrell guided North Texas to nine wins for the second straight season. It marked the second set of back-to-back nine win seasons in program history (1977-78). UNT reached its third straight bowl game, as Littrell became the first North Texas head coach to take his team to three consecutive bowls in his first three seasons. The Mean Green scored 34.6 points per game and lowered their points allowed by 10.8 per game (to 24.2) from 2017. Fine continued to shine under Littrell’s leadership, earning Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year honors for the second straight season. Fine threw for 3,793 yards, 27 touchdowns and only five interceptions.
2017 marked the Mean Green’s seventh nine-win season in school history. Littrell is also the second coach in program history to lead his team to bowls in back-to-back seasons to start his North Texas tenure (Odus Mitchell in 1946-47). The Mean Green finished 2017 9-5 with an appearance in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl and set several offensive records along the way. North Texas broke single-season program records for points (497), passing TDs (32), total offense (6,366 yards), total offense per game (454.7), most plays (1,037) and most first downs (340).
The Mean Green showed marked improvement offensively again in Littrell’s second season, improving their points per game average by 10.7 ppg (35.5). Fine, a sophomore, also took a major leap forward in his second season with Littrell, becoming the first Mean Green signal-caller to eclipse 4,000 yards passing in a season (4,052) and the first to throw for 30 or more touchdowns (31). Fine was named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year and was a first-team all-conference performer.
Littrell led the Mean Green to the second-best turnaround in the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2016, his first season at the helm. North Texas improved its win total by four games, finishing 5-8 on the season with a Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl appearance. Littrell helped lead the Mean Green to a 9.6 points per game jump in scoring offense from it’s output in 2015, which ranked 11th-best in the nation, and the 2016 defense allowed 8.7 points per game fewer than it did in 2015, which was the 13th-best turnaround in the country.
One of the brightest offensive minds in college football, Littrell came to North Texas after serving as the assistant head coach for offense and tight ends at North Carolina. At the time of his hire, the Muskogee, Oklahoma, native was the youngest coach in Conference USA and fifth youngest in the nation.
The dynamic mind of Littrell turned the North Carolina offense in 2015 into one of the nation’s best, as the Tar Heels set school records for most points and touchdowns in a season. The Tar Heels won the ACC Coastal Division Championship and played in their first ACC Championship game.
North Carolina scored over 30 points nine times in 2015, topped the 40-point mark seven times and scored over 50 points in four games, which was a school record. Through 12 games under Littrell’s guidance in 2015, UNC averaged 41.2 points a game, which at the time ranked 11th in the nation.
Under the leadership of Littrell, quarterback Marquise Williams set a new school record for career touchdowns (90) and total offense at North Carolina.
In 2015 with Littrell, the UNC offense averaged 7.46 yards per play, which at the time was second in the nation, and ran the ball for 6.0 yards a carry, which ranked third in the country. UNC was one of just 11 schools in the nation that averaged more than 200 yards rushing (229.7) and 250 yards passing (266.0). In 2015, UNC rushed for over 200 yards eight times and had over 500 yards of total offense in four games, including 704 yards in a 66-31 win over Duke.
In his first season in Chapel Hill in 2014, Littrell helped Carolina establish several school records, including most passing yards, most passing touchdowns and most first downs. Williams was a second-team all-conference pick after leading the Tar Heels to a bowl game in his first year as the starter, and set several individual school records, including most rushing yards and rushing touchdowns by a quarterback. Carolina gained more than 5,000 yards in Littrell’s first season as the play-caller and averaged 429.8 yards per contest.
Littrell came to Chapel Hill from Indiana where he guided one of the most prolific offenses in the country. Indiana finished ninth in the nation in total offense in 2013, averaging 508.5 yards per game. The Hoosiers were 17th in passing offense (306.7 avg.) and 30th in rushing offense (201.8). Indiana was one of only three teams to average more than 300 yards passing and 200 yards rushing
Under Littrell’s guidance in 2013, Indiana set single-season records with 6,102 total yards, (508.5 ypg), 461 points, (38.4 ppg), 36 passing touchdowns, 62 total touchdowns and 300 first downs. Tight end Ted Bolser thrived in his system, setting IU career records for receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns by a tight end.
Bolser and wide receiver Cody Latimer were selected in the 2014 NFL Draft. Latimer was taken in the second round (56th overall) by the Denver Broncos, while Bolser went in the seventh round to Washington.
In Littrell’s first season as Indiana’s offensive coordinator in 2012, the Hoosiers led the Big Ten and ranked 17th nationally in passing offense (311.2). They finished second in the conference in total offense (442.0) and fourth in scoring offense (30.8).
Prior to his stint at Indiana, Littrell coached three seasons at Arizona, where his 2011 offense ranked third nationally in passing offense (370.8) and 15th in total offense (465.2).
Three of his Arizona players were selected in the NFL draft: tight end Rob Gronkowski (New England - 2010 second round), quarterback Nick Foles (Philadelphia - 2012 third round) and wide receiver Juron Criner (Oakland - 2012 fifth round).
Prior to Arizona, Littrell served four years as running backs coach at Texas Tech (2005-08) under Mike Leach. The 2008 Red Raiders rushed for 119 rushing yards per game, the highest total in the Leach era. Running back Shannon Woods earned All-Big 12 Conference honors in 2006 after averaging 6.1 yards per carry and snagging 75 receptions, totaling a top 15 national figure of 139 all-purpose yards per game.
Littrell began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Kansas from 2002-04. The Jayhawks played in the 2003 Tangerine Bowl.
Littrell has coached in 14 bowl games, played in two and was team captain on Oklahoma’s 2000 national championship team. He was a four-year letterwinner at Oklahoma where he rushed for 231 yards and seven touchdowns in 1999 and finished his career with 11 rushing scores.
The Muskogee native graduated from Oklahoma with a degree in communications in 2001.
Littrell's Coaching History
| Year(s) | School | Position |
| 2016-present | North Texas | Head Coach |
| 2014-15 | North Carolina | Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator/TEs |
| 2012-13 | Indiana | Offensive Coordinator/TEs and FBs |
| 2011 | Arizona | Offensive Coordinator/TEs and H-Backs |
| 2010 | Arizona | Co-Offensive Coordinator/RBs and TEs |
| 2009 | Arizona | Running Backs and Tight Ends Coach |
| 2005-08 | Texas Tech | Running Backs Coach |
| 2002-04 | Kansas | Graduate Assistant, Offense |
