DENTON (1/11/2007) North Texas head football coach Todd Dodge has announced the hiring of nine assistant coaches which will complete his staff for the 2007 season. The incoming staff boasts resumes that include 26 bowl appearances, 14 bowl victories, and 18 high school state titles as well as a Super Bowl title and BCS national title.
“I am extremely excited that we were able to assemble a staff with the tremendous credentials of these nine coaches,” head coach Todd Dodge said. “The common thread throughout all of these coaches is that they have been around winning programs and understand the dedication that is necessary to be successful. As a staff we are excited about the prospects of this program and are ready to immerse ourselves into the work that is necessary for producing a team that the University of North Texas community can be proud of.”
Ron Mendoza has been named the defensive coordinator and will take over the reigns of the Mean Green linebackers in 2007. Mendoza has served as an assistant at Southlake Carroll High School since 2000, including the past three years as defensive coordinator. A 27-year coaching veteran, Mendoza was part of four state title teams at Carroll with his defenses playing a dominant role. In the 2006 state-title run the Dragons defense only allowed an average of 10.5 points per game in the playoffs to go alongside the quick-strike Carroll offense that averaged over 44 points per game for the year. In his three years as coordinator the Dragons won their playoff games by an average of nearly 23 points per game.
The offensive coordinator position will be filled by Todd Ford who also was with Dodge at Carroll for the past three seasons, serving as offensive coordinator in 2006. Ford helped the Dragons forge one of the most prolific offenses in the history of Texas high school football. In 2005, Carroll set a state record by scoring 764 points on the season on the way to the second of three consecutive state titles. They did their best in 2006 for a repeat performance by putting up 709 points for the year. Ford helped to maximize the potential for all-state performers such as McKay Jacobson, Clint Renfro, Greg McElroy and Chase Daniel. As a former University of Texas quarterback, Ford was a member of the 1994 Longhorn team that knocked off future head coach Mack Brown and North Carolina in the 1994 Sun Bowl. He was also a member of the 1995 Longhorn squad that won the final Southwest Conference title.
Former Mean Green receiver Clayton George makes the move back to North Texas as receivers coach after spending the last three seasons as a head coach in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. As a head coach he led Hillcrest High School to the regional finals 2004, while picking up the school’s first playoff wins since 1999. Before his stint as a head coach, George served as offensive coordinator on Dodge’s staff at Southlake Carroll. He oversaw the progression of five all-state wide receivers, including Scott Chandler, who went on to star at the University of Iowa. George was the leading receiver for the Mean Green in 1993 and was a member of the 1994 Southland Conference Championship team.
The defensive tackles and special teams will be instructed by Robert Drake. A 1982 graduate of Howard Payne University, Drake brings a close-knit knowledge of Dodge’s system to Denton after serving under Dodge at Southlake Carroll since 1990. In his 17 years at Carroll, Drake only witnessed four years in which the Dragons did not advance to at least the state semi-finals, including capturing six state titles in that time span. He also was the Dragons head track coach where he helped Clint Renfro achieve All-America status as a hurdler, and saw Ty Barrington capture three consecutive state pole vault titles.
Chuck Petersen returns to the metroplex to coach the Mean Green safeties after spending 17 years at Air Force under head coach Fisher DeBerry. A Fort Worth native, Petersen spent seven years as offensive coordinator for the Falcons and under his tutelage in 2002 Air Force won its first national rushing title. In 2003 Petersen was named assistant coach of the year for Division I by the American Football Coaches Association, the highest honor an assistant coach can earn. A number of quarterbacks thrived under Petersen as well, with Blane Morgan winning the WAC Mountain Division Offensive Player of the Year in 1998, and Mike Thiessen winning the honor in 2000.
Derek Lewis will coach defensive ends for North Texas after spending the last two seasons as a graduate assistant at the University of Texas and will take over the defensive ends for the Mean Green. While in Austin he assisted the coaching staff and was a member of the UT Strength and Conditioning program, and witnessed the Longhorns capture the 2005 National Championship along the way. A former Longhorn player (1995-98), Lewis was awarded first-team All-Big 12 honors in 1998 after hauling in 18 passes for 236 yards and six touchdowns. After college Lewis spent three seasons with the St. Louis Rams and was part of their 1999 Super Bowl XXXIV championship team.
A former North Texas assistant from 1987-1993, Butch LaCroix rejoins Dodge on the Mean Green staff for a second stint as cornerback’s coach. LaCroix earned All-Southwest Conference and All-America honors at the University of Houston as a defensive back, and was a member of the 1980 team that won the Southwest Conference and defeated Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl. After his tenure in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he served as a graduate assistant for the Houston Cougars before making his way to North Texas where he was a position coach for seven years and recruiting coordinator for three years.
After spending the last two seasons at Louisiana Tech, new running back’s coach Shelton Gandy will bring 18 years of coaching experience to Denton. Last season his top three backs combined for nearly 1,500 yards and over five yards per carry for the Bulldogs. Before his time at Louisiana Tech, Gandy spent a season as offensive coordinator at Lincoln-Copiah Community College and four seasons as running backs coach at Southern Mississippi. While at Southern Mississippi he helped guide the Golden Eagles to three bowl appearances (2000, 2002, and 2003) and running back Derrick Nix to three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. Nix finished his career only 53 yards shy of becoming the all-time leader in rushing in Conference USA. A former Southern Mississippi running back himself, Gandy finished his career in Hattiesburg with 2,504 yards and 26 touchdowns.
Spencer Leftwich is back at North Texas as offensive line coach after serving the last four seasons at Tulsa. While with the Golden Hurricane Leftwich coached an all-conference first team selection each year, and was part of three bowl teams including wins in the 2005 AutoZone Liberty Bowl and the 2006 Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl. Before his time at Tulsa he was an offensive line coach for the Mean Green and was on the staff that helped take North Texas to the 2001 and 2002 New Orleans Bowl. In 2002 his offensive line helped the Mean Green showcase a rushing attack that ranked 38th in the country, and was poised to crown consecutive national rushing champions in the immediate years that followed his tenure.
