University of North Texas Athletics
Green Gang: Hiring Signals A Change
11/30/2010 12:00:00 AM | Return to Play
By Steven Bartolotta, November 30, 2010, 4:29 p.m.
The white smoke finally came out of Rick Villarreal's corner office of the Athletic Center today and North Texas has a new football coach. Dan McCarney is his name. A name that I promise you wasn't on anybody's radar screen when this search began in late October.
So what are we to make of this hire? Before I get to that I would be remiss if I didn't say a few words about the job turned in by Mike Canales. He made no secret he wanted the job and did everything you could ask outta him in his time.
He is going to be a great head coach at the Division I level. That day is coming. But give McCarney credit for parking whatever ego he may have at the door and keeping Canales on the staff. Brilliant.
Question? Raise your hand if you agree with the following statement.
Are you sick and tired of seeing TCU and to a lesser extent SMU dominate the headlines, sports talk radio, and newscasts in DFW these days?
Yeah, I thought so. Me too. This hire signals that North Texas is too. How? First off money. Back in 1997 when TCU was an afterthought after going 1-10, the administration decided it's tired of losing and started to pump real and serious money into the department, and specifically football. 13 years later, they are on the cusp of a National title or at least a Rose Bowl bid.
A few years ago SMU opened its eyes to what TCU was doing across I-30 and did the same. June Jones didn't come cheap, but they got him. Now they are in the C-USA Championship game.
Lane Rawlins and Rick Villarreal are moving North Texas down this road. The McCarney hiring signals that. He will be the highest paid coach in the Sun Belt by a wide margin, assuming the University of Louisiana-at-Lafayette in Louisiana and Lafayette or Arkansas State doesn't win the lottery.
He's a proven head coach, with a proven track record. Last weekend while talking with a few K-State people, McCarney's name came up. Their eyes ballooned with amazement that North Texas could even get a guy of his caliber.
"No brainer," said one individual. "This place would be lucky to have him," said another. And today as I sit in the heart of what use to be McCarney country (Iowa) the legacy he left behind is still palpable.
One individual at Jethro's barbeque in Des Moines today couldn't believe that North Texas was hiring McCarney. "I'll be following the Mean Green now."
Another said they (Iowa State) would like to get him back someday. I told him I hope not anytime soon.
The consensus is overwhelming. McCarney is the right hire for North Texas.
Now the commitment level is finally there from the top down. The Mean Green has signaled a commitment to winning, changing the culture of losing, and putting the school into those headlines that have been colored for too long by the purple and white and red and blue.
