NTSU hires Southlake Carrol's Todd Dodge

[SMU Football Blog]

From their board:

it pisses me off that they keep calling us NTSU!!!!! Makes me wanna punch a pony (not a real one though ... that would be cruel)

[Big10Ponyfan]

Huge sigh of relief heard all the way from Fort Worth. They did not want us getting Dodge I can tell you that. I am getting used to our role as the fat ugly bridesmaid.

I thought we had a coach. Was Phil Bennett told he was not coming back?I guess Steve Orsini changed his mind.

This is one area where Mr. Recruiting and I are of the same mindset. Todd Dodge understands the QB position better than anyone I have seen. He also understands about creating favorable matchups. He will surround himself with good people.

Personally, I think he would have been better to be a QB coach at UT -- something could have been done there -- before he moved on to a better job. But it is what it is. Should he do well at UNT, he will be moving on somewhere else.

The only red flag to me is that when you look at his resume, he was a below .500 coach at Cameron Yoe, Carrollton Newman Smith and Keller Fossil Ridge before he came to Carroll.

In his first year at Carroll, they got off to a 0-4 or 0-5 start and he felt the heat, and then it turned. So the fair question to ask is did he catch lightning in a bottle because the Carroll tradition was already set in stone under Bob Ledbetter or is he a .500 coach who have marginal records?

Personally, I think it's the former. I wish him the best. He needed to return to college.

[Mountain Mustang]

All you out of state high school coach bashers have no clue. Southlake is not just some high school. By the way-A HIGH SCHOOL COACH JUST WON THE CONFERENCE USA TITLE. The coach with all that experience got smoked by a bad UNT Team.

It's a different situation though. Briles cut his teeth in the college ranks as Texas Tech's running backs coach for three years before getting his Head gig. SO HE WASN'T LIKE DODGE, HE SPENT TIME WORKING HIS WAY UP!!

Don't forget he was the startering QB at Texas. Don't think Briles was.

No he didn't start at QB for Texas, he played wide receiver for Houston on a 1976 team that won the SWC. That's really neither here nor there.

STALLION FYI- His record at Stephenville wasn't too shabby either. He won 4 state titles in 12 seasons, and set national offensive records.

Again none of this really matters, Dodge isn't coming here and only time will tell how good he might be at UNT.

[jtstang]

From their board:

it pisses me off that they keep calling us NTSU!!!!! Makes me wanna punch a pony (not a real one though ... that would be cruel)

It probably still pisses them off that we single-handedly kept them out of the SWC and Conference USA too.

[mrydel]

From their board:

it pisses me off that they keep calling us NTSU!!!!! Makes me wanna punch a pony (not a real one though ... that would be cruel)

Are they mad because we use all caps? Sorry ntsu.

[PK]

Dodge is undoubtably a really good high school coach, but being the coach at Southlake Carroll Senior High School compared to other high schools may be a bit misleading. Part of the reason they do as well as they do is that there is only one real "high school" in Southlake. As it has been explained to me, their school population became so large, that they were going to have to start another high school. What they did instead was start a new school, Carroll High School, for 9th and 10th graders and then Carroll Senior High School became only juniors and seniors...over 1200 of them. This means they can start teaching the Carroll Senior High School football system in 7th and 8th grade and continue through 9th and 10th grade such that by the time these kids get to Carroll High School, they have already been using and playing the system for four years. That puts other high schools from large districts at a disadvantage as they don't have that luxury. Time will tell how well he can do as a college head coach.

FYI http://www.dragonstuffonline.com/southlake-carroll-dragon-links.html

[NT OldTimer]

Dodge publically withdrew that commitment about 3 weeks ago

What a shame, guess he doesn't love his son..........j/k

Dodge will continue to live in Southlake and his son will still go to Southlake HS...The commute between the two is quick. That made it easier...he didn't have to move at this time.



Great hire for UNT, kinda surprised he didn't shop around more, heck if he waited around another year he could make some real money at smu

Just kidding, go phil and go ponies.

[NT OldTimer]

From their board:

it pisses me off that they keep calling us NTSU!!!!! Makes me wanna punch a pony (not a real one though ... that would be cruel)

It probably still pisses them off that we single-handedly kept them out of the SWC and Conference USA too.

Nice to hear a Pony opt up SMU's foul moves. Afraid of what the competition would be in the same conference.

[deepellumfrog]

From their board:

it pisses me off that they keep calling us NTSU!!!!! Makes me wanna punch a pony (not a real one though ... that would be cruel)

i like calling their radio station [deleted] though

[Big10Ponyfan]

From their board:

it pisses me off that they keep calling us NTSU!!!!! Makes me wanna punch a pony (not a real one though ... that would be cruel)

i like calling their radio station [deleted] though

Giggle

[RGV Pony]

I kind of see where Mexmustang is coming from. If we have a losing season next year and PB is gone (which I hope is not the case), Orsini could prove he is big time and SMU does everything "Top 25-style" like he says by arriving at Dodge's office in Denton in the Hummer Limo adorned with SMU logos, march up the steps and sign him to a deal worth twice what he's getting at the University of Texas Pan American at Denton. Dodge meets with his soon to be former players, then is helicoptered back to UP for a press conference on the Hilltop.

That would be Top 25-style, boys and girls.

[jtstang]

Nice to hear a Pony opt up SMU's foul moves. Afraid of what the competition would be in the same conference.

Also nice to hear an old NTSU'er acknowledge they can't get in on their own merit and need little old SMU to help them along.

[me@smu]

I believe Dodge is 77-1 with the only loss coming in the final second of a 1 point game in the Texas State Championship on a missed FG or was a it a made FG can't remember but it was the last play of the game in a 16-15 game. Otherwaise, the Man is perfect 78 in a row.

Actually Dodge is 96-11 at Southlake...which is still pretty good. He is 77-1 since moving from 4A to 5A in 2002

[Mountain Mustang]

I kind of see where Mexmustang is coming from. If we have a losing season next year and PB is gone (which I hope is not the case), Orsini could prove he is big time and SMU does everything "Top 25-style" like he says by arriving at Dodge's office in Denton in the Hummer Limo adorned with SMU logos, march up the steps and sign him to a deal worth twice what he's getting at the University of Texas Pan American at Denton. Dodge meets with his soon to be former players, then is helicoptered back to UP for a press conference on the Hilltop.

That would be Top 25-style, boys and girls.

Do you really think that Dodge would do that? I sure would hope not. Why in the world would he take his first head job at a school for only one year and then bolt for another program in the same area? Talk about lack of loyalty and class. I wouldn't someone like that to be a part of SMU, because more than likely he'd turn around and do the same thing to us when a better deal came along.

That's not Top 25 on our part either frankly. Top 25 isn't cherry-picking a coach that we don't know can succeed on this level whether you pick him up in a Hummer Limo or not. Top 25 is getting a proven top 25 caliber coach and bringing him in. Let's just hope (like you say) that it doesn't come to that, that PB gets the job done, and gets us to a bowl and becomes a top 25 coach in the years to come. And if that doesn't happen worry about it then.

[SmooPower]

I kind of see where Mexmustang is coming from. If we have a losing season next year and PB is gone (which I hope is not the case), Orsini could prove he is big time and SMU does everything "Top 25-style" like he says by arriving at Dodge's office in Denton in the Hummer Limo adorned with SMU logos, march up the steps and sign him to a deal worth twice what he's getting at the University of Texas Pan American at Denton. Dodge meets with his soon to be former players, then is helicoptered back to UP for a press conference on the Hilltop.

That would be Top 25-style, boys and girls.

That's not Top 25 on our part either frankly.

You're absolutely right. The helicopter needs to be made of solid gold, and we have to pay him with those giant novelty checks they give to sweepstakes winners.