Jamario tonight?
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NEW ORLEANS BOWL
North Texas (7-4) vs. Southern Miss (6-5)
6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans
TV/Radio: ESPN; KWRD-FM 100.7, KNTU-FM 88.1
THREE THINGS TO WATCH
North Texas' running game
Colleges
New Orleans Bowl: North Texas vs. Southern Miss
UNT's success in Sun Belt play was based in large part on a running game powered by Jamario Thomas. The freshman leads the nation with an average of 189.9 yards a game. UNT is at its best when Thomas' success sets up the Mean Green's play-action passing game. Southern Miss was seventh in Conference USA in rushing defense with an average of 183.9 yards allowed a game. Cal's J.J. Arrington had 261 yards Dec. 4. UNT will need Thomas to have a big game to have a chance.
Will Almond go nuts?
Junior quarterback Dustin Almond had one of his best performances in the regular- season finale, throwing for a career-high 304 yards against Cal, a 26-16 loss in which Southern Miss led late. Almond has not thrown an interception in his last three games. UNT has struggled to slow opponents' passing attacks, ranking 91st nationally against the pass with an average of 241 yards allowed a game. The Mean Green has allowed at least 280 passing yards in four games.
Hall's haul
UNT quarterback Scott Hall is often overshadowed by running back Jamario Thomas, but he could be the key to the Mean Green's chances. UNT relies on its running game, but frequently comes up with a big play or two in the passing game. Hall must convert on his chances when they come along. The senior has shown the ability, throwing 13 touch- down passes and only two inter- ceptions. If Hall can manage the game and hit on a few big plays, UNT will have a chance to win.
THE MATCHUPS
When the Mean Green runs
North Texas ranks 22nd nationally in rushing with an average of 196.3 yards a game and features the nation's leading rusher in Jamario Thomas. The freshman is averaging 189.9 yards a game. Southern Miss has given up 200 rushing yards in five games this season. Edge: North Texas.
When the Golden Eagles run
North Texas has shown signs of improvement since allowing 513 yards to Texas in its season opener. It has held two of its last three opponents fewer than 100 yards rushing. Southern Miss is averaging only 3.6 yards a carry, but the Golden Eagles will have an edge over UNT, which has yet to prove that it can hold an opponent outside of the Sun Belt in check. Edge: Southern Miss.
When the Mean Green passes
North Texas' Scott Hall is 18th nationally in passing efficiency with a 144.6 rating and has thrown for 1,684 yards. The senior will be tested against Southern Miss, which has 14 interceptions. The Golden Eagles' defensive backs are more athletic than UNT's receivers. Edge: Southern Miss.
When the Golden Eagles pass
Southern Miss' Dustin Almond is coming off the best game of his career. The junior threw for 304 yards in a narrow loss to fourth-ranked California in the Golden Eagles' regular-season finale. North Texas has struggled to contain opponents' quarterbacks this season and ranks 91st nationally with an average of 241 yards allowed a game through the air. Edge: Southern Miss.
Special teams
Southern Miss features two standout special teams players in kicker Darren McCaleb and defensive back John Eubanks. McCaleb has made all 15 of his field goal attempts, and Eubanks averages 29.4 yards on kick returns and 8.3 on punt returns. UNT has improved since giving up big plays on special teams early but is not as solid as in previous seasons. Edge: Southern Miss.
Intangibles
North Texas dedicated its season to Andrew Smith, a quarterback who died in a car accident days before the beginning of fall practice. Smith's death has galvanized the Mean Green. UNT has played in the New Orleans Bowl the last three years and is used to the distractions of the city. USM has had little time to prepare following a loss to Cal on Dec. 4. Edge: North Texas.
KEY MATCHUP
North Texas TB Jamario Thomas vs. Southern Miss LB Michael Boley
Thomas came up with a series of remarkable performances in leading North Texas to another Sun Belt title. The freshman rushed for more than 200 yards six times. UNT will need another big night from Thomas against Michael Boley and Southern Miss. The senior was a semifinalist for the Butkus Award, which is given to the top linebacker in the nation.
BOTTOM LINE
For North Texas
North Texas recovered from a slow start to win the Sun Belt title and earn a berth in the New Orleans Bowl. A win would provide a perfect cap to the season. A loss would drop UNT to 1-3 in four straight New Orleans Bowls and put a damper on a solid year.
For Southern Miss
Southern Miss has lost four of its last five games but can finish on a positive note with a win over UNT. The Golden Eagles appeared as if they were back in form after putting a scare into fourth-ranked California in the regular-season finale before losing, 26-16.
North Texas (7-4) vs. Southern Miss (6-5)
6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans
TV/Radio: ESPN; KWRD-FM 100.7, KNTU-FM 88.1
THREE THINGS TO WATCH
North Texas' running game
Colleges
New Orleans Bowl: North Texas vs. Southern Miss
UNT's success in Sun Belt play was based in large part on a running game powered by Jamario Thomas. The freshman leads the nation with an average of 189.9 yards a game. UNT is at its best when Thomas' success sets up the Mean Green's play-action passing game. Southern Miss was seventh in Conference USA in rushing defense with an average of 183.9 yards allowed a game. Cal's J.J. Arrington had 261 yards Dec. 4. UNT will need Thomas to have a big game to have a chance.
Will Almond go nuts?
Junior quarterback Dustin Almond had one of his best performances in the regular- season finale, throwing for a career-high 304 yards against Cal, a 26-16 loss in which Southern Miss led late. Almond has not thrown an interception in his last three games. UNT has struggled to slow opponents' passing attacks, ranking 91st nationally against the pass with an average of 241 yards allowed a game. The Mean Green has allowed at least 280 passing yards in four games.
Hall's haul
UNT quarterback Scott Hall is often overshadowed by running back Jamario Thomas, but he could be the key to the Mean Green's chances. UNT relies on its running game, but frequently comes up with a big play or two in the passing game. Hall must convert on his chances when they come along. The senior has shown the ability, throwing 13 touch- down passes and only two inter- ceptions. If Hall can manage the game and hit on a few big plays, UNT will have a chance to win.
THE MATCHUPS
When the Mean Green runs
North Texas ranks 22nd nationally in rushing with an average of 196.3 yards a game and features the nation's leading rusher in Jamario Thomas. The freshman is averaging 189.9 yards a game. Southern Miss has given up 200 rushing yards in five games this season. Edge: North Texas.
When the Golden Eagles run
North Texas has shown signs of improvement since allowing 513 yards to Texas in its season opener. It has held two of its last three opponents fewer than 100 yards rushing. Southern Miss is averaging only 3.6 yards a carry, but the Golden Eagles will have an edge over UNT, which has yet to prove that it can hold an opponent outside of the Sun Belt in check. Edge: Southern Miss.
When the Mean Green passes
North Texas' Scott Hall is 18th nationally in passing efficiency with a 144.6 rating and has thrown for 1,684 yards. The senior will be tested against Southern Miss, which has 14 interceptions. The Golden Eagles' defensive backs are more athletic than UNT's receivers. Edge: Southern Miss.
When the Golden Eagles pass
Southern Miss' Dustin Almond is coming off the best game of his career. The junior threw for 304 yards in a narrow loss to fourth-ranked California in the Golden Eagles' regular-season finale. North Texas has struggled to contain opponents' quarterbacks this season and ranks 91st nationally with an average of 241 yards allowed a game through the air. Edge: Southern Miss.
Special teams
Southern Miss features two standout special teams players in kicker Darren McCaleb and defensive back John Eubanks. McCaleb has made all 15 of his field goal attempts, and Eubanks averages 29.4 yards on kick returns and 8.3 on punt returns. UNT has improved since giving up big plays on special teams early but is not as solid as in previous seasons. Edge: Southern Miss.
Intangibles
North Texas dedicated its season to Andrew Smith, a quarterback who died in a car accident days before the beginning of fall practice. Smith's death has galvanized the Mean Green. UNT has played in the New Orleans Bowl the last three years and is used to the distractions of the city. USM has had little time to prepare following a loss to Cal on Dec. 4. Edge: North Texas.
KEY MATCHUP
North Texas TB Jamario Thomas vs. Southern Miss LB Michael Boley
Thomas came up with a series of remarkable performances in leading North Texas to another Sun Belt title. The freshman rushed for more than 200 yards six times. UNT will need another big night from Thomas against Michael Boley and Southern Miss. The senior was a semifinalist for the Butkus Award, which is given to the top linebacker in the nation.
BOTTOM LINE
For North Texas
North Texas recovered from a slow start to win the Sun Belt title and earn a berth in the New Orleans Bowl. A win would provide a perfect cap to the season. A loss would drop UNT to 1-3 in four straight New Orleans Bowls and put a damper on a solid year.
For Southern Miss
Southern Miss has lost four of its last five games but can finish on a positive note with a win over UNT. The Golden Eagles appeared as if they were back in form after putting a scare into fourth-ranked California in the regular-season finale before losing, 26-16.
UNT's 'Super Jamario' still a kid
03:19 AM CST on Tuesday, December 14, 2004
By TERRY BLOUNT / The Dallas Morning News
LONGVIEW, Texas ? DeMario Thomas is a senior in high school but claims he is far more mature than his older brother, North Texas freshman running back Jamario Thomas.
"He's a big kid," DeMario said. "I tell him, 'You are a grown man, almost 20 years old, and you're still playing with toys.' Like his action figures. He has dozens of them."
Colleges
If Thomas, who was named a third-team Associated Press All-American on Monday, keeps playing the way he has this season, he may have an action figure of himself soon.
Thomas will complete one of the most prolific freshman seasons in history tonight against Southern Mississippi in the Wyndham New Orleans Bowl. And he takes exception to his brother's characterization of him.
"Did he say I play with action figures?" Jamario asked. "Man, he's crazy. I collect them. But I admit I love being a kid. It's fun."
The 2004 season has been loads of fun for the kid who is known as "Super Jamario" around Denton. Thomas has rushed for a school-record 1,709 yards and leads the nation in yards per game at 189.9. His success has come as no surprise to the people who know him best.
Jamario Thomas has had a standout freshman season at UNT, but the Longview native looms larger in his hometown. Said Steve Gaddis, his former coach: 'The people here love Jamario.'
He needs 155 yards against Southern Miss at the Superdome to break Ron Dayne's NCAA freshman rushing record.
Thomas has rushed for more than 200 yards in six games, including the last five he has played, another NCAA freshman record.
"You get what you get," he said. "The records are not a big factor to me."
It might be more of a factor when he learns his hometown has big plans if he breaks Dayne's record. Longview mayor Murray Moore will declare Jan. 11 as Jamario Thomas Day, handing the former Spring Hill High School star an official proclamation.
Steve Gaddis, Thomas' high school coach, said it would be a day of special events for Jamario.
"We're making 1,000 autographed photos of him and taking Jamario to all our elementary schools to give them to the kids," Gaddis said. "At our basketball game that night, we plan a halftime ceremony to show off a new glass-cased UNT jersey of his we will display at the school."
If he doesn't get the record?
"We still will honor him in some fashion," Gaddis said. "The people here love Jamario. He came to our playoff game against Van and little kids were just hanging off him."
There's only one problem, even if Jamario breaks Dayne's record. Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson is only 21 yards shy of breaking Dayne's freshman mark, set at Wisconsin in 1996.
Thomas could catch Dayne and hold the record for only two weeks before Peterson passes him on Jan. 4 in the Orange Bowl against Southern California.
Texas two-step
Comparisons to Peterson, a Palestine product, are inevitable. Arguably the two best freshman runners in the country grew up only 70 miles apart in East Texas.
Peterson was runner-up for the Heisman Trophy. Thomas didn't make the final eight for the Doak Walker Award, given annually to the nation's top rusher.
Those two things don't sit well with the people who know Thomas. Steven Prince, a freshman quarterback at Kilgore College, played in the backfield with Thomas for six years, starting in seventh grade.
"I truly believe he would have done the same things Peterson has done at OU if Jamario would have been there," Prince said. "You give Jamario that offensive line and that quarterback [Jason White], and he would do the same thing he's doing at North Texas. Just look at the Colorado game and Jamario's overall stats against Big 12 teams."
Thomas averaged 6.9 yards a carry in three games against Big 12 teams. He had 247 on 32 carries at Colorado. Peterson had 172 on 28 carries against Colorado in the Big 12 title game. Against Baylor, the only other common opponent where both were lineup regulars, Peterson had 240; an injured Thomas had only 58.
"I don't know who is better," Prince said. "But I can tell you this: I will be watching Jamario play on Sundays in a few years."
Thomas was recruited by major conference schools ? Arizona State, Arkansas and Colorado. But he opted to attend North Texas because it was close to home and it had a program that catered to students with dyslexia.
Prince knew in seventh grade that Thomas' dyslexia could cause him to become confused about which direction a play was going. So they developed a system.
"When I came to the line of scrimmage, I would touch the side of my rear where we were running the play," Prince said. "For years, no one knew about it except me and Jamario."
Not even Raymond Prince, Steven's father and their coach in junior high.
"People would ask me why Steven always pats his rear," Raymond said. "I would say, 'I don't know. Maybe it's a nervous habit, or maybe he just has an itch.' "
In it for the long run
Jamario and DeMario, also a running back, are the youngest of seven children raised by Laverne Thomas. Laverne and her older children attend most of the games for both of them.
Laverne is making her first trip to New Orleans to watch tonight's game. She said she isn't surprised at what Jamario has accomplished this season.
"I've been watching him break records since he first started playing football," she said. "I thought he would break some more in college, because I know how much talent he has, but not this many records this fast."
She claims it didn't bother her when Thomas was left off the final eight names for the Doak Walker Award.
"Here's how I look at it," she said. "You can't keep a good man down. It's going to come up again, and his record will speak for itself."
But DeMario said his mom wasn't so philosophical at first: "Oh yeah, she was mad," he said.
While big brother was making a name for himself at UNT, DeMario was enjoying a remarkable season as well. DeMario, "Demo" to his friends, rushed for 2,163 yards, breaking Jamario's school record from last year of 1,960.
Jamario Thomas has had a standout freshman season at UNT, but the Longview native looms larger in his hometown. Said Steve Gaddis, his former coach: 'The people here love Jamario.'
Jamario told his brother last summer he couldn't come close to his record.
"I had to do something to get him motivated, so I told him that to get him fired up," Jamario said. "But I knew he could do it."
Gaddis said he knew Jamario could accomplish big things at UNT if he got a chance to play. North Texas returned the nation's leading rusher from 2003 in Patrick Cobbs, but Cobbs suffered a season-ending knee injury early in the year.
Thomas took up where Cobbs left off. He credits the team with his success, which doesn't surprise Gaddis.
"He was a joy to coach," Gaddis said. "The best thing about Jamario is he's so humble. We tell our players this saying on the first day of practice: It's amazing what can be accomplished when no one cares who receives the credit.
"I know Jamario has memorized that line. It's what he lives by."
03:19 AM CST on Tuesday, December 14, 2004
By TERRY BLOUNT / The Dallas Morning News
LONGVIEW, Texas ? DeMario Thomas is a senior in high school but claims he is far more mature than his older brother, North Texas freshman running back Jamario Thomas.
"He's a big kid," DeMario said. "I tell him, 'You are a grown man, almost 20 years old, and you're still playing with toys.' Like his action figures. He has dozens of them."
Colleges
If Thomas, who was named a third-team Associated Press All-American on Monday, keeps playing the way he has this season, he may have an action figure of himself soon.
Thomas will complete one of the most prolific freshman seasons in history tonight against Southern Mississippi in the Wyndham New Orleans Bowl. And he takes exception to his brother's characterization of him.
"Did he say I play with action figures?" Jamario asked. "Man, he's crazy. I collect them. But I admit I love being a kid. It's fun."
The 2004 season has been loads of fun for the kid who is known as "Super Jamario" around Denton. Thomas has rushed for a school-record 1,709 yards and leads the nation in yards per game at 189.9. His success has come as no surprise to the people who know him best.
Jamario Thomas has had a standout freshman season at UNT, but the Longview native looms larger in his hometown. Said Steve Gaddis, his former coach: 'The people here love Jamario.'
He needs 155 yards against Southern Miss at the Superdome to break Ron Dayne's NCAA freshman rushing record.
Thomas has rushed for more than 200 yards in six games, including the last five he has played, another NCAA freshman record.
"You get what you get," he said. "The records are not a big factor to me."
It might be more of a factor when he learns his hometown has big plans if he breaks Dayne's record. Longview mayor Murray Moore will declare Jan. 11 as Jamario Thomas Day, handing the former Spring Hill High School star an official proclamation.
Steve Gaddis, Thomas' high school coach, said it would be a day of special events for Jamario.
"We're making 1,000 autographed photos of him and taking Jamario to all our elementary schools to give them to the kids," Gaddis said. "At our basketball game that night, we plan a halftime ceremony to show off a new glass-cased UNT jersey of his we will display at the school."
If he doesn't get the record?
"We still will honor him in some fashion," Gaddis said. "The people here love Jamario. He came to our playoff game against Van and little kids were just hanging off him."
There's only one problem, even if Jamario breaks Dayne's record. Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson is only 21 yards shy of breaking Dayne's freshman mark, set at Wisconsin in 1996.
Thomas could catch Dayne and hold the record for only two weeks before Peterson passes him on Jan. 4 in the Orange Bowl against Southern California.
Texas two-step
Comparisons to Peterson, a Palestine product, are inevitable. Arguably the two best freshman runners in the country grew up only 70 miles apart in East Texas.
Peterson was runner-up for the Heisman Trophy. Thomas didn't make the final eight for the Doak Walker Award, given annually to the nation's top rusher.
Those two things don't sit well with the people who know Thomas. Steven Prince, a freshman quarterback at Kilgore College, played in the backfield with Thomas for six years, starting in seventh grade.
"I truly believe he would have done the same things Peterson has done at OU if Jamario would have been there," Prince said. "You give Jamario that offensive line and that quarterback [Jason White], and he would do the same thing he's doing at North Texas. Just look at the Colorado game and Jamario's overall stats against Big 12 teams."
Thomas averaged 6.9 yards a carry in three games against Big 12 teams. He had 247 on 32 carries at Colorado. Peterson had 172 on 28 carries against Colorado in the Big 12 title game. Against Baylor, the only other common opponent where both were lineup regulars, Peterson had 240; an injured Thomas had only 58.
"I don't know who is better," Prince said. "But I can tell you this: I will be watching Jamario play on Sundays in a few years."
Thomas was recruited by major conference schools ? Arizona State, Arkansas and Colorado. But he opted to attend North Texas because it was close to home and it had a program that catered to students with dyslexia.
Prince knew in seventh grade that Thomas' dyslexia could cause him to become confused about which direction a play was going. So they developed a system.
"When I came to the line of scrimmage, I would touch the side of my rear where we were running the play," Prince said. "For years, no one knew about it except me and Jamario."
Not even Raymond Prince, Steven's father and their coach in junior high.
"People would ask me why Steven always pats his rear," Raymond said. "I would say, 'I don't know. Maybe it's a nervous habit, or maybe he just has an itch.' "
In it for the long run
Jamario and DeMario, also a running back, are the youngest of seven children raised by Laverne Thomas. Laverne and her older children attend most of the games for both of them.
Laverne is making her first trip to New Orleans to watch tonight's game. She said she isn't surprised at what Jamario has accomplished this season.
"I've been watching him break records since he first started playing football," she said. "I thought he would break some more in college, because I know how much talent he has, but not this many records this fast."
She claims it didn't bother her when Thomas was left off the final eight names for the Doak Walker Award.
"Here's how I look at it," she said. "You can't keep a good man down. It's going to come up again, and his record will speak for itself."
But DeMario said his mom wasn't so philosophical at first: "Oh yeah, she was mad," he said.
While big brother was making a name for himself at UNT, DeMario was enjoying a remarkable season as well. DeMario, "Demo" to his friends, rushed for 2,163 yards, breaking Jamario's school record from last year of 1,960.
Jamario Thomas has had a standout freshman season at UNT, but the Longview native looms larger in his hometown. Said Steve Gaddis, his former coach: 'The people here love Jamario.'
Jamario told his brother last summer he couldn't come close to his record.
"I had to do something to get him motivated, so I told him that to get him fired up," Jamario said. "But I knew he could do it."
Gaddis said he knew Jamario could accomplish big things at UNT if he got a chance to play. North Texas returned the nation's leading rusher from 2003 in Patrick Cobbs, but Cobbs suffered a season-ending knee injury early in the year.
Thomas took up where Cobbs left off. He credits the team with his success, which doesn't surprise Gaddis.
"He was a joy to coach," Gaddis said. "The best thing about Jamario is he's so humble. We tell our players this saying on the first day of practice: It's amazing what can be accomplished when no one cares who receives the credit.
"I know Jamario has memorized that line. It's what he lives by."
Brett Vito: Keeping Dickey, Flanigan at UNT will be difficult
08:45 AM CST on Monday, December 13, 2004
Brett Vito
They say that all good things end eventually. Winning streaks come and go. Players graduate or retire.
And coaches move on.
After what Darrell Dickey and Ramon Flanigan have accomplished over the last four years with the North Texas football team, one has to wonder if Tuesday?s New Orleans Bowl might not be the end of the road in Denton for one or maybe both of the coaches who have helped build the Mean Green into the class of the Sun Belt Conference.
Flanigan has already been contacted by officials looking for a new head coach at Tennessee State, a Division I-AA school that will no doubt try to sell itself as a steppingstone to a head coaching job at the Division I-A level.
Dickey has always said he does not discuss jobs during the season, but it only seems logical his name will come up again when openings are discussed. Several jobs have come open across the country, and Dickey has never looked more appealing after winning a fourth straight Sun Belt Conference title.
His name has already been mentioned in connection with the opening at Ole Miss. Last season, it was UNT?s Sun Belt rival Idaho that tried to steal Dickey away.
The interest other schools have in both UNT coaches proves just what a remarkable job the pair has done over the last few years in what should be remembered as one of the glory eras in the history of UNT football, no matter what happens against Southern Miss in this year?s bowl game.
The Mean Green is one of just 11 teams in the history of college football to have won a conference title four years in a row. UNT has also won 25 straight games in Sun Belt play and should be able to claim back-to-back national rushing champions after Jamario Thomas wraps up his title in New Orleans.
The freshman averages 189.9 yards a game and has a 22-yard lead of J.J. Arrington of California in the per-game average category that the NCAA uses to determine its annual champion.
Flanigan has utilized Thomas? skills to power a UNT offense that led the Sun Belt in scoring for the second consecutive season in league play with an average of 35.9 points a game.
Those accomplishments have only added to the allure of both coaches for other programs that will take a look at what both have to work with in Denton and wonder just how they accomplished so much.
UNT had only recently returned to Division I-A when Dickey arrived and brought Flanigan, his old quarterback from his days as an offensive coordinator at SMU, with him.
Fouts Field isn?t exactly a palace and some high schools have a more impressive weight room than what the Mean Green has worked with while waiting for the athletic center to open early next year.
UNT has thrived despite those obstacles in Sun Belt play and pulled off a few big wins along the way, including a knocking off Baylor last year.
Recruits who are more talented than the players who came before them arrive each season in Denton.
The Mean Green?s history of improvement will not go unnoticed around the country. Both Dickey and Flanigan could use a few more upset wins outside of conference play on their resumes, but that hasn?t kept other programs eyeing UNT?s coaching staff.
UNT assistant coaches have been snatched away by other teams in each of the last few seasons.
It only seems logical that two of the key coaches who have guided the Mean Green during its remarkable run would have a chance to follow in their footsteps.
After what the Mean Green has accomplished this season, it wouldn?t be a surprise if the time comes in the next few weeks.
The Mean Green has been remarkably consistent while beating teams who compete on a similar level with fewer resources than just about anyone around.
The success Dickey and Flanigan have enjoyed makes one wonder what they could accomplish elsewhere.
Could Dickey be as successful at a larger school with better facilities and a larger fan base? Could Flanigan thrive as a head coach?
Dickey could stay at UNT and hope that the school continues to catch up when it comes to athletic facilities. Flanigan could wait for Dickey to leave and hope that he is promoted to head coach at UNT.
The problem UNT will encounter is that both could find out much sooner what they can accomplish in a different situation at another school.
In the win-now world of college football, the long wait could be a tough sell for UNT when other programs court Dickey and Flanigan in the coming weeks.
08:45 AM CST on Monday, December 13, 2004
Brett Vito
They say that all good things end eventually. Winning streaks come and go. Players graduate or retire.
And coaches move on.
After what Darrell Dickey and Ramon Flanigan have accomplished over the last four years with the North Texas football team, one has to wonder if Tuesday?s New Orleans Bowl might not be the end of the road in Denton for one or maybe both of the coaches who have helped build the Mean Green into the class of the Sun Belt Conference.
Flanigan has already been contacted by officials looking for a new head coach at Tennessee State, a Division I-AA school that will no doubt try to sell itself as a steppingstone to a head coaching job at the Division I-A level.
Dickey has always said he does not discuss jobs during the season, but it only seems logical his name will come up again when openings are discussed. Several jobs have come open across the country, and Dickey has never looked more appealing after winning a fourth straight Sun Belt Conference title.
His name has already been mentioned in connection with the opening at Ole Miss. Last season, it was UNT?s Sun Belt rival Idaho that tried to steal Dickey away.
The interest other schools have in both UNT coaches proves just what a remarkable job the pair has done over the last few years in what should be remembered as one of the glory eras in the history of UNT football, no matter what happens against Southern Miss in this year?s bowl game.
The Mean Green is one of just 11 teams in the history of college football to have won a conference title four years in a row. UNT has also won 25 straight games in Sun Belt play and should be able to claim back-to-back national rushing champions after Jamario Thomas wraps up his title in New Orleans.
The freshman averages 189.9 yards a game and has a 22-yard lead of J.J. Arrington of California in the per-game average category that the NCAA uses to determine its annual champion.
Flanigan has utilized Thomas? skills to power a UNT offense that led the Sun Belt in scoring for the second consecutive season in league play with an average of 35.9 points a game.
Those accomplishments have only added to the allure of both coaches for other programs that will take a look at what both have to work with in Denton and wonder just how they accomplished so much.
UNT had only recently returned to Division I-A when Dickey arrived and brought Flanigan, his old quarterback from his days as an offensive coordinator at SMU, with him.
Fouts Field isn?t exactly a palace and some high schools have a more impressive weight room than what the Mean Green has worked with while waiting for the athletic center to open early next year.
UNT has thrived despite those obstacles in Sun Belt play and pulled off a few big wins along the way, including a knocking off Baylor last year.
Recruits who are more talented than the players who came before them arrive each season in Denton.
The Mean Green?s history of improvement will not go unnoticed around the country. Both Dickey and Flanigan could use a few more upset wins outside of conference play on their resumes, but that hasn?t kept other programs eyeing UNT?s coaching staff.
UNT assistant coaches have been snatched away by other teams in each of the last few seasons.
It only seems logical that two of the key coaches who have guided the Mean Green during its remarkable run would have a chance to follow in their footsteps.
After what the Mean Green has accomplished this season, it wouldn?t be a surprise if the time comes in the next few weeks.
The Mean Green has been remarkably consistent while beating teams who compete on a similar level with fewer resources than just about anyone around.
The success Dickey and Flanigan have enjoyed makes one wonder what they could accomplish elsewhere.
Could Dickey be as successful at a larger school with better facilities and a larger fan base? Could Flanigan thrive as a head coach?
Dickey could stay at UNT and hope that the school continues to catch up when it comes to athletic facilities. Flanigan could wait for Dickey to leave and hope that he is promoted to head coach at UNT.
The problem UNT will encounter is that both could find out much sooner what they can accomplish in a different situation at another school.
In the win-now world of college football, the long wait could be a tough sell for UNT when other programs court Dickey and Flanigan in the coming weeks.
Thanks for the info IE, but I thought I saw somewhere that Jamario was/is questionable with a hammy injury?
Former roommate was a grad assistant with the track team 4 years ago and was good friends with alot of the football grad assistants. According to him, Thomas will be at 100%. This info is coming through 2 levels so take it for what it's worth. Personally, I believe that UNT is the play for tonight. Will probably put 1-2 units on them tonight. GL.
