Seth Littrell will not return at North Texas

Seth Littrell will not return at North Texas, a source told FootballScoop on Sunday. Phil Bennett will serve as interim head coach in UNT's Frisco Bowl appearance against Boise State on Dec. 17.

The move comes two days after the Mean Green fell to UTSA in the Conference USA Championship, 48-27.

The loss dropped North Texas to 7-6 on the season and 44-44 under Littrell.

The Mean Green have qualified for a bowl game in six of Littrell's seven seasons, and reached two C-USA championship games. Having inherited a 1-11 team that was blown out by FCS Portland State, North Texas won the C-USA West Division in Littrell's second season in Denton. 

North Texas went on a stretch of 10-1 stretch in C-USA play over the course of the 2021-22 seasons, but last won nine games in 2018, which also happens to be the last time the Mean Green won a non-conference game against FBS competition. 

North Texas is set to join the American along with six other C-USA schools, and will now do so with a new coach and a new AD. Wren Baker left for the athletics director job at West Virginia late last week, and at present it's unclear who will get the job and who will make the hire to replace Littrell. 

Littrell's contract was set to expire after the 2023 season. He was Conference USA's second-highest paid coach at nearly $1.9 million in 2022. For that reason, plus UNT's location in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, UNT will be one of the top Group of 5 jobs in the 2022-23 cycle. 

As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.

Update: The university has announced the move.