There is no denying Seth Littrell left North Texas football immeasurably better than he found it. Actually, scratch that. The Mean Green's progress under Littrell can be measured. His predecessor Dan McCarney had his moments, but his final game was a low point for the program: a 66-7 beatdown at Portland State's hand, on Homecoming, dropping the Mean Green to 0-5 en route to a 1-11 season. Littrell's final game at North Texas came in the Conference USA Championship.
But North Texas did not win that C-USA title, nor any in his six seasons that came before this one, nor any of the five bowl games in which Littrell led the Mean Green.
And so there we sat on Wednesday, in the spacious, well air-conditioned indoor facility, with lots of natural light and well-placed signage, that did not exist when Littrell got to Denton, meeting Littrell's successor.
North Texas held a joint press conference for its new AD Jared Mosley and head coach Eric Morris on Wednesday, heralding a new era of Mean Green football. UNT officially hired the men three days apart during the busiest stretch of the college football calendar; Mosley was promoted from within on Dec. 10 after Wren Baker left for West Virginia, and Morris was hired from Washington State on Dec. 13. Not only will North Texas enter 2023 with a new AD and new head coach, it'll do so while beginning play in a brand new conference.
North Texas did not plan to break in all three new elements at once -- Baker's departure was unexpected, and it's hard to imagine UNT moving on from Littrell after winning a conference title -- but such a clean break between Old and New provides a clear opportunity for the program to re-asses what North Texas football is and what it can be.
For starters, North Texas has employed 10 head coaches over the past 50 years. Of those 10, three left the school with .500 records or better. Littrell (44-44) is the third. The first two (Hayden Fry to Iowa in 1979; Jerry Moore to Texas Tech in 1981) happen to be in the College Football Hall of Fame.
That fact pattern tells us it takes an elite coach to emerge a winner at North Texas, and that UNT is low enough on the totem pole that coaches will leave for better options.
And yet. The indoor facility is really, really nice. Apogee Stadium, built in 2011, is still one of the nicest in the country for its size. Littrell made nearly $2 million, near the top of C-USA. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex produces as much high school talent as any area in the nation, enough that North Texas should have no trouble nabbing its share either in the first go-round (high school recruiting) or the second (the portal).
Why shouldn't North Texas look at those fact patterns and think it couldn't do better than 7-7?
"I don't know any reason that we can't. This is a team that I just watched compete with Boise State at a very high level this past weekend," Morris said. "The pieces are in place right now, we're going to have to add a couple here and there to continue to develop and grow these kids. This is not a program that's broken. I just think it needs a little shot in the arm. I've been in the American (as a Houston assistant for two years). I know what the talent pool in that conference looks like and I know what we have on our roster, and I think that we can get to the top of that conference extremely fast."
Mosley zeroed in on Morris for three reasons: his Texas ties, his 24-18 run at Incarnate Word from 2018-21 and, related to that, his ability to make the most of what he has. "We're not going to complain about the things we don't have," was a phrase that stuck out to Mosley in the interview process.
On that front, while Morris was talked about where North Texas could be, Mosley focused on where North Texas is, and where it is, in his mind, is behind where it should be in terms of annual giving and facilities. "We don't have (AAC-level) facilities in strength and conditioning and academic support," he said. "I take no shame in saying if you need a year-end tax write off, our staff would love to talk to you."
"I think the one phrase coach used that I believe in is process," Mosley said. "If we're just sitting here hoping and wishing at the end of the season that doesn't get you anywhere. I think Coach Morris brings that consistency day-in, day-out to help us to be able to look up and know that we're headed in the right direction."
"It's an exciting time for UNT football as we transition into one of the premier conferences in all of America," Morris said. "Couldn't be more excited to take on that challenge, get this thing to the top level and bring championships back to Denton. That'll be my goal from Day 1."
The American has claimed the Group of 5's designated New Year's Six bowl bid in six of the eight years of the College Football Playoff system's existence, including the past six seasons. It's the only G-5 league to put a team in the 4-team Playoff field. Beginning in 2024, winning the American will mean a bid to the 12-team Playoff more often than not.
Against the nine members of the American not leaving for the Big 12, North Texas is 17-74-1 all-time. Most of those games came against neighbor and one-sided rival SMU, who owns a 35-6-1 mark against the Mean Green, and a 4-game winning streak by margins of 22, 30, 23 and 38. Memphis beat the Mean Green by 10 in September, and went 3-5 in AAC play.
Winning the American would mean climbing over those two programs and reigning champ No. 16 Tulane and fellow C-USA new travelers like UAB (6-1 all-time vs. UNT) and 2-time defending conference champion UTSA.
Looking at North Texas's history, there's not a lot to suggest why the Mean Green will climb over each and every one of those programs. Looking at UNT's resources, there's not a lot to suggest they can't. And therein lies the rub.
"I think it's a job that's sitting right there on a plateau," Morris said. "This could be -- is going to be, sorry -- the best Group of 5 job in the entire nation."