DENTON, Texas -- North Texas introduced Dan McCarney as its football coach Tuesday afternoon, putting the former Iowa State coach in charge of a massive rebuilding project.
The Mean Green have a 13-58 record in six seasons since a four-year run of winning the Sun Belt and playing in the New Orleans Bowl. The hiring of McCarney, who had been the Florida Gators' assistant head coach the last few years, is representative of UNT's commitment to winning.
McCarney, the most accomplished coach North Texas has hired since his mentor Hayden Fry in the 1970s, signed a five-year deal that will pay an annual salary in the mid-six figures. That's a significant increase over the salary paid to fired coach Todd Dodge, who was hired after building a dynasty at nearby Southlake Carroll High School.
North Texas will open an on-campus $78 million stadium next season, completing an overhaul of the football program's facilities within the last five years.
McCarney, 57, had a 56-85 record from 1995 to 2006 at Iowa State. He inherited a program there that was coming off a winless season and had not played in a bowl game for 22 years. The Cyclones went to five bowls under McCarney's watch.
North Texas athletic director Rick Villarreal also seriously considered two other accomplished FBS head coaches: former Tulsa and Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe and Dennis Franchione, whose recent coaching stops include stints at TCU, Alabama and Texas A&M.
