North Texas fires both coordinators after 4-8 season

Courtesy North Texas athletics

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UPDATE (10:05 a.m): North Texas will not retain either offensive coordinator Bodie Reeder or defensive coordinator Troy Reffett after a disappointing 4-8 season in 2019, according to a report from The Athletic.

"It is difficult any time we don't meet our own expectations as coaches and this was one of those years," UNT coach Seth Littrell said. "I have a lot of respect for Troy and Bodie and I'm grateful for their passion for this program and their leadership of our student-athletes. Sometimes a different perspective is needed for the growth of a program, and I feel like this is one of those times." 

Head coach Seth Littrell will go into the 2020 season with a completely new slate of coordinators after the firings. The Mean Green fell from nine wins the past two seasons in Conference-USA to missing a bowl game. 

Reffett had been on staff with Littrell since he arrived at North Texas in 2016. He previously served as co-defensive coordinator in 2016 but was promoted to full defensive coordinator in 2017. Under his tutelage, the defense made significant strides, which keyed some of the best teams in program history. 

However, the unit struggled with depth and inexperience in what was meant to be a critical 2019 season. The Mean Green ranked No. 80 nationally in total defense and No. 105 in scoring defense. The numbers were exacerbated by giving up 46 points to Houston, 45 points to Southern Miss, 39 points to Charlotte and 52 points to Louisiana Tech. 

Littrell will immediately begin a national search to replace both coordinators. North Texas has the biggest assistant salary pool in Conference-USA. 

Original story: North Texas offensive coordinator Bodie Reeder will not return to the program after just one season, sources confirmed to Texas Football. The news was first reported by The Athletic

Reeder was a highly-touted hire by head coach Seth Littrell when he went from a national championship-caliber FCS program at Eastern Washington to North Texas. Both his total and scoring offenses ranked top five in the nation at EWU. 

However, the transition was rocky at times at UNT. The Mean Green needed instant results after losing offensive coordinator Graham Harrell to USC, and with a senior quarterback in Mason Fine. 

UNT's offense dropped from top 30 in scoring and total offense to out of the top 50 in both categories under Reeder. The Mean Green also fell from nine wins each of the past two seasons to a 4-8 campaign, capped off with a disastrous loss to Rice in the penultimate game of the season. 

North Texas had the highest assistant coach salary pool in Conference-USA during the 2018 season and Littrell's $1.865 million salary number eclipsed Power Five coaches at Indiana and Arizona. The offensive coordinator position should immediately be one of the hottest openings in the Group of Five. 

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