Once considered college football’s hot young coach, he now needs to reset his path
He was once among the hottest names in college football coaching circles, with a potential path to one day coach his alma mater, Oklahoma.
Two years later, Seth Littrell remains at North Texas as he prepares for its final game of the year in what will likely be the Mean Green’s second straight losing season.
Only Seth Littrell knows if passing on the Kansas State job in 2018 was a mistake. He passed because the offer was not all that he wanted it to be, and now he must wonder when the next opportunity will come around.
Because of COVID, and this wreck of a season, do not expect college football to go through its annual firings and hirings, which means Littrell will remain at UNT for a sixth season.
No one at UNT is complaining, and no one expected Littrell to be here for six consecutive years.
I asked him why staying was the right decision.
“Just the administration. The guys I come to work with every single day. The resources,” said the 42-year-old coach. “I’m extremely happy here at North Texas. ... My wife and I love it.”
Those are not lies, but that’s also not the total truth.
He can’t say, “I blew it.”
Littrell still has a good job, and a high quality of life, but a path that he created to a Power 5 program, and possibly one day Oklahoma, must be rebuilt.
Coming off a bowl appearance in 2016, Littrell and the Mean Green were a combined 18-9 in 2017 and 2018 and they made two more bowl games. There was no cuter non-Power 5 team than Littrell’s Mean Green when they won at Arkansas in 2018, which included a fake punt that made every highlight show in the nation.
Littrell was in demand, and UNT did everything it could to keep him while knowing he was likely gone.
After the ‘18 season, he was offered the Kansas State head coaching job to replace the retiring Bill Snyder.
Littrell wanted it, but he reportedly balked at some of K-State’s details, which reportedly included language regarding assistant coaches and the buyout number.
Kansas State was concerned, justifiably, that if Lincoln Riley left Oklahoma Littrell would want to move to Norman immediately.
Littrell thought other offers would come. They did not.
Much to the delight of the UNT administration, Littrell remained at North Texas.
Kansas State hired North Dakota State’s Chris Klieman, who currently makes an average of just over $3 million per season, and has a new contract that runs through 2026.
Littrell’s contract runs through 2023, with a salary that will pay him between $1.3 and $1.8 million a season. He signed a one-year extension in July of 2019, and he is one of the highest paid coaches not in the Power 5.
“You hire a head coach and you hold your breath,” North Texas president Neal Smatresk told me in an interview in the fall of ‘28. “How lucky are we that we got Seth Littrell?”
Littrell and UNT finished 4-8 last season; the best they can do this season is 4-5, although there is a chance UNT could add one more game. And maybe they could play in a bowl.
No Power 5 school can sell a coach who is 8-13 over the last two years to a fan base. Not only is Oklahoma not calling, neither is any other Power 5 school.
One of the reasons for UNT’s struggles is thought to be the absence of Littrell’s former offensive coordinator, Graham Harrell. Harrell left UNT after the ‘18 season to accept the offensive coordinator job at USC.
“Graham is an unbelievable coach, there is no doubt,” Littrell said. “Any time you lose coaches it can hurt.”
Harrell’s exit is not the reason for UNT’s, and Littrell’s slide. The offense this season has thrived, but Littrell has to take control of his team, and his own path.
To win at a UNT requires a hungry, kid. Stop chasing the absurdly stupid recruiting rankings, and find the young man with not just a chip on his shoulder but a boulder.
Did Seth Littrell make a mistake in passing on the Kansas State job? Absolutely. He knows it.
Can he get a similar offer from another school? Absolutely, but it won’t be this offseason.
So what’s the moral of the Seth Littrell story? Take the job and make it perfect, because that may be the only time it’s offered.
This story was originally published December 11, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Once considered college football’s hot young coach, he now needs to reset his path."
