Mean Green’s Seth Littrell named to the Bear Bryant Coach of the Year watch list

North Texas head football coach Seth Littrell was 1 of 20 coaches across the country to be named to the American Heart Association Paul “Bear” Bryant Awards Watch List, the AHA announced Wednesday.

The winner will be announced on Jan. 9, 2019, during the awards dinner and ceremony at the Post Oak Hotel in Houston.

Littrell, who is one of two from Conference USA on the list, has led the Mean Green to a 6-1 start, their best since 1988.

UNT is coming off a 30-7 victory at Southern Miss on Oct. 13. The Mean Green also have wins over Arkansas (44-17) and SMU (46-23).

North Texas (6-1, 2-1 C-USA) faces UAB (5-1, 3-0 C-USA) on Saturday and will be broadcast nationally on beIN Sports and the Mean Green Sports Network at 6:30 p.m. CT from Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama.

The Paul “Bear” Bryant Award is in its 33rd year and recognizes the country’s top college football coaches for their contributions on and off the field. The Coach of the Year Award is the only college coaching honor selected after all bowl games are concluded, and is voted on by the National Sports Media Association. Finalists will be selected in December.

It’s also an opportunity to raise money for heart disease and strokes – having raised over $8.5 million for the American Heart Association.

The 20 coaches on this year’s watch list are:

Bill Clark, UAB

Mario Cristobal, Oregon

Dave Doeren, N.C. State

Luke Fickell, Cincinnati

Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M

Jim Harbaugh, Michigan

Tom Herman, Texas

Josh Heupel, UCF

Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia

Brian Kelly, Notre Dame

Seth Littrell, North Texas

Mike MacIntyre, Colorado

Dan Mullen, Florida

Ed Orgeron, LSU

Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma

Nick Saban, Alabama

Kirby Smart, Georgia

Dabo Swinney, Clemson

Mark Stoops, Kentucky

Charlie Strong, South Florida