Skip Holtz

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Skip Holtz
refer to caption
Holtz at 2017 C-USA Media Days
Birmingham Stallions
Position:Head coach
Personal information
Born: (1964-03-12) March 12, 1964 (age 60)
Willimantic, Connecticut, U.S.
Career information
High school:Fayetteville
(Fayetteville, Arkansas)
College:Notre Dame
Career history
As a coach:
As an executive:
Career highlights and awards
USFL
NCAA
  • 2× C-USA (2008, 2009)
  • 2× C-USA East Division (2008, 2009)
  • 3× C-USA West Division (2014, 2016, 2019)
  • Atlantic 10 New England Division (1998)
  • C-USA Coach of the Year (2016)
Head coaching record
Regular season:
  • USFL: 17–3 (.850)
  • UFL: 2–0 (1.000)
Postseason:USFL: 4–0 (1.000)
Career:
  • College: 152–121 (.557)
  • USFL: 21–3 (.875)
  • UFL: 2–0 (1.000)

Louis Leo "Skip" Holtz Jr. (born March 12, 1964) is an

Connecticut Huskies. He has also served as an assistant coach for the South Carolina Gamecocks, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Colorado State Rams, and the Florida State Seminoles
.

Skip's father,

special teams. He joined the coaching ranks immediately upon graduation from college, working initially for Bobby Bowden as an assistant at Florida State. He gradually worked his way through the ranks at various NCAA Division I schools before being named head coach at Connecticut in 1994. He has an overall record of 152 wins and 121 losses as a head coach, including eight bowl
wins and two conference championships.

Early life

Skip Holtz grew up in many towns while his father coached football. After Skip was born in Connecticut, the Holtz family moved to

American South when he accepted the head coaching job in Fayetteville, Arkansas, at the University of Arkansas in 1977. In Fayetteville, Skip attended Fayetteville High School and graduated in 1982.[2]

Playing career

While at high school in Fayetteville, Skip played for the school's football team at the quarterback position, bringing moderate success to the program. As a high school junior, he visited Notre Dame and met with head football coach

rushed once for one yard.[3]

Coaching career

Early positions

Skip coached under Bobby Bowden for two years.

Due to Skip's lack of success on the field and his desire to remain associated with football, he began to investigate the possibility of becoming a coach. After Skip told Lou he wanted to start coaching, Lou put together a list of potential coaches who would give him the best training. The list included Tom Osborne, Joe Paterno, and Terry Donahue, but upon hearing of Skip's interest, Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden said, "if you can be here in two days, I've got a job for you at Florida State."[4]

Upon arriving at Florida State in 1987, he became the graduate assistant coach.[5] He met his future wife, Jennifer, in Coach Bowden's office while in Tallahassee.[6] He left after two years to become the wide receivers coach at Colorado State University under coach Earle Bruce.[7] After one season, he went back to Notre Dame to coach under his father.[7]

Notre Dame

Holtz's first job at his alma mater was to serve as wide receivers coach, and he filled the position for two years. In 1992, the team began a search for a new offensive coordinator. Lou's first choice, Joe Moore, declined. Lou then asked Skip for recommendations to fill the position. Skip initially said he wanted the position but said of Lou, "he couldn't do it at that time with me [Skip] being his son."[3] Skip then mentioned Mark Richt, who was then the offensive coordinator at Florida State. Lou Holtz called Coach Bowden to ask permission to speak to Mark Richt. Coach Bowden said Holtz could hire Richt as long as he could hire Skip. Coach Holtz said, "Well, if I'm just going to switch coaches, I might as well hire Skip."[3] Skip became Notre Dame's offensive coordinator in 1992. Between 1992 and 1994, Skip and his father recorded 40 wins, eight losses, and one tie, an 82.7% winning percentage. Together, they coached Notre Dame to the Cotton Bowl Classic twice, beating Texas A&M both times. Skip had the third-best total offense in the NCAA during the 1992 football season.[3]

Connecticut

Following his success at Notre Dame, Skip Holtz was asked to become the head coach of the

I-AA to I-A. Holtz commented on Hartley's remarks by saying "I'd love to have the opportunity to coach a Division I team here...."[10] In 1998, UConn, after 100 years of football and five years with Skip Holtz as its head coach, played in its first Division I-AA playoff game. The Huskies scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to beat Hampton University, 42–34.[11] In the next round of the playoffs, the Huskies lost to eventual runner-up Georgia Southern
on December 5. Two days later, Skip resigned as head coach of the Huskies in order to rejoin his father, who had taken the head coaching job at South Carolina the day before the Huskies' loss. As the leader of the Huskies football team, he accumulated a winning percentage of .596 (34–23) over five seasons.

South Carolina

Skip Holtz's father, Lou

On December 4, 1998, The University of South Carolina announced that Lou Holtz would serve as its next head football coach. Lou asked Skip if he would move down to Columbia to become his offensive coordinator—the same position Skip held during his final two years at Notre Dame. Skip accepted the offer, in part due to a desire to live closer to his parents and so his children could spend more time with their grandparents.

adrenal glands, and ovary. Meanwhile, Skip and Lou continued to coach football at South Carolina. As Lou began to struggle as head coach, the question of his eventual successor arose. When Skip was hired in 1998, Lou had included a clause in the hiring contract that Skip would succeed him after he retired. South Carolina Athletic Director Mike McGee rebutted by saying, "There are no formal or informal guarantees at him," and "It's always helpful to have potential succession in a staff."[12]

The 2000 and 2001 seasons brought South Carolina back to national prominence with consecutive Outback Bowl wins over Ohio State and season ending rankings in the Top 25. However, after going 5–7 the following two seasons and suffering a season-ending blowout in 2003 by intrastate rival

quarterbacks coach. Four assistant coaches—including the team's defensive coordinator—were fired in the same shakeup that saw Skip demoted.[13] On November 22, 2004, one season after Skip's demotion, Lou Holtz announced he was retiring as head coach of South Carolina.[14] The next day, South Carolina announced Steve Spurrier as the next head football coach.[15] Coach Spurrier announced that he was keeping only three members of Lou Holtz's staff. Letters were sent to all the other staffers—including Skip Holtz—informing them that they likely would not be retained.[16]

East Carolina

Holtz at ECU in 2007.

With his firing imminent, Holtz resigned. Because he was formerly a head coach, Skip had several offers from Division I-A and Division I-AA teams. After several interviews, he elected to take the head coaching position at

first season, the Pirates also defeated conference foes Rice, Southern Methodist University, Marshall University, and the University of Alabama Birmingham
.

In

Papajohns.com Bowl, losing 24–7.[20] Despite the bowl loss, the 2006 season was ECU's first winning season since 2000, and the Papajohns.com Bowl was the Pirates' first bowl game since 2001.[21]

In

2000
seasons.

The

2001
seasons. In 2009 Skip Holtz led the ECU Pirates to a second CUSA championship.

South Florida

On January 14, 2010, it was announced that Holtz accepted the head coach position at the University of South Florida, in Tampa, Florida, taking the place of the recently fired Jim Leavitt.[24] A press conference to introduce Holtz to the community was held January 15, 2010. When someone in the crowd called out, "Beat Florida!", Holtz replied, "That's why I'm here!"[25] However, the Bulls would eventually end up on the short end of the stick in their match-up with the Gators later that season, 38–14.[26]

Holtz earned his first win as head coach of the Bulls on September 1, 2010, in USF's season opener against Stony Brook 59–14. Later that season, Holtz led his Bulls to the program's first victory over the Miami Hurricanes. At the end of the season Holtz lead the USF Bulls to a mostly dominant 31–26 victory over the Clemson Tigers at the Meineke Car Care Bowl. This would mark the first Bowl victory for USF over a BCS team. The Bulls finished with an 8–5 record, but 3–4 in Big East play.

To start the 2011 season, Skip Holtz led the Bulls to an emotional homecoming against his alma mater, Notre Dame. After the 6 hour game and 2 rain delays, USF left South Bend with a 23–20 victory. However, the Bulls finished the season with a disappointing record of 5–7, 1–6 in Big East play. The 2012 season was even worse as the Bulls fell to a dismal 3–9, 1–6 in Big East play. USF fired Holtz at the conclusion of the 2012 season.[27]

Louisiana Tech

On December 13, 2012, Holtz accepted an offer to become the head coach for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.[28] His first season, 2013, was a down year, as he finished well below expectations at 4–8. However, 2014 would see a big turnaround. Holtz's Bulldogs went on to finish first in C-USA West at 9–5 with a 35–18 win over Illinois in the Heart Of Dallas Bowl.[29] In 2015, the Bulldogs continued their success finishing 9–4 and winning the New Orleans Bowl over Arkansas State, 47–28.[30] The 2020 season saw a final record of 5–5, and also saw a disastrous 3–38 bowl loss to Georgia Southern. The 2021 season was even worse, with a final record of 3–9 (and no bowl invite) after which Holtz was fired by Louisiana Tech.[31]

Birmingham Stallions

On January 20, 2022, Holtz was named Head coach and General manager of the

United States Football League (USFL).[32]
During his stint in Birmingham, he has led the team to a combined 17-3 record over two seasons (2022, 2023), and winning the USFL Championship in both seasons.

Personal life

Holtz and his wife Jennifer Fitzgerald, whom he met while he was working at Florida State, have two sons and a daughter.[6][33] Holtz co-hosts the annual spring golf tournament named the Drew Steele-Skip Holtz Golf Classic. Drew Steele is the son of former East Carolina basketball coach Mike Steele and has Down syndrome. When they first met, Holtz was impressed by Drew's positive attitude, and he has since called upon Drew to help motivate the football team, both as a speaker and through work with the team.[34] The Drew Steele-Skip Holtz Golf Classic benefits citizens of Pitt County with special needs.[35]

Postseason experience

Holtz has participated in 21 postseason games in his coaching career. Twelve games occurred while he was head coach and eight when he was an assistant coach. Of the twelve games where he was the head coach, ten occurred in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly Division I-A) and two occurred in Division I-AA (now known as Football Championship Subdivision). As a FBS head coach, he is 8–3 in bowl games.

Bowl year Bowl game Participants Result Rank
2020 New Orleans Bowl Louisiana Tech vs. Georgia Southern L 3–38
2019 Independence Bowl Louisiana Tech vs. Miami W 14–0
2018 Hawaii Bowl Louisiana Tech vs. Hawaii W 31–14
2017 Frisco Bowl Louisiana Tech vs. SMU W 51–10
2016 Armed Forces Bowl Louisiana Tech vs. Navy W 48–45
2015 New Orleans Bowl Louisiana Tech vs. Arkansas State W 47–28
2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl Louisiana Tech vs. Illinois W 35–18
2010
Meineke Car Care Bowl
 South Florida vs. Clemson W 31–26
2009 Liberty Bowl East Carolina vs. Arkansas L 17–20 OT
2008
 Liberty Bowl East Carolina vs. Kentucky L 19–25
2007
 Hawaii Bowl East Carolina vs. Boise State W 41–38
2006
 Papajohns.com Bowl East Carolina vs. South Florida L 27–7
2002 Outback Bowl South Carolina vs. Ohio State W 31–28 #13
2001 Outback Bowl South Carolina vs. Ohio State W 31–7 #19
1998
 Playoffs Connecticut vs. Hampton
Connecticut vs.Georgia Southern 		W 42–34
L 52–30 		#7
1994 Cotton Bowl Classic Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M W 24–21 #2
1993 Cotton Bowl Classic Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M W 24–3 #4
1992 Sugar Bowl
Florida
 W 39–28 #13
1991 Orange Bowl Notre Dame vs. Colorado L 10–9 #6
1989 Sugar Bowl Florida State vs. Auburn W 13–7 #3
1988 Fiesta Bowl Florida State vs. Nebraska W 31–28 #2

Head coaching record

College

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs TSN#
Connecticut Huskies (Yankee Conference) (1994–1996)
1994 Connecticut 4–7 4–4 3rd (New England)
1995 Connecticut 8–3 5–3 2nd (New England) 23
1996 Connecticut 5–6 3–5 4th (New England)
Connecticut Huskies (Atlantic 10 Conference) (1997–1998)
1997 Connecticut 7–4 4–4 T–2nd (New England)
1998 Connecticut 10–3 6–2 T–1st (New England) L NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal 9
Connecticut: 34–23 22–18
East Carolina Pirates (Conference USA) (2005–2009)
2005 East Carolina 5–6 4–4 4th (East)
2006 East Carolina 7–6 5–3 2nd (East) L PapaJohns.com
2007 East Carolina 8–5 6–2 T–2nd (East) W Hawaii
2008 East Carolina 9–5 6–2 1st (East) L Liberty
2009 East Carolina 9–5 7–1 1st (East) L Liberty
East Carolina: 38–27 28–12
South Florida Bulls (Big East Conference) (2010–2012)
2010 South Florida 8–5 3–4 T–5th W Meineke Car Care
2011 South Florida 5–7 1–6 T–7th
2012 South Florida 3–9 1–6 8th
South Florida: 16–21 5–16
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (Conference USA) (2013–2021)
2013 Louisiana Tech 4–8 3–5 5th (West)
2014 Louisiana Tech 9–5 7–1 1st (West) W Heart of Dallas
2015 Louisiana Tech 9–4 6–2 2nd (West) W New Orleans
2016 Louisiana Tech 9–5 6–2 1st (West) W Armed Forces
2017 Louisiana Tech 7–6 4–4 4th (West) W Frisco
2018 Louisiana Tech 8–5 5–3 T–2nd (West) W Hawaii
2019 Louisiana Tech 10–3 6–2 T–1st (West) W Independence
2020 Louisiana Tech 5–5 4–2 3rd (West) L New Orleans
2021 Louisiana Tech 3–9 2–6 T–6th (West)
Louisiana Tech: 64–50 43–27
Total: 152–121
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth
  • #Rankings from final Sports Network Poll.

USFL/UFL

League Team Year Regular season Postseason
Won Lost Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
USFL BHAM 2022 9 1 .900 1st (South Division) 2 0 1.000 USFL Champions
BHAM 2023 8 2 .800 1st (South Division) 2 0 1.000 USFL Champions
UFL BHAM 2024 3 0 1.000 In progress
Total 20 3 .870 4 0 1.000

References

  1. ^ "New Assignments and Returning Commentators Highlight ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU College Football Coverage". ESPN (Press release). March 12, 2007. Archived from the original on September 11, 2009. Retrieved April 11, 2008.
  2. ^ "Lou Holtz". Coach Bio. BlueAndGold.com. 2008. Archived from the original on November 8, 2006. Retrieved March 9, 2008.
  3. ^
    ISBN 1-58261-151-3
    .
  4. ^ a b Zenner, Tom (September 8, 2000). "Notre Dame legend Lou Holtz made his son a believer-at home". Life Lessons From Coach's Playbook. DadMag.com. Retrieved March 9, 2008.
  5. ^ a b Wallace, William (December 23, 1993). "College Football; Skip Holtz Is Hired by UConn". The New York Times. Retrieved March 8, 2008.
  6. ^ a b Hudson, Jane Welborn (August 29, 2005). "The four F's: Food, fun, fellowship and football for the Holtz family". The Daily Reflector. Retrieved March 8, 2008.
  7. ^ a b "Skip Holtz Profile". Football. University of South Carolina. Retrieved March 8, 2008.
  8. ^ "Jackson Resigns as Connecticut's Coach". The New York Times. November 18, 1993. Retrieved March 9, 2008.
  9. ^ "A Holtz for UConn?". The New York Times. December 23, 1993. Retrieved March 9, 2008.
  10. ^ Cavanaugh, Jack (November 8, 1998). "A Winning Team (And Not Basketball)". The New York Times. Retrieved March 8, 2008.
  11. ^ Cavanaugh, Jack (November 29, 1998). "Sunshine on UConn's Shoulders in Playoffs". The New York Times. Retrieved March 9, 2008.
  12. ^ "Skip Holtz To Join His Dad At S.C." CBS Sportsline. December 7, 1998. Retrieved March 9, 2008.
  13. ^ Haney, Travis (July 30, 2004). "Holtz tries to change 'culture'". Augusta Chronicle. Archived from the original on September 15, 2008. Retrieved March 9, 2008.
  14. ^ "Lou Holtz Announces Retirement From Coaching" (Press release). Gamecocks Online. November 22, 2004. Retrieved March 9, 2008.
  15. ^ "Steve Spurrier Announced as New Head Football Coach at South Carolina" (Press release). Gamecocks Online. November 23, 2004. Retrieved March 9, 2008.
  16. ^ Iacobelli, Pete (November 29, 2004). "Spurrier assembles staff; Taps son to coach wide receivers". The Associated Press. Retrieved March 9, 2008.
  17. ^ Myatt, Al (December 3, 2004). "Holtz the chosen one to resurrect program". Bonesville.net. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved March 9, 2008.
  18. ^ "Thumbnail sketches of 23 players signed by ECU". Football Recruiting. Bonesville.net. February 4, 2005. Archived from the original on March 17, 2008. Retrieved March 9, 2008.
  19. ^ Myatt, Al (September 4, 2005). "Therapy brought to you by Terry Holland". Bonesville.net. Archived from the original on September 16, 2008. Retrieved March 9, 2008.
  20. ^ O'Brien, Denny (December 24, 2006). "Bulls expose holes for ECU". The Slants of the Game. Bonesville.net. Archived from the original on July 20, 2008. Retrieved March 9, 2008.
  21. ^ "2005". East Carolina Yearly Results. College Football Data Warehouse. 2008. Archived from the original on April 22, 2008. Retrieved March 9, 2008.
  22. ^ "Standings". History/Records. Conference USA. Retrieved March 9, 2008.
  23. ^ "East Carolina Pirates 2007 Football Schedule & Links". Bonesville.net. February 27, 2008. Archived from the original on May 4, 2008. Retrieved March 9, 2008.
  24. ^ "USF hires Holtz to replace Leavitt". ESPN. January 14, 2010.
  25. ^ "Holtz introduced at South Florida". ESPN. January 15, 2010.
  26. ^ No. 8 Florida 38, South Florida 14 Archived September 14, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  27. ^ McMurphy, Brett (December 2, 2012). "USF fires Skip Holtz, sources say". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
  28. ^ McMurphy, Brett (December 13, 2012). "Skip Holtz headed to Louisiana Tech". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
  29. ^ "Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech – Game Recap – December 26, 2014 – ESPN". ESPN. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  30. ^ "Arkansas State vs. Louisiana Tech – Game Recap – December 19, 2015 – ESPN". ESPN. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  31. ^ Jeyarajah, Shehan (November 26, 2021). "Louisiana Tech fires Skip Holtz: Bulldogs opt for coaching change after nine years amid 3–8 season". CBS Sports. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  32. ^ DiLullo, Mikey. "Former Louisiana Tech football coach Skip Holtz named coach of USFL's Birmingham Stallions". Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  33. ^ "Skip Holtz Profile". Football. East Carolina Official Athletic Site. 2008. Archived from the original on April 4, 2008. Retrieved March 11, 2008.
  34. ^ "Birth of the DSSH Golf Classic". About DSSH. Archived from the original on June 29, 2007.
  35. ^ Summers, Nathan (June 6, 2006). "First Drew Steele-Skip Holtz Golf Classic raises thousands". The Daily Reflector. Archived from the original on July 1, 2007. Retrieved March 9, 2008.

External links

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