His name seems to appear under the heading “candidates include” for any major college football coaching opening these days. Through his remarkable tenure at East Carolina, the Pirates coach has earned the right to hear his name thrown around for a possible promotion.
In fact, Holtz’s father, Lou, the ESPN analyst who coached at Arkansas, Notre Dame and South Carolina, said he already considers his son a better coach than him. Skip Holtz has taken a once-dormant program and delivered consistent success in Greenville, S.C.
“I’m so proud of him as a coach,” Lou Holtz said during a phone interview. “He has great people skills, and he’s always calm. He never gets flustered, never gets upset. He’s never negative about anybody, and his players appreciate that. He’s also very intelligent and makes great decisions.”
Skip Holtz’s actual record at East Carolina only further illustrates his father’s opinion. The Pirates won three games in their previous 25 prior to his arrival. But the 45-year-old Holtz, also the head coach at Connecticut (1994-98), has produced winning seasons his last four years at East Carolina.
The Pirates have improved from 7-6 in 2006 to 8-5 in 2007, 9-5 in 2008 and 9-4 this season heading into their Liberty Bowl matchup with Arkansas. Lou Holtz said he has admired the way in which his son has increased ECU’s win total, considering the yearly difficulty of the Pirates’ nonconference schedule.
East Carolina played Appalachian State, North Carolina, Virginia Tech and West Virginia this season outside of Conference USA. Last season, the Pirates took on North Carolina State, Virginia, Virginia Tech and West Virginia. In 2007, ECU had Duke, North Carolina, Virginia Tech and West Virginia on its schedule.
“They’ve won conference championships back-to-back, and that’s almost crazy when
you think of where that program was,” Lou Holtz said. “He’s not successful because he’s my son. I know that for sure now. Some day, I’ll be known as Skip’s dad.”
It was surely the other way around back in the late 1970s and early 80s when the Holtz family lived in Fayetteville. Lou Holtz coached the Razorbacks for six seasons, and Skip Holtz played quarterback at and graduated from Fayetteville High.
Memories inevitably came to mind when father and son both found out East Carolina would take on Arkansas on Jan. 2 in Memphis.
“I remember sitting in press conferences admiring my father as he sat in that chair, talking in front of that Arkansas helmet,” Skip Holtz said during a Liberty Bowl news conference. “From seventh grade all the way through high school, I grew up in Fayetteville. I can remember going to the Orange Bowl — when they had the big win over Oklahoma — and playing Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.
“I have some great childhood memories from growing up in Fayetteville around
that program.” Lou Holtz said his son consid-
ers Arkansas “his home.” “He still goes back for class
reunions and to visit friends,” Lou Holtz said. “He’ll still talk about those games against Springdale once in a while. He really enjoyed Arkansas. All our children did. He learned a lot of things there, even how to hunt and fish and dip. Yes,
they taught him how to dip, too.” All those fond remembrances won’t help Skip Holtz come Jan. 2, however, and Lou Holtz said East Carolina would face a tough task
in the Liberty Bowl.
“It’ll be hard for them to keep up with a team like Arkansas that has so many great athletes at every position,” Lou Holtz said. “They have a great quarterback in Ryan Mallett and tremen-
dous speed at the skill positions. They’re used to playing in the big time.”
And one of these days, Skip Holtz will surely know what it’s like to coach there.