Liberty Bowl: Skip fortified by dab of Lou

MEMPHIS — East Carolina Coach Skip Holtz has been hearing from a lot of old friends back in Fayetteville in recent days, and it hasn’t been just Christmas cards or Happy New Year’s wishes.

Holtz said with a laugh that many of the texts and e-mails resonate with “trash talking.”

“I’ve talked to pretty much everybody in Fayetteville that I’ve known since we knew that we were going to have the opportunity to play Arkansas,” said Holtz, whose Pirates face the Razorbacks in the Liberty Bowl on Saturday. “They’ll all be wearing red and white, I have no doubt in my mind about it.

“But I’ve got a lot of great memories of growing up in Fayetteville around that program and being a huge fan.”

Holtz grew up around the Razorbacks while his father, Lou, was Arkansas’ coach from 1977-1983.

Lou Holtz capped his first season at Arkansas by leading the team to a 31-6 victory over No. 2 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 2, 1978.

Skip Holtz watched that game from the Arkansas sideline in Miami as an eighthgrader.

“Ron Calcagni was one of my childhood idols. He was a hero to me,” said Skip Holtz, referring to Arkansas’ starting quarterback in 1977-1978. “I used to go by his room all the time and he’d let me hang out with him.

“That was a dream come true.”

Calcagni said this week he can still remember Skip Holtz coming by the dorm with ice cream on his face after eating at the cafeteria.

“Skip was a great kid, always full of enthusiasm,” Calcagni said. “It’s been interesting to see him grow up from that kid to become a man and a successful head coach. I’m really proud of him and happy for him.”

Holtz, 45, is 38-26 in five seasons at East Carolina - located in Greenville, N.C. - and has led the Pirates to back-to-back Conference USA championships and four consecutive bowl appearances.

It’s been a major turnaround for a program which was 2-20 in former Arkansas assistant John Thompson’s two seasons as coach in 2003-2004.

“Coach Holtz said if we came here, we’d win championships,” Pirates senior defensive end C.J. Wilson said. “He’s kept his word on that.”

East Carolina had enjoyed success previously under coaches such as former Arkansas assistant Bill Lewis, Pat Dye and Steve Logan.

“There’s talent in North Carolina, and ECU has always been a program that’s taken a lot of pride in its football,” Pirates senior free safety Van Eskridge said. “The fans are some of the best in the nation and they get behind the team.

“I knew once the right guy got in and was calling all the shots, he could get this thing turned around, and Coach Holtz was that guy.”

LITTLE RESEMBLANCE

East Carolina offensive coordinator Todd Fitch has worked with Holtz a combined 14 seasons, including five at South Carolina, where Lou Holtz was the coach and Skip the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

“Skip’s a lot like his father in terms of what’s important and how you win football games, the fundamentals,” Fitch said. “But if you met the two guys in the same room,you wouldn’t know they were father and son, just by sheer looks even.

“I think Skip’s taken the strengths of his dad, but his own personality has come out. He’s a much more outgoing guy individually than [Lou Holtz]. I think he’s able to blend the best of both worlds.

“I think over time, he’s gotten so much more comfortable in his own skin.”

Seven of East Carolina’s nine assistant coaches have been on the staff all five of Holtz’s seasons.

“He treats people right.You can see that with the consistency of our staff,” Fitch said. “People enjoy the work environment, and when you have that, you’re able to work together and formulate a good plan.”

East Carolina defensive coordinator Greg Hudson, who has known Holtz since both played at Notre Dame, said he provides consistent leadership.

“He brings a great plan that he’s not deviated from,” Hudson said. “It’s been solid from Day 1, so the players always know what to expect from our program.

“It’s multitasking now. You’ve got to wear a lot of hats as a head coach, and Skip does a great job of switching hats. But then he keeps his positive, upbeat personality no matter what hat he’s wearing.”

Fitch said “the secret to what Skip has is he’s a great people person” and a players’ coach - not in a relaxed sense, but in how he’s able to relate to them and have them relate to him.

“With Coach Holtz, what you see if what you get,” Eskridge said. “He’s the same day in and day out. He’s never lied to us. He’s never sold us any dreams or told us something was going to be easy when he knew it was going to be a challenge.

“I have a lot of respect for him for that.”

Pirates senior linebacker Nick Johnson said Holtz doesn’t allow the players to slack off in any areas.

“He’s made sure that we do good off the field, in the classroom, on the field,” Johnson said. “He doesn’t leave out any areas to make you a good man.

“He’s also very calm, and you need someone that’s calm at the helm.”

FAMILIAR PATH

Holtz decided he wanted to follow his father into coaching after playing as a backup receiver and on special teams for his dad at Notre Dame and graduating with a business management degree.

“He tried to talk me out of it for about an hour at lunch one day,”Holtz said. ”Once he saw I was pretty determined that this is what I wanted to do, he asked me if I’d told my mom.

“I said, ‘Not yet,’ and he said, ‘Make sure she’s unarmed when you tell her, because she’s going to be upset.’ ”

Holtz, whose total compensation from East Carolina this year is $1,382,863, turned down a lucrative business job to become a graduate assistant at Florida State for Bobby Bowden for $400 a month.

Holtz spent two seasons at Florida State before he got his first full-time coaching job in 1990 as Colorado State’s receivers coach for Earle Bruce. He joined his father at Notre Dame as receivers coach a year later.

Four seasons at Notre Dame made Holtz attractive enough to become head coach at Connecticut, which was a Division I-AA member at the time. He rejoined his father at South Carolina after five seasons at UConn.

Around the office, Skip Holtz referred to his father as “Coach Holtz.”

“But I wouldn’t go to him and say, ‘Hey Coach Holtz, you want to take the grandkids out for dinner?’ Then he’s granddad,” Holtz said. “It was very natural for me to separate the two roles he’s played in my life.”

Lou Holtz, who declined an interview request through an ESPN spokesman, has been an analyst for the network since2005. He was 249-132-7 in 33 seasons as a college coach, including 12-8-2 in bowl games. He won a national championship at Notre Dame in 1988 and last year was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

CLOSE, NOT ‘CLONE’

Skip Holtz said he and his father usually talk at least twice a week.

“We’ll talk about the grandkids, but we’ll also talk about football,” Holtz said. “If there’s a situation I’m dealing with, he may say, ‘I’m not giving you advice, but here’s how I’d handle it.’

“He’s a great sounding board for me when I hit one of those curves in the road.”

Saturday’s game will be 32 years to the day since Lou Holtz’s signature victory at Arkansas in the 1978 Orange Bowl.

“I hope that’s real good karma for the Holtz name,” Skip Holtz said with a laugh.

Holtz isn’t a clone of his father, but he said he provided a road map for coaching success.

“You try and take bits and pieces from everybody you’ve worked with and everywhere you’ve been, but I am his son,” Holtz said. “I may not do everything the way he would, but I’m sure there are a lot of things that are in me because of the way he raised me.

“He’s the guy that taught me the difference between right and wrong, and how to pick yourself up and brush yourself off after a setback, and having the right attitude and overcoming adversity.

“I was fortunate to coach with him for 10 years.”

East Carolina’s success has made Holtz a candidate for other jobs, but it appears he’ll be the Pirates’ coach for a sixth season.

“I hope ECU can hold on to him, but every year there are other schools grabbing for him,” Wilson said. “We’re just glad he’s been our coach the whole time we’ve been here.”

Lou Holtz has spoken to East Carolina’s players a few times at his son’s request, and Wilson said he’s been impressive.

“I know our Coach Holtz has a long way to go to catch up to his dad, because he’s a legend,” Wilson said. “But I don’t think there’s any doubt he can be a Hall of Fame coach, too.”