Tag: Skip Holtz

REPORT: Northwestern, Skip Holtz agree to special assistant role

Norhtwestern interim head coach David Braun will have assistance from a long-time college football head coach this fall.

Former college football head coach and current head coach of the USFL’s Birmingham Stallions, Skip Holtz, is returning to college football. Kind of.

According to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Northwestern agreed in principle on Monday with Holtz to join the Wildcats’ football program as a “special assistant to the head coach.” Holtz will provide assistance to interim head coach David Braun, who took over earlier this month following the firing of Pat Fitzgerald in Evanston. It is unclear what Holtz’s duties will be with the program.

The 59-year-old Holtz will bring extensive experience to his role with the Wildcats. He began working in football in 1987 as a graduate assistant at Florida State. After also spending time at Colorado State and Notre Dame, Holtz earned his first head coaching opportunity in 1994 as the head coach at Connecticut. He would be the Huskies’ head coach till 1998 when he left the then-FCS program to be the assistant head coach at South Carolina.

Holtz would also spend time at East Carolina (2005-2009), South Florida (2010-2012), and Lousiana Tech (2013-2021) as a head coach. In 2022, he became the general manager and head coach of the USFL’s Birmingham Stallions. In his first two seasons, he’s led the franchise to a 17-3 overall record and a pair of USFL championships.

The Northwestern Wildcats will begin their 2023 on Sunday, September 3, on the road as they face the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. The Wildcats are looking for their first win on American soil since October 16, 2021, which was also against Rutgers.

Northwestern hires USFL coach Skip Holtz as special assistant

USFL championship coach Skip Holtz will help Northwestern in 2023.

This is one for the books.

A USFL coach — a two-time champion, no less — will be a special assistant to the head coach at Northwestern in 2023.

Skip Holtz has agreed to the position at the scandal-scarred Big Ten school.

Oh, and the gig won’t interfere with his USFL duties.

Northwestern fired longtime head coach Pat Fitzgerald this summer after a scandal blew up in the faces of the Wildcat administration.

David Braun is the interim head coach. He steps into a team that went 1-11 in 2022. The lone win came in the first game of the season over Nebraska in Ireland.

Holtz has led the Birmingham Stallions to consecutive USFL championships.

Former Notre Dame walk-on wins second USFL title as head coach

Skip!

For the second year in a row the Birmingham Stallions are champions of the USFL. The Stallions defeated the Pittsburgh Maulers, 28-12, on Saturday night at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.

The Stallions are led by head coach [autotag]Skip Holtz[/autotag], son of legendary Notre Dame coach [autotag]Lou Holtz[/autotag]. Skip was also a real-life Rudy. He started his college schooling at Holy Cross before transferring to Notre Dame.  He walked onto the football team and lettered in 1986 after playing every game on special teams.

Skip has coached the Stallions both seasons since the USFL returned.  They’ve gone 21-3 in that time and won both league titles.

Not a bad start to the former head coach at Connecticut, East Carolina, South Florida and Louisiana Tech.

Todd Haley ticked at Skip Holtz after Showboats are crushed by Stallions in USFL

Todd Haley was not happy with Skip Holtz after his Showboats were crushed in USFL play

The Birmingham Stallions clobbered the Memphis Showboats, 42-2, Saturday in Week 2 of USFL play.

The Stallions’ final touchdown came in the last two minutes with the team leading by 33.

Michigan coach Todd Haley took exception and made sure to deliver a message to Birmingham coach Skip Holtz after the drubbing.

Holtz took the high road.

For those of you awaiting the rematch, it takes place in Week 10 of the USFL season on June 17 in Memphis.

Skip Holtz, Kirby Wilson named USFL coaches

Skip Holtz will coach the USFL Birmingham Stallions

A familiar name has been added to the coaching ranks as the USFL prepares for its upcoming season.

The Birmingham Stallions have tapped Skip Holtz, who has coached at four colleges.

He is the son of the famed former Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz.

The Pittsburgh Maulers have added a veteran to their ranks as head coach, Kirby Wilson.

And in another piece of USFL news, the league plans on playing all its games in 2022 in Alabama.

Most of the games will be played at Birmingham’s Protective Stadium with the rest at Legion Field.

 

Brian Kelly ranked 85th on ESPN coaches-as-players list

What do you think of this ranking?

Notre Dame has had only six former college football players serve as head coach and none for a couple of generations. However, every college football coach was a player at some point, right? How else would someone understand the game so well? Brian Kelly indeed has playing experience as seen in a new piece for ESPN+ subscribers.

Adam Rittenberg has taken all 130 head coaches in the Football Bowl Subdivision and ranked them as players. Brian Kelly comes in at 85th on the list. Before you throw up your hands and say that’s too low, remember that Kelly attended a school that only had a club football team at the time. Assumption in Worcester, Massachusetts has since fielded a team that competes in Division II.

Kelly was a memorable player for Assumption. His 314 tackles were a program record. He also earned a pair of all-league honors and was a captain. Clearly, his leadership skills were evident at a young age.

Rittenberg ranks former Notre Dame player and current Louisiana Tech coach Skip Holtz at 98th on the list. The son of Lou Holtz, he played 11 games for the Irish in 1986 after playing two years at Holy Cross. mostly playing on special teams and also servicing as a backup receiver. He carried the ball once that season and gained a single yard on that attempt.

Bob Diaco Blanks Miami in Independence Bowl

It’s an incredibly small sample size but I feel safe in saying Diaco owns “The U”.

Do enough Notre Dame fans remember the great Bob Diaco?

He was the defensive coordinator on the 2012 squad who took the head job at Connecticut after the 2013 season where he lasted three seasons before being fired.

He ran Nebraska’s defense in 2017 and Oklahoma’s last year before getting the Louisiana Tech D-C job this season.

As you can tell life hasn’t been easy for Diaco since departing Notre Dame but he did have a brush with glory Thursday afternoon as his Louisiana Tech squad shutout the Miami Hurricanes in the Independence Bowl, 14-0.

It’s an incredibly small sample size but I feel safe in saying Diaco owns “The U”.

In two games against Miami this decade his team has allowed three total points as you may recall the 41-3 destruction Notre Dame had of the Hurricanes in 2012.

With the loss Miami finishes 6-7 on the year while Louisiana Tech wraps up 10-3.

Since Miami roughed up Notre Dame late in 2017 the Canes have gone from No. 2 in the nation to 13-16 over their last 29 games.

It may be 29 years since Notre Dame and Miami played annually but I have a hard time believing any Fighting Irish fans feel too bad for Miami after this latest embarrassment.