RECENT UPDATES: 12/12/08 3:15 PM ET ***FINAL UPDATE*** Well...the press conference is over. Doug Marrone is our new Head Coach. We very much enjoyed communicating with you on this site over the past 3+ weeks. We tried to do so in a way which provided objective yet impassioned analysis as the Syracuse Orange coaching search progressed. Thank you all so much for your support. Go Orange. 12/12/08 12:17 PM ET Done Deal. New Orleans Saints Offensive Coordinator Doug Marrone is the new Syracuse Head Coach. Press Conference at 2 PM ET Today.  You know what. Obviously wasn't our first choice. Or 2nd...or 5th even..But he's now our Coach. And we are going to fully support him and what we hope he accomplishes. All we have is hope. So let's hope. Bitching and moaning isn't going to change a thing at this point. Maybe Marrone will surround himself with a talented OC (Addazio?) and DC, who know how to effectively recruit...the guy REALLY wanted this job. There's something positive to be said for that. Maybe it wouldnt be the best idea hiring someone who really didn't want to be here. And as much as I respect Skip Holtz as a coach, he really said very little to lead me to believe that he appreciated the Syracuse offer and respected the football program here. Also...Tennessee fans wanted Marrone as their HC...that says something to. Fellow SU fans. Whether you love this hire, or hate this hire. Realize this. Doug Marrone represents a new era of Syracuse football. Show your support. Attend games. Buy a season ticket (I hear that once again they will be reasonably priced). Go to the games. Make NOISE. And recognize that the return back will not be a 1 game, or even a 1 year process. There will be growing pains. There will be games next season we should win and won't. We may have a losing record again. We may not. But we may. But give Doug Marrone a chance. Give this coaching staff a chance. Don't get me wrong. If this team is still stuck in reverse in 2 years, I will be the first person to be shouting from the rooftops that a change needs to be made. And this time, I am talking higher up on the food chain. But right now, let's look at this coaching change as an opportunity. A time for hope. Hope. I can live on that. For a little while. 12/11/08 6:25 PM ET ESPN 1000 out of Chicago is reporting that Syracuse will name Doug Marrone, current New Orleans Saints OC as their new head coach. As a parent, I have learned all about the idea of "cooling off periods". I am going to exercise one of these now. I will comment on this development when I am more...calm. 12/11/08 9:20 AM ET Well. The morning after. The morning after we learned with almost complete certainty that Skip Holtz has chosen not to leave East Carolina for Syracuse, despite a massive financial package offered to him. While I still want to hear it out of the mouth of the man himself, it is pretty clear that he has indeed decided not to become a member of the Orange family. To that end, I wish Skip Holtz and the East Carolina community good luck and good tidings. I hope that Coach Holtz stays a Pirate, as ECU deserves a coach of his caliber. I hold no ill will. He made the decision that he felt was best for him and his family. I admire that in a coach or an athlete. I only wish it did not seem to always be the ones that my teams seek out that end up having the integrity to not just jump at the biggest paycheck. In regards to the future of this site, I don’t know what is going to happen. As far as I am concerned, we had a mission, and one half of that mission was accomplished. Part 1 was to do what small part we could to sway the University that Skip Holtz was the right man for the job. Mission accomplished. Part 2 involved actually getting Skip Holtz to realize that Syracuse was the right place for him. Clearly, objective not met. I fully intend on keeping this site up and active for the duration of the Syracuse head football coaching search, as my passion for Syracuse football reigns far superior to my desire to have Skip Holtz wearing Orange. This is too important a hire to give up on now. To that end, we now shift our focus from Lou “Skip” Holtz, to Turner “Skip” Gill. Gill has always been a candidate we had a lot of interest in. He always was a strong #2 for us, and he is now the man that we hope Syracuse AD Daryl Gross will do everything possible to sign on as Syracuse’s new head football coach. He is miles ahead of the other candidates that are being mentioned most often in connection with the Syracuse job, Al Golden, and Doug Marrone. In fact, while I can see some virtue in the idea of bringing Al Golden in (terrific recruiter, lots of northeast US coaching experience…although he does come with the stigmata that is “Temple” on his resume), I would find it very hard to accept that the future of Syracuse football is in the hands of Doug Marrone. Marrone may be a great guy, but he has NO head coaching experience, NO northeastern college football coaching experience (short of a brief stint at Northeastern University in the early 90’s), and, while the New Orleans Saints offense seems like a point in his favor on paper, he is an offensive coordinator who does not even call his own plays. Get Gill. And no, I am not starting a Turner Gill website. 12/10/08 11:34 PM ET A number of NC based outlets are now reporting that Holtz has indeed turned down the Syracuse offer. Not really sure what else to say at this point. Maybe I'll think of something better tomorrow. 12/10/08 9:21 PM ET Well...this report does not look good. ECU's Rivals affiliate, PirateIllustrated.com, is running a major breaking story: "Holtz declines Syracuse job" We'll wait for more detail, but the worm may be beginning to turn on this one.... Not good. 12/10/08 8:37 PM ET FYI...a rumor has been floated around the Syracuse and ECU forums that there was a report out of the Raleigh NBC affiliate (WNCN) indicating that Skip Holtz requested his name be taken out of consideration for the Syracuse coaching position. There has not been a single source out of Greenville, Syracuse, or the national college football media that has anything on the purported story. And WNCN has nothing about this on their website. Additionally, I called the WNCN newsroom and asked specifically if they had anything new on this story and they indicated that they did not, and that all they knew was that there is a Liberty Bowl press conference scheduled tomorrow at 3:30 PM ET at which they expect Skip Holtz to speak. In other words, a crafty prankster kicked off this rumor and got the net a buzz. People...we will all know tomorrow. Skip Holtz may very well choose to stay at East Carolina. Or he may decide to take the Syracuse offer. Regardless, until that time. Check your sources. 12/10/08 4:08 PM ET Multiple sources are reporting that ESPN broke a report on the College Football live show moments ago that confirmed that Skip Holtz has indeed been presented with a formal job offer from Syracuse University and that he has been gievn 48 hours to consider it. I think it is now time to break out the big guns and send Skip a wonderful gift from Edible Arrangements. What can change in 48 hours? Well. Call me crazy, but I suspect it involves Auburn. If this was about East Carolina, why wouldn't he just turn it down outright? 12/10/08 2:55 PM ET There is a lot of buzz on the East Carolina message boards indicating that Skip Holtz is going to stay at ECU. There may be truth to this, but frankly, I think it’s still everybody guessing. Here’s the thing. I don’t care how “connected” some of these purported sources are. I have one question. If Skip Holtz has already decided to stay at ECU, why wouldn’t he immediately put out a statement to effectively end speculation and allow his kids to better focus on their exams and begin preparation for the upcoming Liberty Bowl? Skip Holtz may very well stay at ECU. I do not deny this. But as of 2:55pm ET on Wednesday, December 10, 2008, there has been no indication of any kind from the Holtz camp either way, and if he was definitely not taking the job, there is absolutely no reason for him to have not publicly revealed that. Think about it. What makes more sense at this time? Scenario 1, in which Skip Holtz is interested, and is either in negotiation with Syracuse, or has come to an agreement and is breaking the news to his team today? Or Scenario 2 in which he has already decided against the Syracuse job, yet for some reason has elected not to tell anybody, thus allowing the speculation to continue to simmer? Of those two possibilities, I think the answer is pretty obvious. There is of course the very plausible 3rd scenario, in which he still has not decided. And that is a very real possibility. And that is why there still is a real chance he stays at East Carolina. In my opinion, anyone that claims to know he’s officially staying already should be viewed with the same skepticism as the report of NFL Network's Michael Bradley, who erroneously reported Holtz would be named Syracuse coach this past Monday (scroll down to see more on that). 12/10/08 2:06 PM ET ESPN is reporting that University of Florida Offensive Coordinator Dan Mullen will be named Head Coach at Mississippi State. Another vacancy filled. Still no news on ours. 12/10/08 12:48 PM ET Still waiting for word….seems like we are in a media blackout of sorts. No new reports coming out of Greenville or Syracuse as of yet today. 12/10/08 8:45 AM ET No major developments overnight in the Syracuse coaching situation. Skip Holtz is returning to Greenville today. If Holtz has decided to accept the Syracuse University offer, then more than likely I would imagine he would want to address the team at some point later today. In other news, it looks like Doug Marrone has skyrocketed up the charts and is, all likelihood, going to be your next Syracuse Orange football coach if Holtz turns down the offer. My question...if it is Marrone...did it really take the "premiere headhunter in the country" to find a guy who has no previous head coaching experience, virtually no northeast football experience, and doesn't even call the plays for the offense that everyone is touting as his biggest asset? Please say yes, Skip. 12/9/08 9:41 PM ET Last update of the day barring something significant developing. Right now, here's where the situation stands. A few sources are all reporting a very similar situation. Syracuse essentially has made Skip Holtz a very substantial offer. A report out of a radio station in Greenville has it as high as $2.5 million a year for 5 years, which would represent a substantial increase in salary for Holtz (more than double his current salary in fact), a figure that ECU is unlikely to move to. Essentially, what is is going to come down to is this. Will Skip Holtz decide to forego a massive salary increase and the opportunity to go to a BCS school with the chance to win a national championship, in order to stay a ECU, a fine institution at which Holtz has grown comfortable? Will he take the deal? Flip a coin at this point. One thing is for sure, however, Holtz is a classy guy. If he decides to leave, he will make sure his team hears it from him first. Not from the media. Tomorrow at this time we should know. 12/9/08 2:45 PM ET Very interesting development. Syracuse University just posted a video on their athletics website (www.suathletics.com) that was shot at lunchtime today, 12/9 (they reference about noon in the video) which features Lou Holtz talking extensively about his son Skip in relation to the Syracuse coaching job, also highlighting a number of his son’s career accomplishments. What’s unusual is that this isn’t really a Syracuse-related clip, it’s a Skip Holtz-related clip. I really cannot fathom why Syracuse University would put a video featuring Lou Holtz talking about his son, especially one shot barely 2 hours ago, unless there is a very strong chance that this is, at the very least alive, if not close to final. Very interesting indeed. 12/9/08 2:05 PM ET Nothing concrete to report since the last update. Today has been rumor central. The Syracuse boards have sources claiming the Holtz deal is very much alive. The ECU boards have posters claiming that Holtz has rejected the Syracuse offer. The truth, in my opinion, is probably both. Nathan Summers of “The DailyReflector”, a local newspaper in Greenville, NC, had the following earlier this afternoon: “ECU head coach Skip Holtz and Director of Athletics Terry Holland are together at the Waldorf this afternoon, possibly to discuss Monday’s meetings between Holtz and representives from Syracuse….Immediate word in my ears Tuesday morning was that Holtz might have turned down the job or the possibility of the job…Now, it sounds much more like some negotiating is still going on today in the big city.” What this sounds like to me is that Syracuse made an initial proposal, which Holtz declined. It also appears that now, Syracuse has made a follow-up offer, which has piqued Holtz’s interest enough to have another meeting with Holland to see whether or not he will match the offer. 12/9/08 7:10 AM ET No new news being reported out of NYC in regards to the Holtz/Gross meeting as of yet. Our assumption here is that, regardless of how that meeting went, Holtz will want to have the chance to talk to ECU AD Terry Holland and to his team before any announcement is made. So I would not expect anything official on that until Wednesday 12/10 or Thursday 12/11 at the earliest. On the other hand, if Holtz decides against taking the job, I would expect some sort of indication of that as early as today. 12/8/08 12:41 PM ET Illinois OC Mike Locksley will be named Head Coach at the University of New Mexico, according to ESPN. Locksley was one of the first known to be interviewed for the Syracuse job. Locksley may be a good head coach, but he didn't seem to be a great fit for Syracuse right now...so, personally, I am glad he is now out of the picture. 12/8/08 9:34 AM ET Today is the day. East Carolina Coach Skip Holtz will be meeting with Syracuse Athletic Director Daryl Gross to discuss the Head Football coach opening at Syracuse. We’ll keep you posted if and when we hear any results of the meeting. More positive comments from Skip’s Dad, Lou Holtz. Holtz, when asked about his son’s interest in Syracuse as well as how in demand his son’s coaching skills are these days, replied that many other schools have requested permission to speak to Skip Holtz, but that the only school Holtz is interested in speaking to at this time is Syracuse. Holtz also indicated that the lack of BCS opportunities at East Carolina is one significant reason why Skip will look at the Syracuse opportunity. 12/7/08 10:45 PM ET Lou Holtz has confirmed that his son will be interviewing with Syracuse University officials tomorrow while both parties are in New York City. Some quotes from Papa Holtz... "He's going to talk to them. I know they want to talk to him." "“I think he’ll make a decision quickly if Syracuse makes one as well..." “I think it would be a great opportunity for him,” Holtz said. “It’s a wonderful school and a wonderful opportunity. If he does, I’d be happy for him.” We'll see where we stand tomorrow. Here's hoping for a good meeting. 12/7/08 7:08 PM ET Long day...I'll keep this one brief..Skip Holtz when asked today indicated that the reports something was imminent are exaggerated and, in fact, reiterated that no formal interview had taken place as of yet. However, he also indicated that he did indeed fully expect to sit down with Syracuse AD Daryl Gross at some point tomorrow while both are in NYC for the College Football Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. It seems that both sides are starting to do some posturing here. Holtz is very interested...but doesn't want to appear too interested. He still wants to be able to negotiate the best deal he can. And similarly, Syracuse appears similarly very interested in Holtz, but doesn't want to appear too interested, for fear of allowing Holtz to demand too high of a price. 12/7/08 12:45 PM ET A number of outlets have picked up on the original Bradley report from yesterday, but there continue to be no secondary sources, either within the local Syracuse media, or among national college football media, confirming its accuracy. This leads me to believe that, more than likely, someone jumped the gun. The truth is, someone probably old Bradley that Holtz was meeting with Syracuse officials today with hopes of wrapping it up and having a press conference on Friday. That said, no calls to Syracuse AD Gross, ECU AD Holland, or Skip Holtz himself are being returned, which leads us to believe there is something happening today... We'll stay on top of things and update here if we hear anything more. 12/6/08 10:55 PM ET WTVH (CBS) out of Syracuse is running with the Michael Bradley report. Report: Skip Holtz Will Be Named SU Football Coach As this is based on the original report, it really doesn't do much to move us beyond cautiously optimistic...hopefully tomorrow we will have additional confirmation. 12/6/08 7:55 PM ET NFL Network's Michael Bradley is reporting that: SKIP HOLTZ WILL BE NAMED HEAD FOOTBALL COACH AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY ON MONDAY!!! Now...take this with a grain of salt...I saw it on a scroll at the bottom of the screen...I have not seen any of the major sources confirming this report...but this is a VERY good sign at the very least! Here's hoping we get some confirmatory sources soon! 12/6/08 3:43 PM ET Skip Holtz has just completed what can only be viewed as a remarkable turnaround, leading a team that was 3-19 in the two seasons before he arrived, to a Conference USA Championship win today. His East Carolina Pirates , behind a spirited effort, just pulled off a 27-24 upset over the heavily favored Tulsa Golden Hurricane in Tulsa, OK. Congratulations ECU on a win that very few predicted. Although, to toot my own horn, I was one of the believers in the purple-and-gold today. Skip...hell of a job. It seems you've done all you can in Greenville. Why not come on up north to Syracuse, and take your career to the next level? First a Big East Championship...and maybe, just maybe, a BCS Championship? 12/6/08 7:48 AM ET I just received a rather cryptic email. One thing is growing increasingly clear. Syracuse is planning on interviewing one more candidate on Sunday, and more than likely in New York City. On another note, Skip Holtz will be in New York City on Sunday celebrating his Dad's induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. Stay tuned. 12/6/08 7:05 AM ET We'll be in and out today, so updates may be sporadic. However, ECU plays Tulsa in the C-USA Conference Championship at 2:00 PM ET today, so if Holtz is really as high on the Syracuse pecking order as we hope, and have heard, it would seem that at about 6:00 PM ET, the contact freeze would be over. One more minor development that shook out last night: Buffalo, led by HC Turner Gill, defeated Ball State in the MAC title game, and looked good doing it. Make no mistake about it, what Gill has done at Buffalo is remarkable, and if Syracuse were to hire Gill, I do not think it would be a bad hire in and of itself. However, Holtz is a far superior hire. Holtz has more of a track record. He has turned two teams around, and has been a HC for 9 seasons, 5 with winning records. Gill has been a HC for 3, with 1 winning season. I just don't know that he's done enough yet to make him anything but a gamble at this level. Additionally, there is the issue of talent. Can Gill recruit Big East caliber talent? Holtz has coached and recruited a superior level of talent at ECU than Gill has at Buffalo. Generally speaking, I believe that the level of talent in C-USA is closer to that of the Big East than that of the MAC. 12/5/08 5:15 PM ET Trish LaMonte of the Syracuse Post-Standard (as well as Syracuse.com), along with giving us SkipToSyracuse.com a nice mention (thanks Trish), revealed late today that a number of additional candidates have in fact been interviewed by Syracuse AD Daryl Gross for the Syracuse Head Coaching position. These include a number of candidates who have been oft mentioned including Buffalo Head Coach Turner Gill, University of Florida Offensive Assistant Steve Addazio, and former Syracuse Assistant Coach and current Minnesota Vikings Assistant Coach Kevin Rogers. No mention of Skip Holtz as of yet, however, more than likely, Gross is going systematically down the his candidates list, and will probably conclude with Holtz, who has a significant Conference Championship game to play tomorrow. Hopefully, Holtz will be the final interview before Gross makes his decision. 12/5/08 3:29 PM ET The website SpartyandFriends.com claims to have confirmation from multiple sources that Boise State Head Coach Chris Peterson has agreed to become the new Head Coach at Mississippi State. We've not been able to confirm this report, so caution should be exercised, but keep in mind, this site is credited with breaking the story on the Lane Kiffin hiring, so there is some precedent here. I still would like to see some confirmation from a secondary source. This hiring could positively impact the chances of Skip Holtz coming to Syracuse as Holtz was mentioned as a candidate for the MSU position as well. 12/5/08 2:53 PM ET Well, so much for the calm before the storm. 2 independent reports cite sources within the Syracuse football program revealing that their short list for the position of Head Coach is down to: Skip Holtz, Turner Gill, and Doug Marrone, in that order of preference. SkipToSyracuse.com has NOT been able to independently confirm this. The two sources are Ryan Murray, of CuseConfidential.com (an affiliate of the Yahoo/Rivals network), and OrangeFizz.com. It is unclear whether OrangeFizz.com is also reporting information garnered from sources within the program, or is merely reporting on Murray's story. While nothing remains certain, from where I sit, it looks like Marrone is going to be the fallback candidate, which makes sense. Marrone has yet to land a head coaching opportunity, and as an alumnus, would probably jump at the chance to lead the Orange. But it also seems increasingly likely at this point that Syracuse is hoping to be able to convince Skip Holtz that Syracuse is that "special" opportunity he has spoken about before. 12/5/08 2:30 PM ET It's been a quiet day as a number of teams, including Skip Holtz's East Carolina Pirates, prepare for their Conference Championship games tomorrow. One piece of information I can confirm via Syracuse.com's Donnie Webb is that New Orleans Saints OC Doug Marrone has in fact interviewed for the SU job. Now, from where I sit, Marrone would bring an exciting offense to the Dome...but does he have the experience recruiting in the Northeast to get the players into Syracuse that he needs to run it? In addition to that concern, I worry that Marrone has never been a Head Coach at any level. He knows nothing about leading the turnaround of a struggling program. He has never led any program. I understand he played in Syracuse, but in many ways, as far as what he brings to the table as a coach, he reminds me of Greg Robinson. My sincere hope is that Gross is covering all of his bases, and interviewing the guys on his B list now, while those on his A list become more available once their Conference Championship games are completed this weekend. 12/5/08 9:50 AM ET Good morning. Not a lot of new news here to report yet today. The general consensus among both Greenville and Syracuse based media regarding the statement from ECU AD Terry Holland is that it was meant to help calm and focus the team and the fan base entering a big Conference Championship game weekend, but that it was written a very deliberate manner, one which leaves wide open the possibility that Syracuse, who he referred to as having "good manners and professional courtesy", may request, and would be given permission to speak to Holtz as early as Sunday. We can only hope. 12/4/08 9:49 PM ET ESPN is reporting that the University of Washington has named USC OC Steve Sarkisian their new Head Coach. Not terribly relevant to the Syracuse search, as it seemed that the candidate pools were somewhat different for the two jobs, but still...one less job means that much more chance that Holtz, if he wants a job with a BCS school, will indeed look toward Syracuse. 12/4/08 8:38 PM ET Moments ago, East Carolina Athletic Director Terry Holland put out a statement on the ECU Athletics website in which he indicated that no formal talks have taken place between Skip Holtz and Syracuse: "He simply has not had the time or the inclination to consider any other coaching positions and any institutions that might want to ask for permission to speak with him have had the good manners and professional courtesy to refrain from doing so until our season has been completed." This is essentially an affirmation of the quietly held notion that Syracuse probably won't get a chance to talk to Holtz until after this weekend's Conference USA Championship Game at the earliest. Incidentally...having read the entirety of the release, I have to say Terry Holland seems like a very classy guy. 12/4/08 8:22 PM ET Check out the new SkipToSyracuse Guestbook, where we welcome your comments about the Syracuse football coaching search, and Skip Holtz as a candidate in particular! Click here for the SkipToSyracuse Guestbook. 12/4/08 2:15 PM ET Skip Holtz, when asked yesterday if he or his agent had spoken to anyone from Syracuse as he prepares for his championship game, gave the somewhat vague answer, "I don't have an agent and I am not looking for another job." Do you hear what I hear? Or should you say, do you NOT hear what I hear? That is the sound of the door NOT being closed. Holtz is doing the right thing. He does not want to distract the team as it prepares for a big Conference title game, but he also does not want to close the door on an opportunity he is very likely on the short list for. Here is a link to the article, which also contains video of Holtz giving his answer: http://www.witn.com/ecu/headlines/35509589.html#. 12/4/08 12:33 PM ET
Interesting quote found from today's edition of the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Writer Brad Locke, in an article discussing the Mississippi State opening, has this quote: "East Carolina's Skip Holtz has been in the MSU mix, but he's currently busy preparing for Saturday's Conference USA championship game. An ECU spokesman told me Tuesday that in Greenville, there has been more talk of the Syracuse job than the State job." They say where there is smoke...? 12/4/08 11:45 AM ET
Tommy Tuberville resigned as Head Coach of Auburn yesterday. This has thrown the coaching search into some semblance of chaos. Will Auburn try to pry Mike Leach from Texas Tech? Would Texas Tech then look at Syracuse coaching candidate Turner Gill? Could these developments then result in Syracuse showing an even greater interest in Skip Holtz? Or could this result in an opening that Holtz has more interest in than Syracuse? Stay tuned... 12/3/08 8:00 PM ET
Notre Dame announced today that Charlie Weis would be back as Head Coach next season. This is a good development for those of us who would like to see Skip Holtz coaching Syracuse next season, as many (including many who have emailed is here at SkipToSyracuse) have theorized that Holtz may hold out to see if the ND job opened up. 12/2/08 4:00 PM ET To The Dozens of EAST Carolina Fans that have emailed me, I got it...my apologies....I have always respected East Carolina as a program (and actually lobbied very hard for ECU to join the Big East Conference a few years back)...and I sincerely apologize for referring to ECU as "Eastern" Carolina in my initial post. | Skip Holtz is the Solution Syracuse Football is at, arguably, its lowest point ever. A once proud franchise whose success slowly drained away Under head Coach Paul Pasqualoni has officially hit rock bottom under outgoing Head Coach Greg Robinson. This next coaching hire is going to be absolutely ESSENTIAL to the future of the Syracuse football program. This next hire may very well determine We, loyal fans, followers, and alumni of the Syracuse football program, believe that the right man for this challenging job is Skip Holtz. Here are the reasons why we believe that Skip Holtz should be the next Head Coach of Syracuse University Football.
Skip Holtz is not a traditional "air it out" type of head coach. East Carolina's statistics this season demonstrate that. However, has shown a willingness over the course of his career to adapt his offense according to the players that he has. Spreading the field, and allowing his QBs to throw the ball down field, is something Holtz has done in the past, just as this year, he has allowed his superior running game to carry the load. This reflects that flexibility to adapt his offense to his personnel, something that the last two Syracuse head coaches have been grossly unable to do.  Skip Holtz's Coaching History
Head Coaching Record
You are visitor # to this site since it opened on November 20, 2008.  SkipToSyracuse@Gmail.com SkipToSyracuse Mailbag Hey, I just wanted to compliment you on the very cool website you put up about Skip coming to Syracuse. There's not much on your website that I don't agree with. I'm afraid until we can have an opportunity to be in the BE or a BCS conference, we will continue to be a stepping stone for great coaches like Skip. I remember 4 years ago when we were looking for a coach and remember reading about all the potential candidates that were being interviewed by our athletic director Terry Holland. The moment at which I decided that he was our man and we should really go after this guy was when I read a story about him leaving Connecticut to coach with his dad at South Carolina. This decision was pretty much made by the fact that his mother was diagnosed with a pretty serious form of cancer and Skip wanted his children to be closer to his mother and have a chance to get to know her in case her condition worsened. I thought to myself that if a man is able to see the big picture like this and put his career/life on hold for the more important long term situation that life can throw you then this is the kind of person that I would want my son to be around. Simply put, Skip has his priorities in order. Parent's want their kids to be around a great "influencer" like Skip. Additionally, this guy connects with the kids and has an ability to get his message delivered very succinctly to everyone involved in your football program. He's a real class act. You will be getting what I consider to be the finest football coach in America. I will be a Skip Holtz fan no matter where he goes. I have been pulling for Syracuse all year, and I will continue to pull for you guys too. I like your program and your fans are A+ #1. All the best, G.W. Greensboro, NC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Skip Holtz Turns Programs Around Prior to the Arrival of Skip Holtz 1991 3-8 1992 5-6 1993 6-5 Total 14-19 (.424) After the Arrival of Skip Holtz 1994 4-7 1995 8-3 1996 5-6 1997 7-4 1998 10-3 Total 34-23 (.596) (This success put them in position for their eventual ascent to D-1A)  Prior to the Arrival of Skip Holtz 2003 1-10 2004 2-9 Total 3-19 (.136) Since the Arrival of Skip Holtz 2005 5-6 2006 7-6 2007 8-5 2008 9-4 (to date) Total 29-21 (.580) (3 Bowl Games)  Prior to the Potential Arrival of Skip Holtz 2005 1-10 2006 4-8 2007 2-10 2008 3-9 Total 10-37 (.212) Following the Potential Arrival of Skip Holtz 2009 ??? |
Syracuse University Football Needs Skip Holtz! |
