University fires football coach after dismal 3-9 season
By JOEY JOHNSTON
The Tampa Tribune
(c) Tampa Bay Times. Originally published Dec. 3, 2012.
TAMPA — The Skip Holtz era, which included three seasons of largely unfulfilled on-field expectations, has ended at the University of South Florida.
Holtz was fired Sunday afternoon following the worst season in USF’s 16-year football history. The Bulls were 3-9 overall and 1-6 in the Big East Conference after being picked for second place in the league’s preseason poll.
Holtz was 16-21 in three seasons, with 14 losses in his last 16 Big East games.
Glum-faced USF athletic director Doug Woolard made the announcement in the wake of USF’s lifeless 27-3 season-ending loss against Pittsburgh on Saturday night, in which the Bulls gained just 117 total yards, the lowest figure in program history. Attendance at Raymond James Stadium was 18,841.
Woolard said he made the decision after consulting with USF President Judy Genshaft both Saturday night and Sunday morning.
“It was a very difficult meeting, but Skip handled it professionally and with class, like he always does,” Woolard said. “It’s not easy to part ways with such a good man. It was a matter of not having the production we needed the last couple of years. Our assessment was we needed to make a change.”
“We expect to have success. Our alums and fan base deserve that. And that’s what we’re going to achieve.”
Holtz, the former head coach at Connecticut and East Carolina, was hired on Jan. 14, 2010. He replaced program patriarch Jim Leavitt, who was fired after a university investigation determined he struck a player at halftime of a game, then covered up the incident by lying to investigators.
In 2011, USF paid $2.75 million to Leavitt as a settlement in his wrongful-termination suit against the university. Once again, USF will be paying handsomely for someone not to coach the Bulls.
Last summer, as Holtz was entering the third season of his original five-year deal, Woolard extended the contract through the 2017 season at a $2 million annual salary. Under terms of that extension, USF now owes Holtz a $2.5 million buyout, payable in annual $500,000 installments, which applies even if he gets another job.
Woolard said Holtz’s buyout will be budgeted over the next five years and no state funds will be used. There are no financial obstacles in finding USF’s new coach, he said.
“When we extended Skip’s contract, we felt like it was exactly the right thing to do,” Woolard said, even as USF was coming off a 5-7 season. “He was being pursued at the time, earlier on, by a couple of other schools in the BCS. All factors pointed to the fact that everybody expected us to have an outstanding year.
“I promise you the salary for the next football coach will be just as competitive as it needs to be.”
USF might find challenges with the Big East’s uncertainty. In the past year, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, TCU, West Virginia, Rutgers and Louisville announced plans to leave the conference. And although the league has retooled with new additions, its status as a power conference could be over.
The Bulls also will face a crowded job market. With openings at Auburn, Arkansas, Tennessee and Purdue, among others, USF might be down in the pecking order to establish its list of candidates.
USF could have interest in third-year Western Kentucky coach Willie Taggart, a former quarterback at Bradenton Manatee and WKU. Taggart, 36, was running-backs coach at Stanford University from 2007-09, serving on Jim Harbaugh’s staff.
There’s a USF connection with Arizona associate head coach Calvin Magee, a former assistant under Leavitt, and Tampa ties with San Diego Chargers special-teams coach Rich Bisaccia, who held the same position on Jon Gruden’s staff with the Bucs and had USF job interest in 2010.
There are out-of-work options in Ron Zook, the former Florida and Illinois coach, and Randy Shannon, the former Miami coach, both of whom have considerable recruiting prowess in Florida.
Other names that undoubtedly will be floated: Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville, the former Auburn coach and Miami assistant; former Tulane and Clemson coach Tommy Bowden; former Arkansas and Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt, and recently fired Auburn coach Gene Chizik, a Clearwater native.
“It’s going to be completely open,” said Woolard, when asked if USF was seeking an established head coach. “Our pool can include active head coaches, coordinators, assistant coaches. I imagine we’ll probably attract people from the NFL.
“We’re going to move as quickly as we can and be as thorough as we need to be. I think we’re going to attract folks from all over the country,” he said.
That was the case when Holtz was hired at USF. Everything, it seemed, was in place. At his opening news conference/pep rally, he spoke about beating Florida, while contending for Big East and national championships. That didn’t come close to happening.
“Throughout my time here, the young men on this team never gave up, and that reflects on their character as individuals and as a team,” Holtz said in a statement released by USF. “I believe we made some positive strides, most notably in our academics, that were helping to build a foundation for this program and I would’ve liked the opportunity to see it through.”
Woolard said USF’s assistant coaches will continue recruiting, a task that got more difficult Sunday when prized Winter Park High School quarterback Asiantii Woulard said he de-committed from the Bulls but is keeping USF in the mix.
Some assistants could land on the new coach’s staff. Offensive coordinator Todd Fitch is in charge.
“This isn’t easy on anybody, obviously,” Fitch said. “But you do the right thing professionally. You move forward, do what you can for the program.”
Running-backs coach Larry Scott, a former USF player and a Leavitt assistant who was retained by Holtz, said he wants to continue with the Bulls.
“Quite naturally because this is where I went to school,” said Scott, who fought back tears. “This has been surreal. It has been a whirlwind. But Coach Holtz has great resolve. He’s a great man and he’s very positive. As assistants, the kids are going to need us now more than ever.”
After a team meeting with Woolard, USF players spilled out of the Lee Roy Selmon Athletics Center, but none was willing to comment on Holtz’s firing.
“I have a lot I’d like to say, but I don’t think I’m allowed to,” junior running back Marcus Shaw said.
Some players expressed their emotions on Twitter.
“My heart (and) prayers go out to the Holtz family,” USF sophomore defensive tackle Todd Chandler tweeted. “I love and respect that man. He showed and (taught) me a lot of how to (be) a man. Thank you, coach.”
Despite Holtz’s struggles at USF, Woolard said he remains a believer in the coach’s ability.
“I thought he was a good football coach when we hired him and I think he’s going to continue to be a good football coach,” Woolard said. “For whatever reason, it just didn’t work out here.”
