How ironic. USF, hardly a household name among major football powers, was caught up in that recent coaching-change cycle along with NCAA heavyweights Southern California and Tennessee. And guess who fared best? USF.
USC, as marquee a name as there is in college football, hired Lane Kiffin. His record as a head coach is 12-21, including 7-6 in his one-and-done year at Tennessee, where his final game was a 37-14 Chick-fil-A Bowl filleting at the hands of Virginia Tech. He had been previously fired by the Oakland Raiders. The record will also show that he is integrity challenged and a punk and that his dad, Monte, is better at coordinating a defense than raising a kid. Kiffin wasn’t wished well by jilted UT fans and boosters.
Then Tennessee, a perennial SEC power, was forced to scramble for a new coach during recruiting season. After being turned down by several candidates, the Vols signed — no, settled for — Derek Dooley. He has an excellent pedigree – as in famous father, (former Georgia coach) Vince — but a poor record as a head coach. To date: 17-20. At Louisiana Tech.
Then USF flat-out upgrades by bringing in Skip Holtz.
Still only 45, Holtz has 10 years as a head coach – at Connecticut and East Carolina. He has a winning record, 72-50. His Connecticut Huskies won an Atlantic 10 Championship and his East Carolina Pirates won two – the last two – Conference USA championships. He’s principled, personable and popular – in fact, he remains so at ECU. He’s also funny and ambitious. He’s not here to win more St. Petersburg Bowls. His famous father, Lou Holtz, is now known as “Skip’s dad.”
*And speaking of USF, how about Amanda Evora? She’s the senior business major who will be representing the USA in the Vancouver Olympics next month. Evora and her skating partner, Mark Ladwig, finished second in the pairs competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.