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Notes, Quotes and Slants
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Pirate
Notebook No. 235
Friday, April 1, 2005
By Denny O'Brien |
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Holtz's story worth
retelling
�2005 Bonesville.net
He chose family over football. That is
perhaps the most endearing quality about the man who now oversees the East
Carolina football program.
It isn't Skip Holtz's coaching credentials. It's not the impressive record
he compiled at Connecticut, the inflated offensive numbers his Huskies
produced, nor the foundation he built that led to a jump to Division I-A,
membership in the Big East, and the building of one of the nation's premier
facilities.
That's an impressive r�sum�, no doubt. But
it ranks a distant second to the choice he made following the 1998 season �
the decision to walk away from an ideal situation to be closer to his ailing
mom.
No one would blame Holtz for choosing
otherwise. Like 99 percent of the population, he could have stayed at UConn,
explained it was what mom wanted, then ushered the Huskies a few more rungs
up the gridiron ladder and waited for Notre Dame to call.
Who wouldn't want that for his legacy?
A selfless coach who puts the team before
himself, that's who. And in this case, Team Holtz took priority over the
career path of a budding young coach who had resurrected a program from
obscurity to among the I-AA elite.
It's a pretty remarkable story when you
think about it � a rarity in a profession where morals and core values are
beginning to decay. Today, the odds are far greater to find a coach
derailing his career with acts of debauchery, not pausing it with nobility.
Take Mike Price and Strippergate. Or
former party animal Larry Eustachy. And don't forget Slick Rick Neuheisel
and his misfortunes in Bracketville.
Then there's Holtz, whose stock was
swelling faster than the price of gas, but whose ego remained the size of a
peppermint Tic Tac. If this were Armageddon, he would be the anti-Bliss.
Sure, there was talk of Holtz inheriting
the South Carolina program once Papa Lou stepped down (which ain't a bad gig
if you're willing to bide your time). But his ascension to the Gamecocks'
throne was far from a guarantee.
To the core, his move centered around
family. It was about mom and pop, about raising his children in the close
shadow of their grandparents.
It's a classic episode of the Cleavers
during the era of the Osbournes.
Not that we should anoint him Saint Skip.
Somewhere, he is bound to have a blemish or two on what otherwise appears to
be an impeccable record.
Nor should we attribute his noble past as
the primary reason AD Terry Holland hired him. While it certainly couldn't
have harmed Holtz's chances, he was chosen to rebuild a football program,
not lead a Boy Scouts troop.
It's a brutal business conducted by burly
men and supervised by demanding bosses who are paid to be impatient. In the
end, the prize for being the model family man can be a pink slip if the wins
are not abundant.
Which is why Holtz has a legitimate chance
to succeed at East Carolina. He has a reputation as a program builder and
already has shown that he has vision and a sense of which direction the
program must go.
It just so happens that Holtz also has a
heartwarming story, one that has been largely forgotten � or at the very
least, understated � in the media's coverage of his hiring by East Carolina
and his first few months on the job.
In the big picture, the Holtz story pales in
comparison to the selflessness and sacrifice that occurs on world stages
such as battlefields or natural disasters.
But to those directly involved with Holtz,
this story will forever be significant. Those at least familiar with it
could use an occasional reminder.
"I have waited six years for this day,"
Holtz said the day he was hired. "I have waited six years to stand up here
and have the opportunity to be a head football coach again."
Holtz didn't have to wait that long, but
life threw him a curve and he went with the pitch. If that sounds a little
clich�, it is.
What isn't clich� is the path that led him
to Greenville. That's what makes this story worth retelling.
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02/23/2007 01:59:44 AM |
