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News Nuggets, 12.03.04
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

AP: Holtz gets the nod as coach at East Carolina

East Carolina hired former South Carolina assistant Skip Holtz to replace coach John Thompson, a source close to the school said Thursday night.

Holtz is the son of Lou Holtz, who retired last week at South Carolina, and was quarterbacks coach on his father's staff. He was offensive coordinator through the 2003 season, when Lou Holtz took on that role and Skip Holtz served as assistant head coach.

When Steve Spurrier was hired as the Gamecocks new coach, he decided not to keep Skip Holtz as an assistant.

The school scheduled a news conference for Friday, when Holtz will be introduced, the source told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Thompson, 3-20 in two seasons, resigned about two weeks ago after athletic director Terry Holland told him he would be fired at the end of the season.

Holtz also served as the offensive coordinator under his father at Notre Dame. In 1994, Skip Holtz became the head coach at then-Division I-AA Connecticut and compiled a 34-23 record in five seasons, including a school-record 10 victories in 1998. He then resigned to rejoin Lou Holtz at South Carolina.

At East Carolina, Holtz will have several key starters back on offense from a team that went 2-9, including quarterback James Pinkney and leading rusher Chris Johnson. The Pirates finished their season with a 52-14 loss to North Carolina State.

That wrapped up a third straight losing season. Former coach Steve Logan led East Carolina to five bowls in his 11 years, including three consecutive postseason appearances preceding the 2002 season, when he was dismissed after finishing 4-8.

Thompson, then the defensive coordinator at Florida, took over and lost 15 of his first 16 games, done in mostly by a porous defense. The Pirates allowed about 457 yards per game this season, nearly 50 more than the previous one.

Holland was hired in September, and Thompson admitted the two rarely spoke during the past two months.

Now, East Carolina will have to pay three coaches. Logan, the quarterbacks coach for NFL Europe's Berlin Thunder, is due $200,000 per year through 2005. Because his contract requires the state university to pay him the difference between whatever he makes and the $200,000, Logan works as an unpaid employee for the Thunder, East Carolina attorney Ben Irons said last month.

Under the terms of Thompson's settlement with the school, he will be paid until Jan. 1, 2008. If he doesn't take another job, Thompson receives $150,000 a year — his base salary as coach. He gets $100,000 annually if another school hires him, according to the settlement that was released last week.

Holland plans to turn to boosters to help pay those salaries, which could tax East Carolina's $18 million athletics budget.

Ross rediscovers purpose at West Point

PHILADELPHIA — Bobby Ross feels an enormous obligation to the troops fighting overseas as he tries to revive Army's once-proud football program.

``There is a tremendous passion for our program. That's why, by golly, we've got to get it done,'' Ross said. ``I really feel that responsibility. It's my motivation. If I get a little tired, I get myself a cup of coffee and I start thinking about those people and I go right back and put my nose to the grindstone.''

Army was spinning its worn-out wheels for most of the last decade, falling off the college football radar except for the Army-Navy game.

Last year, Army suffered the ignominy of being the first Division I-A team to finish 0-13 and it hasn't had a winning season since 1996.

Enter Ross, who had comfortably settled into retirement in Virginia after abruptly walking out on the Detroit Lions midway through the 2000 season.

But this was no ordinary coaching job.

Two of Ross' sons graduated from service academies and his father turned down an appointment to West Point to provide for his family during the Depression. The pull to answer the call was too great.

Ross was determined to restore a program that had fallen far from its glorious past. He even changed the team's uniform to look like the ones worn by the national championship teams in the 1940s.

So far, the results haven't shown in the record — Army is 2-8 entering Saturday's game against Navy (8-2) — but progress is being made. After being outscored 476-206 last season, the opposition only has a 346-247 edge this season.

Ross, who turns 68 this month, showed he had plenty of fire when he ripped Army after a 40-3 loss to Connecticut, apologizing to fans, troops and people on the post at West Point for his team's effort.

Army responded with wins over Cincinnati (snapping a 19-game losing streak) and South Florida (winning two straight for the first time since 1997) and was competitive in games against TCU, Air Force and Tulane.

``It hasn't been all happiness, I can tell you that,'' Ross said. ``I despise losing. I'm not very good at it, to be honest.''

Army even finds consolation from — gasp! — Navy, which fought its way back from a winless season in 2001 and is headed to its second straight bowl game.

First, Army wants to beat the Midshipmen. Army leads the series 49-48-7, but has been outscored 92-18 in blowout losses the last two years.

Losing had become habit forming. Ross sensed a feeling among the players that as long as they were competitive, that was the best they could do. Winning wasn't really an option.

``I think that's something we're not totally through yet, to be totally honest,'' he said. ``Sometimes we have a lapse or two.''

Ross' dedication to winning and practicing the right way, however, has slowly rubbed off. His tireless work ethic of often arriving at West Point by 5:30 a.m. for 16- or 17-hour days was appreciated by the Black Knights.

``He does work so hard that you don't want to let him down,'' linebacker Greg Washington said.

It's hard to believe Ross thought he was finished coaching after dalliances with civilian schools led nowhere. When he failed to land the vacancy at Duke, Ross figured his time had passed.

``I kind of put it out of sight, out of mind,'' he said. ``I wasn't unhappy by any stretch of the imagination, but I had a competitiveness. I had a lot of energy. I loved competing. When I was told no a couple of times, I figured it was over with and I'd move on.''

After Army was turned down by former Nebraska coach Frank Solich, former athletic director Rick Greenspan (now at Indiana) reached out to Ross. Then Alice Ross told her husband it was his ``patriotic duty'' to bring respect — not sympathy — to the Academy.

Ross has hardly had to rile the troops with stories of national championships, Super Bowls and coaching Hall of Fame players. They find inspiration from friends and former teammates fighting overseas. Bigger battles await the Black Knights than a road game at East Carolina.

For now, beating Navy would be a nice start toward something better.

``We're looking for a win,'' Ross said. ``I'm not going to feel sorry for you and I'm not going to pat you on the back. This is a very demanding place.''

And no one is demanding more than Bobby Ross.

News Nuggets are compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data published by ECU, Conference USA and its member schools; and reports from Associated Press and other sources. Copyright 2004 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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