Skip Holtz
Skip Holtz went 152–121 as a head coach, 1994–2021, at Connecticut, East Carolina, South Florida and Louisiana Tech. Share
Five seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1994–98 at Connecticut. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 152–121 career
- Seasons
- 22
- Schools
- 4
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Born
- Mar 12, 1964
- Alma mater
- Notre Dame 1986
- Best season
- 2019 10–3
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Connecticut * | 4–7 | 3rd | |||
| 1995 | Connecticut * | 8–3 | 2nd | 23 | ||
| 1996 | Connecticut * | 5–6 | 4th | |||
| 1997 | Connecticut * | 7–4 | T–2nd | |||
| 1998 | Connecticut * | 10–3 | T–1st | NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal L | 9 | |
| 1999–04: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 2005 | East Carolina | 5–6 | 4th | |||
| 2006 | East Carolina | 7–6 | 2nd | PapaJohns.com Bowl L | ||
| 2007 | East Carolina | 8–5 | T–2nd | Hawai’i Bowl W | ||
| 2008 | East Carolina | 9–5 | 1st | Liberty Bowl L | ||
| 2009 | East Carolina | 9–5 | 1st | Liberty Bowl L | ||
| 2010 | South Florida | 8–5 | T–5th | Meineke Car Care Bowl W | ||
| 2011 | South Florida | 5–7 | T–7th | |||
| 2012 | South Florida | 3–9 | 8th | |||
| 2013 | Louisiana Tech | 4–8 | 5th | |||
| 2014 | Louisiana Tech | 9–5 | 1st | Heart of Dallas Bowl W | ||
| 2015 | Louisiana Tech | 9–4 | 2nd | New Orleans Bowl W | ||
| 2016 | Louisiana Tech | 9–5 | 1st | Armed Forces Bowl W | ||
| 2017 | Louisiana Tech | 7–6 | 4th | Frisco Bowl W | ||
| 2018 | Louisiana Tech | 8–5 | T–2nd | Hawai’i Bowl W | ||
| 2019 | Louisiana Tech | 10–3 | T–1st | Independence Bowl W | ||
| 2020 | Louisiana Tech | 5–5 | 3rd | New Orleans Bowl L | ||
| 2021 | Louisiana Tech | 3–9 | T–6th | |||
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table. * A season our game records don’t credit to him; its record is the article’s.
Players he coached
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 23 | 5–18 | 22% |
| Against top-10 teams | 10 | 1–9 | 10% |
| Against rivals | 27 | 17–10 | 63% |
| Conference games | 131 | 76–55 | 58% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 12 | 8–4 | 67% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 88 | 47–41 | 53% |
| At home | 98 | 64–34 | 65% |
| On the road | 104 | 45–59 | 43% |
| At neutral sites | 14 | 9–5 | 64% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 134 | 91–43 | 68% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 82 | 27–55 | 33% |
His own 216 games on file, 2005–2021, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Bailiff 2009–2017 | 5–1 | Rice | 6 | |
| Seth Littrell 2016–2021 | 5–1 | North Texas | 6 | |
| Bill Clark 2014–2021 | 2–4 | UAB | 6 | |
| George O’Leary 2005–2009 | 4–1 | UCF | 5 | |
| Mark Snyder 2005–2009 | 4–1 | Marshall | 5 | |
| Tommy West 2005–2009 | 4–1 | Memphis | 5 | |
| Mike Price 2007–2017 | 4–0 | UTEP | 4 | |
| Sean Kugler 2013–2016 | 4–0 | UTEP | 4 | |
| Frank Wilson 2016–2019 | 4–0 | UTSA | 4 | |
| Dana Dimel 2018–2021 | 3–1 | UTEP | 4 |
Skip Holtz’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Southern Missseries | 14 | 6–8 |
| UTEPseries | 12 | 11–1 |
| Riceseries | 11 | 8–3 |
| UABseries | 11 | 6–5 |
| North Texasseries | 9 | 7–2 |
| UTSAseries | 9 | 6–3 |
| Marshallseries | 8 | 4–4 |
| Western Kentuckyseries | 7 | 4–3 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987–88 | Florida State | Graduate assistant | |
| 1989 | Colorado State | Wide receivers coach | |
| 1990–91 | Notre Dame | Wide receivers coach | |
| 1992–93 | Notre Dame | Offensive coordinator | |
| 1994–98 | Connecticut | Head coach | |
| 1999–2003 | South Carolina | Assistant head coach and offensive coordinator | |
| 2004 | South Carolina | Assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach | |
| 2005–09 | East Carolina | Head coach | |
| 2010–12 | South Florida | Head coach | |
| 2013–21 | Louisiana Tech | Head coach | |
| 2022–25 | Birmingham Stallions USFL | Head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Bobby BowdenFlorida State
- Earle BruceColorado State
- Lou HoltzNotre Dame, South Carolina
Assistants who became head coaches
- Steve LoneyMorehead State, Drake
- Todd FitchVanderbilt
- Tom MasellaFairfield, Boston University, Central Connecticut, Fordham, Wagner
- Donnie KirkpatrickChattanooga
- John GutekunstMinnesota
- Carl FranksDuke
- John HendrickBenedict, Jackson State
- Kevin PatrickSouth Florida
- Larry ScottHoward
- Mark SnyderMarshall, Shawnee State
- Peter VaasAllegheny, Holy Cross, Berlin Thunder, Cologne Centurions
- Kim DameronEastern Illinois
- and 9 more
Worked under (3)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Bowden | Florida State | 1987–88 | Graduate assistant | |
| Earle Bruce | Colorado State | 1989 | Wide receivers coach | |
| Lou Holtz | Notre Dame | 1990–93 | 1990–91: wide receivers coach; 1992–93: offensive coordinator | |
| Lou Holtz | South Carolina | 1999–2004 | 1999–2003: assistant head coach and offensive coordinator; 2004: assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (21)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Loney | UConn, 1994: assistant head coach and wide receivers coach | Morehead State, Drake | |
| Todd Fitch | UConn, 1994–95: quarterbacks coach; 1996–98: offensive coordinator; East Carolina, 2007–09: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach; South Florida, 2010–11: offensive coordinator and running backs coach; 2012: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach; Louisiana Tech, 2016–17: offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach; 2018–19: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Vanderbilt | |
| Tom Masella | UConn, 1998: assistant head coach and defensive backs coach | Fairfield, Boston University, Central Connecticut, Fordham, Wagner | |
| Donnie Kirkpatrick | East Carolina, 2005–09: wide receivers coach | Chattanooga | |
| John Gutekunst | East Carolina, 2009: special teams coach | Minnesota | |
| Carl Franks | South Florida, 2010–12: running backs coach | Duke | |
| John Hendrick | South Florida, 2010: defensive line and special teams coach | Benedict, Jackson State | |
| Kevin Patrick | South Florida, 2010–12: defensive tackles coach | South Florida | |
| Larry Scott | South Florida, 2010–11: tight ends coach; 2012: running backs coach | Howard | |
| Mark Snyder | South Florida, 2010–11: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | Marshall, Shawnee State | |
| Peter Vaas | South Florida, 2010–11: quarterbacks coach; 2012: tight ends coach | Allegheny, Holy Cross, Berlin Thunder, Cologne Centurions | |
| Kim Dameron | Louisiana Tech, 2013: defensive coordinator | Eastern Illinois | |
| Manny Diaz | Louisiana Tech, 2014: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | Miami, Duke | |
| Robert McFarland | Louisiana Tech, 2015–20: offensive line coach | Stephen F. Austin | |
| Mickey Joseph | Louisiana Tech, 2016: running backs coach | Nebraska, Langston, Grambling | |
| Bob Diaco | Louisiana Tech, 2019: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | UConn | |
| David Blackwell | Louisiana Tech, 2020: defensive coordinator; 2021: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | East Carolina | |
| John Allen | Louisiana Tech, 2020–21: outside receivers coach | Berlin Thunder, Lock Haven | |
| Bob Shoop | Birmingham Stallions, 2023: defensive backs coach | Columbia | |
| Neil Callaway | Birmingham Stallions, 2023: offensive line coach | UAB | |
| Philip Montgomery | Birmingham Stallions, 2024: co-offensive coordinator | Tulsa, Virginia Tech |
Other assistants under him (17)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Greg Hudson | UConn, 1994–96: offensive line coach; East Carolina, 2005–09: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| John McNulty | UConn, 1995–97: wide receivers and special teams coach | |
| Nick Rapone | UConn, 1995–98: defensive coordinator | |
| Rick Smith | East Carolina, 2005–06: defensive backs coach; 2007–09: assistant head coach and defensive backs coach; South Florida, 2010–12: assistant head coach and defensive backs coach | |
| Steve Shankweiler | East Carolina, 2005–06: offensive coordinator; 2007–09: co-offensive coordinator | |
| Dwayne Ledford | East Carolina, 2008–09: graduate assistant | |
| Joe Sloan | South Florida, 2010–11: quality control coach; 2012: graduate assistant; Louisiana Tech, 2013: wide receivers coach; 2014: wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator; 2015–18: assistant head coach, wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator; 2019: co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach; 2020–21: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Marquel Blackwell | South Florida, 2010–11: quality control coach | |
| Chris Cosh | South Florida, 2012: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| Ronnie Bradford | Louisiana Tech, 2013–15: special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach | |
| Tony Petersen | Louisiana Tech, 2013–15: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Blake Baker | Louisiana Tech, 2014: safeties coach; 2015–18: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| Karl Scott | Louisiana Tech, 2015: defensive backs coach | |
| Jeff Burris | Louisiana Tech, 2018–20: cornerbacks coach | |
| Kenny Guiton | Louisiana Tech, 2019: outside receivers coach | |
| John Chavis | Birmingham Stallions, 2022–24: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| Mike Jones | Birmingham Stallions, 2022–25: wide receivers coach |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.
Pay
| Year | School | Job | Contract pay | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Louisiana Tech | head coachbonuses up to $395,000; $50,000 in bonuses paid; buyout $3,208,333 | $704,000 USA Today | |
| 2016 | Louisiana Tech | head coachbonuses up to $295,000; $25,000 in bonuses paid | $515,000 USA Today | |
| 2015 | Louisiana Tech | head coachbonuses up to $295,000; $25,000 in bonuses paid | $517,000 USA Today | |
| 2014 | Louisiana Tech | head coachbonuses up to $295,000 | $510,000 USA Today | |
| 2012 | South Florida | head coachbonuses up to $650,000 | $2,000,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2011 | South Florida | head coachbonuses up to $350,000 | $1,700,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2010 | South Florida | head coachbonuses up to $350,000 | $1,700,000 USA Today via Leeds |
USA Today’s coaches salary database (2014–17, from public-records requests to the schools; Rachel Ehlers’ copy): the season’s contract pay, school pay plus outside money, before bonuses.
The same USA Today database for 2006–16, from Michael Leeds’ replication data on Harvard Dataverse (CC0): the season’s contract pay.
Pay of public employees in their public job only: head coaches, and assistants in the seasons our records name them a coordinator, at public universities.
How he coached
Holtz’s teams went for it on 14% of fourth downs and on 27% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 51% of plays and took 24.0 seconds a play, 2005–2021.
| Season | School | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 10 g | East Carolina | 10 of 79 13% | 24% | 50% | 23.4 | −0.03 | |
| 2006 13 g | East Carolina | 18 of 95 19% | 48% | 52% | 26.2 | −0.07 | |
| 2007 11 g | East Carolina | 9 of 93 10% | 21% | 47% | 24.7 | −0.01 | |
| 2008 14 g | East Carolina | 16 of 120 13% | 23% | 48% | 26.8 | −0.12 | |
| 2009 14 g | East Carolina | 12 of 109 11% | 23% | 47% | 23.9 | −0.04 | |
| 2010 13 g | South Florida | 7 of 122 6% | 7% | 43% | 25.0 | −0.19 | |
| 2011 12 g | South Florida | 11 of 96 11% | 29% | 50% | 19.8 | −0.05 | |
| 2012 12 g | South Florida | 10 of 88 11% | 20% | 51% | 22.0 | −0.04 | |
| 2013 12 g | Louisiana Tech | 16 of 107 15% | 28% | 54% | 15.4 | −0.06 | |
| 2014 13 g | Louisiana Tech | 11 of 96 11% | 20% | 51% | 25.5 | +0.06 | |
| 2015 13 g | Louisiana Tech | 11 of 91 12% | 22% | 55% | 25.6 | +0.15 | |
| 2016 14 g | Louisiana Tech | 10 of 74 14% | 24% | 60% | 24.0 | +0.25 | |
| 2017 13 g | Louisiana Tech | 16 of 101 16% | 27% | 49% | 25.0 | +0.06 | |
| 2018 13 g | Louisiana Tech | 21 of 107 20% | 37% | 56% | 24.9 | 0.00 | |
| 2019 13 g | Louisiana Tech | 16 of 91 18% | 32% | 52% | 25.2 | +0.06 | |
| 2020 10 g | Louisiana Tech | 18 of 86 21% | 31% | 55% | 24.6 | −0.05 | |
| 2021 11 g | Louisiana Tech | 19 of 88 22% | 45% | 54% | 24.6 | +0.03 | |
| All 211 g | 231 of 1643 14% | 27% | 51% | 24.0 | 0.00 |
His seasons as a head coach from 2004 on, from ESPN’s play by play: fourth downs where he went for it out of every fourth-down decision; how often he went when SportsDataverse’s fourth-down model said going for it was the better call; the share of his offense’s plays that were passes; seconds of game clock per offensive play (lower is faster); and expected points added per offensive play (EPA, a measure of how much each play moved the offense toward points). The season in progress counts its games so far. SportsDataverse’s coach tendencies, from ESPN’s play by play; the EPA and the fourth-down model are SportsDataverse’s.