Skip Holtz Louis Leo " Skip " Holtz , Jr . ( born March 12 , 1964 ) is the current head football coach at Louisiana Tech University and the former head coach of the University of South Florida football team . Prior to 2010 , Holtz served as the head coach of the East Carolina University football team . Skip , a former American football player , was the head coach of the Connecticut Huskies football team between 1994 and 1998 and an assistant head coach for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks between 1998 and 2004 . Skip ' s father , Lou Holtz , is an acclaimed former head football coach and currently works as a commentator on the television channel ESPN . Due to his father ' s career as a collegiate football coach , Skip was exposed to football from an early age . At the time of Skip ' s birth , Lou was a football assistant for the Connecticut Huskies . Skip attended Fayetteville High School in Arkansas , and played on the school ' s football team as the team ' s quarterback . At the same time , his father was the head coach at the University of Arkansas . After graduating from Fayetteville High School , Skip attended Holy Cross College for two years . He then transferred to Notre Dame , where he earned a bachelor ' s degree in business management . While at Notre Dame , he lettered in football as a special teams member and backup wide receiver . Early life . Skip Holtz grew up in many towns while his father coached football . After Skip was born in Connecticut , the Holtz family moved to Columbia , South Carolina for two years , as his father worked as an assistant coach at the University of South Carolina . In 1968 , the family moved to Columbus , Ohio after Holtz took a job at Ohio State University . One year later , the Holtz family moved to Williamsburg , Virginia and The College of William & Mary for Lou ' s first head coaching position . After two seasons , Lou took a head coaching position with the Wolfpack of North Carolina State University . The family lived in Raleigh , North Carolina for four years until Lou accepted a head coaching job for the National Football League ' s New York Jets . The family spent one year in New York while Lou coached the Jets . After resigning from the Jets , Lou took his family back to the American South when he accepted the head coaching job in Fayetteville , Arkansas , at the University of Arkansas in 1977 . In Fayetteville , Skip attended Fayetteville High School and graduated in 1983 . Playing experience . While at high school in Fayetteville , Skip played for the school ' s football team at the quarterback position , bringing moderate success to the program . As a high school junior , he visited Notre Dame and met with head football coach Gerry Faust and head basketball coach Digger Phelps . In his final year of high school , Skip was denied admission to Notre Dame due to average grades and his failure to learn a foreign language . Coaches Faust and Phelps encouraged Skip to enroll at nearby Holy Cross College , located adjacent to the university in Notre Dame , Indiana . After two years of study at Holy Cross , Skip had improved his grades and transferred to Notre Dame . After his first year , Skip decided he wanted to speak with Coach Faust about walking on to the football team during his senior year . The discussions were cut short , however , as after the 1985 season , Coach Faust resigned . Replacing Faust was Skip ' s father , Lou , who eagerly accepted his son as a walk - on . Skip began spring practice before the 1986 season as a quarterback , but quickly changed to flanker due to his lack of throwing ability . As a flanker , he earned 54 yards on three reception s at the Blue - Gold intra - squad game in the spring of 1986 . During the fall of 1986 , Skip played in all 11 games on special teams . He never caught a pass , but rushed once for one yard . Coaching experience . Early positions . Due to Skip ' s lack of success on the field and his desire to remain associated with football , he began to investigate the possibility of becoming a coach . After Skip told Lou he wanted to start coaching , Lou put together a list of potential coaches who would give him the best training . The list included Tom Osborne , Joe Paterno , and Terry Donahue , but upon hearing of Skip ' s interest , Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden said , " if you can be here in two days , I ' ve got a job for you at Florida State . " Upon arriving at Florida State in 1987 , he became the graduate assistant coach . He met his future wife , Jennifer , in Coach Bowden ' s office while in Tallahassee . He left after two years to become the wide receivers coach at Colorado State University under legendary coach Earle Bruce . After one season , he went back to Notre Dame to coach under his father . Notre Dame . Holtz ' s first job at his alma mater was to serve as wide receivers coach , and he filled the position for two years . In 1992 , the team began a search for a new offensive coordinator . Lou ' s first choice , Joe Moore , declined . Lou then asked Skip for recommendations to fill the position . Skip initially said he wanted the position but said of Lou , " he couldn ' t do it at that time with me [ Skip ] being his son . " Skip then mentioned Mark Richt , who was then the offensive coordinator at Florida State . Lou Holtz called Coach Bowden to ask permission to speak to Mark Richt . Coach Bowden said Holtz could hire Richt as long as he could hire Skip . Coach Holtz said , " Well , if I ' m just going to switch coaches , I might as well hire Skip . " Skip became Notre Dame ' s offensive coordinator in 1992 . Between 1992 and 1994 , Skip and his father recorded 40 wins , eight losses , and one tie , an 82 . 7 % winning percentage . Together , they coached Notre Dame to the Cotton Bowl Classic twice , beating Texas A & M both times . Skip had the third - best total offense in the NCAA during the 1991 football season . University of Connecticut . Following his success at Notre Dame , Skip Holtz was asked to become the head coach of the Connecticut Huskies . He accepted the offer and took his first head coaching job on December 23 , 1993 . He replaced Tom Jackson , who had gone 14 – 19 over the past three years and had decided to resign on November 17 , 1993 . He agreed to a four - year contract at a salary of $ 95 , 000 a year . Even though Skip came from a " major football institution " ( Notre Dame ) , University of Connecticut President Dr . Harry J . Hartley said that the hire " should not be seen as a signal that Connecticut intends to upgrade its program . " Despite Hartley ' s remarks , Holtz planned to help elevate the team from I - AA to I - A . Holtz commented on Hartley ' s remarks by saying " I ' d love to have the opportunity to coach a Division I team here . . . " In 1998 , UConn , after 100 years of football and five years with Skip Holtz as its head coach , played in its first Division I - AA playoff game . The Huskies scored two fourth - quarter touchdowns to beat Hampton University , 42 – 34 . In the next round of the playoffs , the Huskies lost to the eventual runner - up , Georgia Southern , on December 5 . Two days later , Skip resigned as head coach of the Huskies in order to rejoin his father , who had taken the head coaching job at South Carolina the day before the Huskies ' loss . As the leader of the Huskies football team , he accumulated a winning percentage of . 596 ( 34 – 23 ) over five seasons . University of South Carolina . On December 4 , 1998 , The University of South Carolina announced that Lou Holtz would serve as its next head football coach . Lou asked Skip if he would move down to Columbia to become his offensive coordinator — the same position Skip held during his final two years at Notre Dame . Skip accepted the offer , in part due to a desire to live closer to his parents and so his children could spend more time with their grandparents . In 1996 , Skip ' s mother , Beth , was diagnosed with throat cancer . Two years later , the cancer spread to her liver , lung , adrenal glands , and ovary . Meanwhile , Skip and Lou continued to coach football at South Carolina . As Lou began to struggle as head coach , the question of his eventual successor arose . When Skip was hired in 1998 , Lou had included a clause in the hiring contract that Skip would succeed him after he retired . South Carolina Athletic Director rebutted by saying , " There are no formal or informal guarantees at him , " and " It ' s always helpful to have potential succession in a staff . " The 2000 and 2001 seasons brought South Carolina back to national prominence with consecutive Outback Bowl wins over Ohio State and season ending rankings in the Top 25 . However , after going 5 – 7 the following two seasons and suffering a season - ending blowout in 2003 by intrastate rival Clemson , Skip was demoted from the offensive coordinator and assistant head coaching positions to quarterbacks coach . Four assistant coaches — including the team ' s defensive coordinator — were fired in the same shakeup that saw Skip demoted . On November 22 , 2004 , one season after Skip ' s demotion , Lou Holtz announced he was retiring as head coach of South Carolina . The next day , South Carolina announced Steve Spurrier as the next head football coach . Coach Spurrier announced that he was keeping only three members of Lou Holtz ' s staff . Letters were sent to all the other staffers — including Skip Holtz — informing them that they likely would not be retained . East Carolina University . With his firing imminent , Holtz resigned . Because he was formerly a coach , Skip had several offers from Division I - A and Division I - AA teams . After several interviews , he elected to take the head coaching position at East Carolina University . East Carolina announced Skip Holtz as their 19th head football coach on December 3 , 2004 . Holtz assumed control of a program that won just three games in its past 25 contests . Skip signed 23 athletes in his first recruiting class , including his first commit , Rob Kass . Also included in the recruiting class was future NFL player Aundrae Allison . Skip ' s first victory at ECU came in the first game of the 2005 season as the Pirates defeated the Duke Blue Devils 24 – 21 at Dowdy - Ficklen Stadium . The victory was ECU ' s first non - conference Division I win since 2000 , when the Pirates won the Galleryfurniture . com Bowl against Texas Tech . During Holtz ' s first season , the Pirates also defeated conference foes Rice , Southern Methodist University , Marshall University , and the University of Alabama Birmingham . In 2006 , Holtz ' s second season as head coach , ECU won seven games , including victories over intrastate rival North Carolina State University , Conference USA East rival Southern Miss , and ACC foe Virginia . As a reward for their season , the Pirates earned their first bowl game under Holtz ' s tenure , playing the Bulls of the University of South Florida in the Papajohns . com Bowl , losing 24 – 7 . Despite the bowl loss , the 2006 season was ECU ' s first winning season since 2000 , and the Papajohns . com Bowl was the Pirates ' first bowl game since 2001 . In 2007 , Holtz ' s team won eight games , including wins over intrastate rival North Carolina and going 3 – 2 , verses Conference USA East opponents . Finishing second in the East Division , Holtz team was invited to the Hawai ' i Bowl to play # 24 Boise State University . East Carolina won the bowl game 41 – 38 . This was the first bowl victory since the 2000 Galleryfurniture . com Bowl verses Texas Tech . It was also the first back - to - back winning season and bowl berth since the 1999 and 2000 seasons . The 2008 season was opened with two upsets over ranked opponents ; 17th ranked Virginia Tech in week one and 8th ranked West Virginia . This was the first time a Conference USA team beat three ranked teams in a row . Skip finished up the season 9 – 5 , which included a C - USA East Division title and C - USA Champions title . This was the first time the Pirates played in the C - USA Championship Game . It also was the first conference title since 1976 . The Pirates played in the Liberty Bowl , losing to Kentucky , 25 – 19 . This was the third Liberty Bowl appearance . The last time the Pirates went to three straight bowl games was the 1999 , 2000 and 2001 seasons . In 2009 Skip Holtz led the ECU Pirates to a second CUSA championship . University of South Florida . On January 14 , 2010 , it was announced that Holtz accepted the Head Coach position at the University of South Florida , in Tampa , Florida , taking the place of the recently fired Jim Leavitt . A press conference to introduce Holtz to the community was held for January 15 , 2010 . When someone in the crowd called out , " Beat Florida ! " , Holtz replied , " That ' s why I ' m here ! " However , the Bulls would eventually end up on the short end of the stick in their match - up with the Gators later that season , 38 - 14 . Following his appointment to USF , Holtz stayed busy by making numerous public appearances throughout the month of February . along with putting the finishing touches on his coaching staff , luring several coaches down from East Carolina with him . Ironically , Holtz and his ECU coaching staff lost to the Bulls in their prior meeting at the 2006 PapaJohns . com Bowl in which the Bulls won their first bowl game , routing Holtz ' s ECU Pirates 24 - 7 . Holtz also helped secure his first signing class for the Bulls on Feb . 3 , 2010 Holtz earned his first win as head coach of the Bulls on September 1 , 2010 in USF ' s season opener against Stony Brook 59 - 14 . Later that season , Holtz would lead his Bulls to the program ' s first victory over the Miami Hurricanes . At the end of the season Holtz lead the USF Bulls to a mostly dominant 31 - 26 victory over the Clemson Tigers at the Meineke Car Care Bowl . This would mark the first Bowl victory for USF over a BCS team in the post season . To start the 2011 season , Skip Holtz led the USF Bulls to an emotional homecoming against his Alma Mater the Notre Dame Fighting Irish . After the 6 hour game and 2 rain delays , USF left South Bend with a 23 - 20 victory . USF fired Holtz at the conclusion of the 2012 season . Louisiana Tech University . On December 13 , 2012 , Holtz accepted an offer to become the head coach for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs . Personal life . Holtz and his wife Jennifer Fitzgerald , whom he met while he was working at Florida State , have two sons and a daughter . Outside of the football team , Holtz is deeply involved with an annual spring golf tournament named the " Drew Steele - Skip Holtz Golf Classic " . Drew Steele is the son of former East Carolina basketball coach Mike Steele and has Down syndrome . When they first met , Holtz was impressed by Drew ' s positive attitude , and he has since called upon Drew to help motivate the football team , both as a speaker and through work with the team . The " Drew Steele - Skip Holtz Golf Classic " benefits citizens of Pitt County with special needs . Bowl experience . Holtz has participated in 15 postseason games in his coaching career . Seven games occurred while he was head coach and eight when he was an assistant coach . Of the seven games where he was the head coach , five occurred in the Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) ( formerly Division I - A ) and two occurred in Division I - AA ( now known as Football Championship Subdivision ) . As a FBS head coach , he is currently 2 – 3 . Each playoff game is treated like a separate bowl game .