ECU’s Skip Holtz said no to one basketball school, Syracuse in 2008, but the football coaching job at Kansas is a more appealing offer is extended.
After leading the Pirates to a second straight Conference USA championship, Holtz clearly is in the Kansas mix. He and Jayhawk athletic director Lew Perkins are tight.
Perkins, then at Connecticut, hired Holtz to his first head coaching post in 1994. Whether Perkins can duplicate the same move may be known fairly fast. In his search to replace Mark Mangino, Perkins’ primary shopping list consists of Holtz, Buffalo’s Turner Gill, Central Michigan’s Butch Jones and perhaps Stanford’s Jim Harbaugh and former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville.
Unless that group is expanded, Holtz and the Gill have to rate as the most likely targets. It would be a shock if Harbaugh left Stanford and redshirt freshman quarterback star Andrew Luck for at least another year or two.
Tuberville, who seemingly wants the job, may lack traction with Perkins.
Although Mangino’s teams went 12-1 in 2007 and 8-5 in 2008, Kansas football can be a risky venture. In nine seasons at Lawrence, his teams went 50-48 and 23-41 against the Big 12.
Kansas has plenty of money, fans, impressive facilities and a better year-round climate than Syracuse. But football will always be the second sport at Kansas and even in the unimposing North Division, it’s not easy to survive in the Big 12. Once mighty Nebraska has struggled to some extent over the past few seasons.
Virtually everything about Big 12 football hinges on recruiting the states of Texas and California, both of which have been difficult areas for Kansas to harvest. Gill, 37, is a former Nebraska star and native Texan but has a 20-30 overall record at Buffalo.
Holtz, 45, and his staff have almost no direct ties to either Texas or California, but is 38-26 at ECU.
But as the coach job-hopping process plays out this month and next, don’t forget that it almost always helps to be in a BCS automatic qualifier conference.
Comments
Skips not going anywhere, he
Sun, 12/13/2009 - 13:08 — jimcopeSkips not going anywhere, he and his family love ECU and Greenville and he knows the grass is not always greener on the other (BCS) side. He flat turned down the Syarcuse job last year and could have had the pick of several others over the past couple years if he was looking. He will be back ib G'ville and looking to win another title next year. Its only a matter of time until ECU takes it to the next step. A win over the Rrazerbacks in Memphis and the Pirtaes who are ranked 26th in the latest AP poll finish in the top 25 and look like a very strong team for next year.......its only getting better in Greenville. and Skip will be at the helm.
Gill more likely
Fri, 12/11/2009 - 16:00 — AgentPierceSkip's an excellent coach w/ a "big time" future but Gill is a better choice for KU. He has a Big 12 pedigree and as the only AfAmer HC in the Big 12 would have a unique angle going for himself.
Maybe Skip for Cincinnati? Or is Skip hoping the OBC will retire from USC?