Table of Biography
Skip Holtz is a professional American football coach. Skip Holtz is the head coach for the Birmingham Stallions of the United States Football League (USFL).
Early Life and Education
Skip Holtz was born on March 12, 1964, in Willimantic, Connecticut, U.S. His age is currently 59 years old. He was born to his father Lou Holtz and his mother Beth Barcus. His father worked as an assistant coach at the University of South Carolina. Skip Holtz’s father was a football coach, and he spent his childhood moving around. The Holtz family moved to Columbia, South Carolina for two years after Skip was born there.
For one year, the family resided in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, while Lou was the Jets’ head coach. When Lou accepted the head coaching position in 1977 at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, he left the Jets and moved his family back to the American South. Likewise, he holds American nationality but his ethnicity is unknown.
Regarding his educational qualification, he is a graduate student. He completed his graduation from Fayetteville High School in 1982.
Playing Career
Skip was a quarterback for the football team at his high school in Fayetteville, and he helped the team to some degree of success. He visited Notre Dame as a junior in high school and met with head basketball coach Digger Phelps and head football coach Gerry Faust. Due to his poor grades and inability to learn a foreign language in his senior year of high school, Skip was turned down for admission to Notre Dame. Skip was encouraged to enroll at nearby Holy Cross College, which is situated next to the university in Notre Dame, Indiana, by coaches Faust and Phelps.
Additionally, Skip had improved his grades after two years of study at Holy Cross, so he transferred to Notre Dame. Skip decided to talk to Coach Faust about joining the football team during his senior year after his first year. But the conversations were cut short when Coach Faust announced his resignation following the 1985 campaign. Lou, Skip’s father, who was filling in for Faust, gladly accepted his son as a walk-on.
Before the 1986 season, Skip started spring practice as a quarterback but quickly switched to flanker due to his poor throwing ability. At the Blue-Gold intra-squad game in the spring of 1986, he gained 54 yards as a flanker on three receptions. Skip participated in all 11 of the games on special teams during the fall of 1986. Although he never caught a pass, he did run once for one yard.
Coaching Career
Early Positions
Skip started looking into the possibility of becoming a coach because of his lack of success on the field and his desire to continue being involved with football. Lou made a list of potential coaches who would provide Skip with the best training after Skip informed Lou that he wanted to start coaching. Tom Osborne, Joe Paterno, and Terry Donahue were also on the list, but when Bobby Bowden, head coach of Florida State, learned of Skip’s interest, he said, “If you can be here in two days, I’ve got a job for you at Florida State.
Caption: Skip Holtz on of his coaching career
Source: SBNation.com
Moreover, he joined Florida State in 1987 and was soon appointed graduate assistant coach. While in Tallahassee, he met Jennifer, the woman he would later marry, in Coach Bowden’s office. After two years, he moved on to Colorado State University to work with coach Earle Bruce as the wide receivers coach. He returned to Notre Dame to work as his father’s assistant coach after one season.
Connecticut
After being successful at Notre Dame, Skip Holtz was approached about leading the Connecticut Huskies. On December 23, 1993, he took the job as his first head coach after accepting the offer. Tom Jackson, who had gone 14–19 over the previous three years and had made the decision to resign on November 17, 1993, was replaced by him. He consented to a four-year contract with a $95,000 annual salary. Skip was hired by the University of Connecticut, but even though he came from a “major football institution” (Notre Dame), Dr. Harry J. Hartley stated that this “should not be seen as a signal that Connecticut intends to upgrade its program.”
To work with his father, who had taken the head coaching position at South Carolina the day before the Huskies’ loss, Skip resigned as the head coach of the Huskies two days later. He accumulated a winning percentage of.596 (34-23) during his five seasons as the Huskies’ head coach.
South Florida
It was revealed on January 14, 2010, that Holtz had accepted the position of head coach at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida, succeeding the recently fired Jim Leavitt. Holtz was unveiled to the public at a press conference on January 15, 2010. Beat Florida!, a member of the crowd shouted, to which Holtz responded, “That’s why I’m here!” The Bulls would ultimately lose 38-14 to the Gators later in the season when they faced off against each other.
Skip Holtz led the Bulls to a stirring homecoming victory over his alma mater, Notre Dame, to open the 2011 campaign. After a six-hour game and two rain delays, USF won 23-20 and departed South Bend. But the Bulls ended the year with a disappointing 5-7 overall record and a 1-6 record in Big East play. Even worse was the Bulls’ dismal 2012 campaign, which saw them finish 3-9 overall and 1-6 in Big East play. After the 2012 campaign, USF fired Holtz.
Louisiana Tech
Holtz accepted a job offer to lead the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs on December 13, 2012. 2013 was a down year for him as he finished 4-8, far below expectations. 2014 would, however, mark a significant change. With a 35-18 victory over Illinois in the Heart Of Dallas Bowl, Holtz’s Bulldogs went on to finish first in the C-USA West with a 9-5 record. The Bulldogs continued their winning ways in 2015, going 9-4 and defeating Arkansas State 47-28 in the New Orleans Bowl. The 2020 campaign ended with a record of 5-5, and Georgia Southern suffered a humiliating bowl loss of 3-38. With a final record of 3-9 (and no invitation to a bowl game) in 2021, the season was even worse, and Holtz was fired by Louisiana Tech as a result.
Birmingham Stallions
Holtz assumed his new roles as head coach and general manager of the USFL’s Birmingham Stallions on January 20, 2022.
Personal Life
Skip holds straight sexuality. As for his marital status, he is a married man. He tied the knot with Jennifer Fitzgerald. They met for the first while he was working at Florida State. The couple is the parents of three kids named Trey Holtz, Hailey Elizabeth Holtz, and Chad Fitzgerald Holtz. Holtz co-hosts the Drew Steele-Skip Holtz Golf Classic, an annual spring golf outing.
Drew Steele, who has Down syndrome, is the son of former East Carolina basketball coach Mike Steele. Drew’s optimistic outlook impressed Holtz when they first met, and he has since asked Drew to motivate the football team through both speaking engagements and teamwork. The Pitt County residents with special needs benefit from the Drew Steele-Skip Holtz Golf Classic.
Caption: Skip Holtz with his wife
Source: Facebook
Skip Holtz – Net Worth 2023
Skip has earned a hefty amount of money throughout his coaching career. He has a net worth of $5 million as of 2023. But he hasn’t disclosed his salary and other asset values.
Social Media
Reflecting on his social media presence, he is active on Facebook and Twitter. His Facebook account ‘Skip Holtz’ has gained more than 4K friends as of now. Likewise, he joined Twitter in March 2011 and has more than 22.2K followers on his account ‘@CoachSHoltz’.
Skip Holtz – Body Measurements
Talking about his physical stats, Skip Holtz has a well-maintained body personality. He stands at a height of 6 feet 1 inch and weights 68kg. However, there are no details about his body size, dress size, shoe size, waist size, and so on. He has a pair of black eyes with a half-bald head.