Who is Skip Holtz?
Holtz is an American Football coach, currently the head coach, quarterbacks coach, general manager and offensive co-ordinator for the Birmingham Stallions, who play in the United States Football League (USFL).
Skip Holtz Wiki: Age, Childhood, and Education
Louis Leo Holtz Jr. was born on 12 March 1964, in Willimantic, Connecticut, USA, but where he lived for only two years. He is the son of Louis Leo Holtz, former American Football coach, and Beth Holtz.
His father often changed the college franchise he led, and Skip and his mother traveled the US with him. Throughout his childhood, living in Columbia, South Carolina, then Columbus, Ohio, and Williamsburg, Virginia, where his father landed a job as the head coach for the first time in his professional career at The College of William & Marry.
From there, the family moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, as his father became the head coach of the Wolfpack of North Carolina State University. Four years later, Skip and his parents moved to Cold Spring Harbor, New York, where his father coached the National Football League’s New York Jets.
Unfortunately, one year later, Lou Sr. resigned from the spot, and they returned to the American South, settling in Fayetteville, Arkansas, from where Skip matriculated from Fayetteville High School in 1982. Skip played football for the school team ,but had mediocre success.
After two years of high school, he tried to enroll at Notre Dame but was denied admission due to his poor grades and inability to learn a foreign language. He then enrolled at Holy Cross College, which is adjacent to Notre Dame University in Indiana.
He spent two years at Holy Cross, his grades became better, and he was able to transfer to Notre Dame. Following his first year at a new college, he spoke to head football coach Gerry Faust about him walking on the team for his senior year.
However, Faust resigned from the position, Skip’s father took over the head-coaching job, and Skip was selected for the first team. However, he wasn’t a very good quarterback, and his position was changed to flanker, eventually playing in 11 games on special teams, but didn’t catch one pass, however, he did rush for one yard once.
Career Beginnings
Skip expressed his desire to become a coach to his father, who began putting together a list of potential staff from the football world who could provide the best training for his son. However, Holtz’s first job was at Florida State in 1987 – once Bobby Bowden, the head coach of Florida State at the time, heard about Skip’s inquiry, he offered him a job as a graduate assistant coach.
He remained at Florida State for two years, after which he joined Colorado State University as the wide receivers coach under head coach Earle Bruce.
Rise to Prominence
However, the following season, Skip joined his father at Notre Dame, first as a wide receivers coach, and then as offensive co-ordinator. Skip and his father recorded 40 wins, eight losses and one tie for an 82.7 winning percentage. The father-son duo won the Cotton Bowl Classic two times, both times beating Texas A&M.
His next stop was the Connecticut Huskies, where he remained for five years on a salary of $95,000 a year ,finishing his stint there with a 59.6 winning percentage (34-23) over five seasons.
After this, he rejoined his father at South Carolina as an offensive co-ordinator, and the duo took home consecutive Outback Bowl wins in 2001 and 2002, both times against Ohio State. However, two unsuccessful seasons followed, which resulted in the head coach’s replacement, and Skip’s firing became imminent.
LOVE when good things happen to good people! @USFL @USFLStallions @CoachSHoltz Congrats Skip, Jennifer & family👏👏 #NeverGiveUp #familyforever #champions 🏈 pic.twitter.com/OzYKMI6pBJ
— karen phelps moyer (@kmo50Moyer) July 4, 2022
He didn’t hesitate to search for another position, and after several offers from Division I-A and Division I-AA teams, he joined East Carolina University as a head coach. He remained there from 2005 until 2009 and won the Hawaii Bowl against Boise State in 2007 but lost three bowl games during his tenure with the East Carolina Pirates.
In early 2010 he joined the University of South Florida as the head coach, replacing Jim Leavitt. Unfortunately, his two seasons with the South Florida Bulls weren’t celebrated, and he was fired after two negative records as the 2012 season ended.
He was jobless for a short time, then joined the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs on 13 December 2012, however, his team ended the year with a 4-8 negative record. Nevertheless, he managed to recover during 2014, and won nine games with five lost matches. Furthermore, he won the Heart of Dallas Bowl against Illinois, and repeated the success in 2015 as he won the New Orleans Bowl against Arkansas State.
Skip enjoyed massive success with the Bulldogs. He won Armed Forces Bowl, Frisco, Hawaii, and Independence Bowl games through 2020. Unfortunately, the 2020 season brought a disastrous loss against Georgia Southern University in the New Orleans Bowl, which the team failed to recover from, and finished the following season only sixth in the west.
Joining USFL Birmingham Stallions
Skip was fired by Louisiana Tech, then signed a contract with the Birmingham Stallions on a $1 million per year salary. He is the head coach and general manager of the newly formed team, recording nine wins and only one lost match, so becoming the inaugural USFL Champions after defeating the Philadelphia Stars 33-30.
Net Worth
According to sources, Skip Holtz’s net worth has been estimated at $1.5 million as of late 2022, earned through his successful career as an American ootball coach.
Personal Life, Married, Wife, Children
Skip Holtz has been married to Jennifer Fitzgerald since the ’80s. The couple met when he joined Florida State University in the late ’80s, and they have since welcomed two sons and a daughter.
Appearance and Vital Statistics
Skip Holtz has blue eyes and black hair with a receding hairline. He stands at 6ft 1in (1.85m), while he weighs approximately 195lbs (90kgs); his vital statistics are unknown.
