DC Sportsbog: Lou Holtz was a Redskins coaching candidate?

[Lanky Livingston]

Wow...I'm kind of shocked by this. And that's saying something, with the clown-car FO we've got.

"Listen, I talked to Dan Snyder about that job once before," Lou Holtz told Mike Wise this week, when Wise jokingly asked him whether he'd agree to coach the Redskins next season. "It was never offered to me. We were involved in a bowl game, said we could not talk until after the bowl game. By that time they had made another decision. That was several years ago when I was at South Carolina, but it was never offered to me."

This was news to me. Not, however, to loyal Washington Post readers. The year was 2000. Holtz had just transformed a terrible South Carolina team into an 8-4 squad that would upset Ohio State in the Outback Bowl. Terry Robiskie was the Redskins' interim head coach and supposedly a candidate for the real job. And the other candidates included every big name in the country: Bill Parcells, Steve Spurrier, Bill Snyder, Terry Donahue, Tyrone Willingham, Frank Beamer, Butch Davis, Mack Brown, Barry Alvarez, Gary Kubiak and yes, Lou Holtz, the man whose one NFL season had led to a 3-10 mark with the Jets.

"I have not talked with anyone with the Redskins, and I do not intend to," Holtz told reporters that winter, which would now appear to be false.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2009/12/lou_holtz_was_a_skins_coaching.html

 

[Sarge]

I cringe every time I hear stuff like this

I guess it's because I realize we're doomed

 

[Neophyte]

I guess it's because I realize we're doomed

Fixed that one for you there Sarge.

 

[Sarge]

Good fix! Thanks!

 

[Jimbo]

Lou Holtz is a great motivator and probably would have made a decent HC had he tried a second stint in the NFL. After leaving Notre Dame with one National Championship (and I believe there should have been a 2nd) he changed his coaching style a bit. He decided to forego his X's and O's and delegated the offense and defense to his coordinators, i.e., the anti-Jim Zorn. He surrounded himself with what he felt were the best people he could find/trust. Unfortunately, he lost too many recruits to bigger name schools and his success at South Carolina began to dwindle after some initial success.

 

[Bulldog]

Lou Holtz was 3-11 as Head Coach of the New York Jets in the mid-1970's and was clearly in over his head. Today's NFL is just that much more sophisticated than the college game I see fewer college coaches being able to make the jump to the league.

Most of the new HC candidates are assistants and coordinators that may have had experience in college in a similar role.

But an old dog like Holtz would have been a disaster here.

 

[Jimbo]

BD, do you think he'd have been a bigger disaster than Spurrier? With Marvin Lewis taking care of the defense and a decent Offensive Coordinator, I actually think he'd have done a MUCH better job than Spurrier.

 

[Bulldog]

Holtz was a complete disaster in NY.

He went to a veteran team which larely ignored him.

Spurrier at least got one year of genuine effort before the club collapsed the next season.

I think there is a common thread though.

These career college coaches are able to handle and control their programs in a manner pro coaches for the most part are not.

Players need their scholarships and transfers cost a player a season of eligibility.

In the pros players simply walk away in free agency or rebel during the season.

Just look at Petrino in Atlanta.
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[kirbster]

How do you know for a fact Holtz wouldn't have improved in a second go-around? Many coaches aren't successful the first time around then "get it" later. Bellichek for example. Holtz didn't even have one full season. No one knows what might have happened in a new situation.

 

[The Burgundy Ghost]

Old news.

Holtz I believe was a target for the 2001 season and I believe he turned them down.

I also believe that his name was floated around after Spurrier quit, however was shot down b/c many believed Snyder wasn't going to go after another college coach after the Spurrier debacle.......

 

[Boone]

Forget about whether he could coach. I'd worry Big Al might eat the little guy.

 

[Bulldog]

Holtz is a non-starter for HC in the NFL in 2010.

He is simply too old of a dog to assume he is capable of learning the tricks that eluded him when he was in his prime.

Let's talk about relevant candidates.

Of course with Vinny, Junior the male orangutan at the zoo is probably on the list of hopefuls.
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[servumtuum]

Let's talk about relevant candidates.

Of course with Vinny, Junior the male orangutan at the zoo is probably on the list of hopefuls.
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Now we're adding nepotism?

 

[sonofDC]

I cringe every time I hear stuff like this

I guess it's because I realize we're doomed

Yup...yup, we are.

I still think we should've held on to Marty. We had a .500 ball club and it seemed like we were on our way back to respectability. Then, Danny missed his *ahem* "friend", and we got the ol' friggin' ball coach.

 

[Bang]

After reading this news, you just know Rich Kotite prepared his resumé.

~Bang

 

[Hog Fever]

*sigh* Lou Holtz was an outstanding college coach at one point (many, many moons ago). Anyone with any sense could see that his act would not play in the Pros though. It does not take a Vince Lombardi football mind to realize that.

This is just another sad example of the thought process of our front office. They do the same things with players with no regard to how they might fit into our current system. Holtz would have been a disaster here. That he was contacted about the job at all is just……I don’t know what to say.

 

[China]

He was probably recommended by Pepper Rodgers.

 

[SkinsOrlando]

All I know is that I'm praying we don't hear the name Pete Carroll if they let Zorn go, hell I don't want to see a college coach anywhere near this team.

 

[Bang]

I'd listen to Jim Harbaugh. He's winning at Stanford using plain old fashioned bruising smashmouth football.
That works at any level.

~Bang

 

[Jimbo]

Jim Harbaugh was a dropped Hail Mary away from taking the Colts to the Super Bowl. He is a tough guy, something you can't say about many QB's. I think he'd make an excellent HC in the NFL. He's always thinking two steps ahead, something Jim Zorn has never seemed to be able to do. If Danny can't convince Shanahan/Cowher/Holmgren to take the job, Harbaugh would be my top choice.