Notes, Quotes and Slants
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Pirate Notebook No. 259 Monday, November 21, 2005 By Denny O'Brien

Staying the course pays off for Holtz

©2005 Bonesville.net

HUNTINGTON, WV — If Terry Holland needed further justification for his decision to hire Skip Holtz, he got it Saturday.

With East Carolina limping painfully into Huntington after a second half meltdown in Tulsa, it did something somewhat unexpected — it beat a quality opponent on a field where that opponent rarely loses. And the Pirates did so after surrendering two early turnovers and digging themselves into a familiar 13-point hole.

That's only half of the story. It's the other half — the part that can be easily overlooked — that deserves more mention.

The storylines of Saturday's game no doubt were the Pirates' surprisingly dominant rushing attack, Marshall's failed attempt to extend its 21-year streak of non-losing seasons, and another dramatic finish that likely will become the norm in this renewed rivalry of football-minded schools.

But it's the maturity of East Carolina's first-year head coach — whose glass never appears half empty — that should have seized the biggest headline. If anything, that was the overwhelming theme of the game, if not the entire 2005 season.

Need an example? Consider the halftime conversation between Holtz and defensive coordinator Greg Hudson moments after the Pirates surrendered a 56-yard run to Marshall superback Ahmad Bradshaw.

"I told Coach (Hudson)," Holtz said. "He was upset. Steam was pouring out of his ears at halftime.

"I said 'Hey, you can get on them, but love them up because they are doing some good things. Don't just see the negatives. You can get on them, but let's talk a little bit about what we have got to do to eliminate that big play, but we've got to love them up because they played hard in the first half.'"

Holtz's refusal to panic and insistence on staying the course regardless of the scenario or score provides the stable presence East Carolina desperately needs. With the program's mental and emotional makeup so fragile, the last thing it needs is a skipper who recharts the ship's path the moment it approaches turbulent swells.

Not only was that the temptation throughout John Thompson's two years at the wheel, it was the tendency. After surrendering 35-consecutive points to close the game against Tulsa and 13 to open at Marshall, Holtz again showed how that won't be the rule under his close watch.

"When you're on the offensive side of the ball and you look up and the score is 13-0 (in their favor)," Holtz said, "it's like, hey, we're two scores (away). We're in good shape.

"Get a drive together, score, and we're one score away. So, you're never out of it. Maybe we learned something last week at Tulsa. Maybe we learned how to deal with adversity a little bit. When adversity hits, you can either get upset and fight harder, or you can fold your tent."

While Holtz admitted that East Carolina checked out mentally in the second half against Tulsa, that relapse has proven to be the exception during a season when the program clearly is regaining some of its lost footing. Physically, mentally, and emotionally, the Pirates have quickly become healthy enough to compete with anyone in their conference, but haven't done so at the expense of the program's long-term stability.

That's a credit to Holtz.

At no time during the season have we seen a complete overhaul of the playbook or wholesale position changes for the team's personnel. Instead, the Pirates' staff has added necessary wrinkles and substituted wisely to spell upperclassmen and provide the program's youth with enough experience for the future.

Showing that type of balance early in a coaching tenure is a typical sign that the program rests firmly in solid hands. Just imagine if Holtz had listened to critics and abandoned the Pirates' zone rushing schemes earlier in the season when it appeared to have hit a brick wall.

That approach isn't how you build a program.

Winning quickly at all costs hasn't been a part of the Holtz philosophy from day one. It wasn't the case at Connecticut, nor at South Carolina, where he tag-teamed with his father to restore the Gamecocks back to respectability.

Considering the personnel shortcomings over the past couple of years — both on the recruiting trail where several signees never made it to campus, and in player retention — the lack of depth within the program is a sign that East Carolina still has miles to travel.

But Holtz is showing no signs of panic. He's preparing for the marathon, not just the sprint.

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02/23/2007 02:00:36 AM