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Holtz sticks to the plan with latest hire

From staff and ECU reports

Newly-appointed East Carolina coach Skip Holtz continued to follow his stated blueprint for assembling a staff with his Wednesday announcement that a longtime associate would become the Pirates' director of football operations.

Clifford Snow, as reported in Al Myatt's Bonesville.net column last Friday, has been selected to fill ECU's operations position after serving in that same role under recently-retired South Carolina head coach Lou Holtz since 1999. Skip Holtz worked alongside Snow during that span in offensive coaching capacities on his father's staff.

Before arriving at South Carolina, Snow spent four seasons as defensive line coach on the staff at Connecticut, which coincided with the period during which Skip Holtz was head coach of the Huskies.

Snow's appointment is in keeping with Holtz's plan, as reported in Brian Bailey's Bonesville.net column on Wednesday, to construct his staff by tapping into his own past associations as well as into the college football world's diverse reservoir of assistant coaches with ECU ties.

Previous hires by Holtz have included assistant head coach and defensive line coach Donnie Thompson, offensive line coach Steve Shankweiler and running backs coach Junior Smith. Thompson and Shankweiler both have extensive coaching experience, including stretches as assistants at ECU, while Smith, a former star player for the Pirates, has logged coaching experience at other schools.

Snow is the second assistant brought on board with previous ties to Holtz. Phil Petty, a former quarterback and graduate assistant at South Carolina, has joined the Pirates as an offensive coach.

Another key staff position, that of defensive coordinator, is expected to be filled by Greg Hudson, who is leaving his defensive coordinator's position at Minnesota to rejoin Holtz. Hudson has worked with Holtz on multiple occasions, including stints at UConn and Notre Dame, where Holtz played and later coached under Lou Holtz.

Snow's resume includes a lengthy list of assignments, both on the field and off.

While in Columbia, Snow held the title of Special Assistant to the Head Coach-Administrative Duties, overseeing various phases of Lou Holtz's day-to-day, non-coaching commitments and public relations duties.

Snow also coordinated and handled the Gamecock program's obligations involving NCAA compliance, player development, financial aid and housing and was responsible for organizing many aspects of the recruiting process.

He also played a role in arranging for South Carolina's team travel logistics, serving as the program's key contact regarding air and bus transportation and road lodging headquarters.

"It's safe to say that there aren't too many people out there who possess the incredible organizational skills and experience that Clifford will bring to East Carolina," Skip Holtz said in a statement. "He will serve as the right-hand man for not only me, but for our entire program. His ability to work with all constituencies, internal and external, simply has no equal."

Before arriving at South Carolina, Snow was a defensive line coach on Skip Holtz' staff at UConn from 1995-98, helping guide the Huskies to a 10-3 record and an NCAA Division I-AA playoff appearance in 1998. In addition, he served as recruiting coordinator during his last season and was appointed interim head coach in December, 1998, while UConn was conducting a head coaching search after Holtz' departure for the Gamecocks.

Snow was head football coach at Windsor (Conn.) High School for three seasons (1992-1994) and coached in the high school ranks on the defensive side of the ball from 1984 until joining the UConn staff in 1995.

Snow earned his bachelor's degree in biology from Central Connecticut State University in 1983 before adding a master's in biology from that same school in 1993.

02/23/07 11:30 AM

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