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Holtz deflects report;
rumors swirl
From staff and
correspondent reports
©2006 Bonesville.net. All rights reserved.
As speculation mounted
about whether East Carolina might soon lose its football coach,
second-year Pirates boss Skip Holtz reaffirmed on Saturday his charge to
the program and indicated he has not placed himself in the running
for the open coaching position at Cincinnati or any other school.
“My commitment is to East
Carolina University, our program and, at this point, our upcoming bowl
game,” Holtz said through a release from the ECU athletic media
relations department. “I have not sought, nor am I seeking any other
coaching position at this time. I’m happy with the progress we’ve made
here but we still have a lot of work to do. If anything, their interest
is a compliment to our program, players and coaching staff. I think
Cincinnati has a bright future with the leadership that is in place and
I wish them the best.”
Holtz, whose team will
face a Big East foe in the PapaJohns.com Bowl, issued
the statement in response to an article published Saturday by The
Cincinnati Enquirer. A story by Enquirer reporter Bill Koch mentioned
Holtz as one of four candidates that Bearcats athletic director Mike
Thomas has spoken with during his search for a new football coach.
Cincinnati, a member of
the Big East Conference, is a potential opponent for the Pirates in the
PapaJohns.com Bowl, which will be played at Legion Field in Birmingham,
AL, on Dec. 23.
Jaymes Powell, Jr., wrote
last week in the Raleigh News & Observer that Holtz told the paper he
would have to listen if other schools contacted him. The story also
noted that Holtz said, "I'm going to stay here and be very loyal to
chancellor [Steven] Ballard and Terry Holland. They gave me an
opportunity, and I'm grateful for that."
Holland, ECU's athletic
director, hired Holtz to resurrect the school's football fortunes after
terminating John Thompson. Thompson's two-year stint as head coach
(2003-04) produced a 3-20 record for a program that had landed bowl
berths in three of the previous four seasons under former coach Steve
Logan, who was fired by Holland predecessor Mike Hamrick.
Meanwhile,
talk1070.com, the Web site of
WNCT-AM 1070, was reporting last night in a story by Patrick Johnson that Holtz is
squarely in the mix for the Cincinnati job and that UC and ECU are in a "bidding war" for the
future services of Holtz. Talk 1070, ECU's AM flagship station, is a
multimedia partner of Bonesville.net.
Cincinnati Bengals Web
site
bengals.com reported overnight that
Holtz has interviewed for the position and is
among a number of candidates,
including Bengals wide receivers coach Hue Jackson, LSU defensive
coordinator Bo Pelini and UC interim head coach Pat Narduzzi.
Mark Dantonio resigned
last month as head coach of the Bearcats to succeed the ousted John L.
Smith at Michigan State. Several media reports have noted Dantonio's
discouragement with poor fan support of Cincinnati's football program.
PAGE UPDATED
02/23/07 11:32 AM.
©2006 Bonesville.net and
other Publishers. All rights rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Game accounts and
statistics may be compiled from various sources, including but not limited
to staff, East Carolina University, opposing team and Conference USA reports.
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