Holtz needs to take USF to next level

[JuicedBull]

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/jan/16/sp-holtz-needs-to-take-usf-to-next-level/sports-colleges-bulls/

TAMPA - There were balloons and a band and cheerleaders and boosters and even some students. Rocky the Bull did the sound check. So went the first public appearance for new South Florida football coach Skip Holtz.

"Go Bulls," Holtz shouted.

"Beat Florida!" someone yelled.

"I'm with that," Holtz yelled back. "That's why I'm here."

No coach loses his first news conference at a new school, especially when it's a pep rally. Holtz's was held Friday at an outdoor amphitheater near the USF student center.

In fact, hardly anyone loses that first news conference, going all the way back to Adam, who stood with Eve and screamed, "Go Eden! Beat Serpent!"

With the image of the last USF head coach meeting Joel Miller in a church parking lot still in our minds ... Bless me, Leavitt, for I have sinned ... Skip Holtz took the stage.

He must take more than that. He must take South Florida to a new level.

First things first.

"I'm extremely sensitive to the healing that needs to go on with these football players, what they've been through," Holtz said. "There's a lot of individual healing and there's a lot of team healing, and there's a trust factor that's been broken ...."

Not to say healing is overrated, but USF players will get over it pretty quickly.

"We hate the circumstances, but it's time to move on and have a new era at South Florida," Bulls quarterback B.J. Daniels said.

And you'd be surprised how much healing there'll be if they ever win the Big East.

USF football has stalled. USF has underachieved. That sounds strange, since the Bulls beat Florida State this season, but it's the truth. Leavitt, for all he did, and he did a lot, had taken this program as far as he could before he went too far.

USF is 17-18 in Big East play since joining the conference in 2005. The Bulls began the last three seasons 5-0. No other FBS school can lay claim to that ... or the three collapses that followed those 5-0 starts.

USF is 0-4 against both Rutgers and Cincinnati over the past four seasons. That's unacceptable. Since 2005, only two Big East schools have failed to finish either first or second in the Big East. One is woeful Syracuse. The other is USF.

There has to be a better way.

Holtz needs to find it.

He has the talent, he has the players, he has the recruiting base, he has the right conference, just eight teams vying for an automatic BCS bid.

"I feel like USF can no longer use the excuse of being a new program," ESPN analyst Jesse Palmer said. "I think that's tired and about to vanish. The Big East is a conference they should be able to win. The win-loss record looks really good in years past. But when you look at that team's record within the Big East, it's very average."

About to vanish?

The "new program" thing died years ago.

USF has made five straight bowls.

But there's more out there.

"I certainly think, for the seniors, we're going to try to win the Big East title our first year here," Holtz said.

He built something at Connecticut and most recently at East Carolina, which he turned into a Conference USA champion. Like USF under Leavitt, East Carolina under Holtz pulled off upsets, over Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Boise State. Like USF, ECU has staked out territory in its home state, beating North Carolina and N.C. State.

Beat Florida?

Skip Holtz says that's why he's here.

He gets his crack in September in Gainesville.

It's a tall order.

But becoming a true Big East power should be a given.

Holtz talked about his new team Friday, his new players, and about his style, which he says has never wavered.

"It's a trust factor," Holtz said. "There are lines I won't cross. ... Never criticize the performer. Criticize the performance. I'll never put my hands on a player. I'll never forget in the process that he has a mom and dad and he's their child."

It's a sign of the times that such a thing needed to be said, but it did.

The Bulls need to put their hands on a Big East trophy.

Those are the sailing orders, Skip.

[usfbullcpa]

There are a couple of things that bother me about what is being said in this article.  I saw it this morning and it still runs through my mind.

First, it sounds like Holtz is here because Leavitt could not win and was fired.  I guess I don't know how I think Holtz should approach it, but making all the gestures about now that he is here he has to find a way to win just hurts me still.  I know we all undersand that is BE play, but we have winning records.  the press bother me more, they know why we changed coaches, leave it at that.

Second, the line about we have to stop using the age of our program as an excuse.  Nobody within the program does that, it is the press, and usually the ESPN guys who bring that up.  So, then stop. 

Third, all the talk about how the team can begin healing.  I understand the shock of losing your coach suddenly, in these allegations, and the rift that has formed in the team, but stop making it sound as if Leavitt had daily beatings on these guys.  I mean, honesly, Dan Cilio Friday stating that Leavitt could not win because he would only recruit players he could beat up?  Seriously? And this sentiment is reflected again in this article if not in substance, in emotion.

Welcome Coach, I would love to see an undefeated season, win over Florida, BE Championship and a National Title.  Is that too much?

[Matt]

First, it sounds like Holtz is here because Leavitt could not win and was fired.  I guess I don't know how I think Holtz should approach it, but making all the gestures about now that he is here he has to find a way to win just hurts me still.  I know we all undersand that is BE play, but we have winning records.  the press bother me more, they know why we changed coaches, leave it at that.

to say that Leavitt's lack of success in the big east had NOTHING to do with his firing is being kinda narrowsighted if you ask me.  it wasnt the deciding factor...but i'm sure it played a role.

Second, the line about we have to stop using the age of our program as an excuse.  Nobody within the program does that, it is the press, and usually the ESPN guys who bring that up.  So, then stop. 

i see it brought up here a lot too so its not just the media.  but yes, it is no longer an excuse.  sure, its an excuse as to why we play at RayJay and why we might not travel very well or have good attendance, but shouldnt have anything to do with the play on the field.

Third, all the talk about how the team can begin healing.  I understand the shock of losing your coach suddenly, in these allegations, and the rift that has formed in the team, but stop making it sound as if Leavitt had daily beatings on these guys.  I mean, honesly, Dan Cilio Friday stating that Leavitt could not win because he would only recruit players he could beat up?  Seriously? And this sentiment is reflected again in this article if not in substance, in emotion.

Did dan Celio really say that?  in those exact words? 

And the "healing" I think that Holtz is referring to is the uncertainty of not knowing who would be their coach, what would their role be, etc.  Not a physical healing.  But a healing from the stress they were under.

[usfbullcpa]

First, it sounds like Holtz is here because Leavitt could not win and was fired.  I guess I don't know how I think Holtz should approach it, but making all the gestures about now that he is here he has to find a way to win just hurts me still.  I know we all undersand that is BE play, but we have winning records.  the press bother me more, they know why we changed coaches, leave it at that.

to say that Leavitt's lack of success in the big east had NOTHING to do with his firing is being kinda narrowsighted if you ask me.  it wasnt the deciding factor...but i'm sure it played a role.

Second, the line about we have to stop using the age of our program as an excuse.  Nobody within the program does that, it is the press, and usually the ESPN guys who bring that up.  So, then stop. 

i see it brought up here a lot too so its not just the media.  but yes, it is no longer an excuse.  sure, its an excuse as to why we play at RayJay and why we might not travel very well or have good attendance, but shouldnt have anything to do with the play on the field.

Third, all the talk about how the team can begin healing.  I understand the shock of losing your coach suddenly, in these allegations, and the rift that has formed in the team, but stop making it sound as if Leavitt had daily beatings on these guys.  I mean, honesly, Dan Cilio Friday stating that Leavitt could not win because he would only recruit players he could beat up?  Seriously? And this sentiment is reflected again in this article if not in substance, in emotion.

Did dan Celio really say that?  in those exact words? 

And the "healing" I think that Holtz is referring to is the uncertainty of not knowing who would be their coach, what would their role be, etc.  Not a physical healing.  But a healing from the stress they were under.

With that you imply that if we had been BE champs the school would have looked past this?  No way.  The only thing that would have saved CJL was an immediate apology, and even there, given the timeframe of being well past the game, not sure that would have helped.

Yes, Celio said those exact words.  I nearly drove off the road, and spent the rest of the morning trying to call his show to tell him he needs to stop doing crack.  I think we have to band together to get a better sports show on there in the morning, someone who supports USF..

On board with the healing, I said that, but I think it also sounds like the program had all these problems, this was one incident.

[Bull Matrix]

I think Leavitt would have survived if he was coming off a BIG EAST championship. I believe USF would have gave Leavitt a big warning and possible suspended him. I think the last three season tail spins had a lasting effect on many, and it was time for a change.

[Bulls 8_va]

Leavitt not being able to win the Big East and AT LEAST finish in the top 2 of the conference was 90% of the issue.  The other 10% that got him fired was the whole "slap-gate" incident.

Lets face it...Leavitt took us as far as he could.  The time has come for new leadership. 

Thanks Jim, for everything...you will have your spot in the USF Hall of Fame.

WELCOME SKIP!!!

GO BULLS!!!

[Triple B]

Leavitt not being able to win the Big East and AT LEAST finish in the top 2 of the conference was 90% of the issue.  The other 10% that got him fired was the whole "slap-gate" incident.

Then he needs to get 90% of the money left on his contract, then ... 

[tampabull]

Expectations:

http://www.baynews9.com/Vote.cfm?event=Vote&action=vote&pollid=1573

bad link E.T.

http://www.baynews9.com/iPolls.html

[E.T.]

Thanx ...

[tampabull]

Am I the only one that expects us to compete for a conference championship in 2010.  We have the talent.  I expect usf's defense to be good, and bj has one year under his belt.  yeah we are loosing mitchel, but I expect love and bogan to step it up next year.