Coach Holt
by John Berkowitz on Aug 25, 2009 8:52 PM PDT
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Coach Holt
You’ve got to love the guy, he is everything you want from a defensive coordinator. I love the enthusiam, the attitude, and especially the mentality he brings to the defense!
The funny thing, and I know I’m going to step on some toes here, after watching that video I think he is best suited to be a defensive coordinator and a head coach. Either he needs A LOT of polishing, or he might not have the attributes necessary to be the head guy. Very much like Lambo and Gilby, he is AWESOME at what he does, he is MADE for what he does, but I think he is best suited for his current position. Moving up to a head coaching position could be a big mistake. That being said, I’d love to have him coaching our defense for the next 20 years.
"Bow Down to Washington"
"Kick the tires and light the fires!"
AND NOT A HEAD COACH
oops, I’ll learn to proof read one of these days.
"Bow Down to Washington"
"Kick the tires and light the fires!"
I thought the exact same thing
Holt is a gruff guy and if he really wants a HC position he’s gonna have to polish up a bit and get comfy in front of interviewers. Nowaday the HC of the University is so much more in the public spotlight and they really need to be an Ambassador of sorts.
Holt can get there and Seattle is a forgiving place but much like he’s coaching up players he’s gonna have to accept some coaching up himself from a mentor.
I didn't get that...
…I thought he was fine. He’s not Sark but so what?
Washington Husky Football-Undefeated 1991 National Champions 12-0!
I think he's a perfect model for a d-coordinator
But it appears pretty clear to me that he needs a lot of “polishing” before moving up. Being a head coach is very public position, with interviews, speaking engagements, meet and greets with boosters, recruiting, and everything else that comes with it. For now I think he is in the position that he suits him best.
"Bow Down to Washington"
"Kick the tires and light the fires!"
He has a...
…gruff voice but that’s a far cry from being somehow “unable” to handle the interviews and such of being a headcoach. That being said, maybe he’ll read what you said Lear, take it to heart and stay at Washington for a very, very longtime! That would be AWESOME baby!
Washington Husky Football-Undefeated 1991 National Champions 12-0!
That would be AWESOME!!
It’s his mannerism’s that need work, I love his voice. He needs to learn to stand still, talk to the person and/or camera, he spends the majority of the interview looking at his shoes. There’s a certain amount of presentation that goes along with the interview. This is actually making me appreciate Sark that much more, it shows how well he presents himself, and how he is a good fit for the modern day head coach.
"Bow Down to Washington"
"Kick the tires and light the fires!"
He looks at the ground for your own good, Lear.
Prolonged eye contact with Nick Holt will cause you to spontaneously combust.
Didn’t you notice how those rare times he did look at the camera, it felt like someone was squeezing the life out of you? Yeah, me too.
There’s actually a restraining order against Nick Holt’s stare. It’s lethal.
I completely agree with you about him as a head coach. Everything about him absolutely SCREAMS defensive coordinator. The intensity, the fidgetiness, the voice, the stare….You want to run through a brick wall to get away from him, or so he will like you. Either way, though, you’re going through that wall if he asks you to.
I love the story about...
…how sometimes he’ll get up in a recruit’s grill to see if he backs up or steps up to the challenge, absolutely LOVE that! I remember reading in this book about training guard dogs, they also use simple tests to “test” the temperament of perspective puppies. Sound familiar?
Washington Husky Football-Undefeated 1991 National Champions 12-0!
Who's going to tell him?!
Do we have any volunteers to tell Mr. Holt that his presentation sucks!?…Didn’t think so!!!!
Washington Husky Football-Undefeated 1991 National Champions 12-0!
Holt is going to be a BCS head coach someday
He’s wearing the hat of Defensive Coordinator and he is VERY good at it.
Too often head coaches come acrossed as politians. They say all the right stuff, laugh, and smile at really corky stuff.
I think Nick Holt is going to be wearing Husky Purple for quite awhile though. Not because he isn’t head coaching material, but because he enjoys what he does. Holt learned from his experience of being head coach at Idaho. I don’t think the guy is in a hurry to be a head coach. I think he loves what he is doing and can afford to wait for the perfect opportunity and the right school. Make no mistake the perfect opportunity and right school will be a BCS program. I think he’d be a great head coach in the SEC. All those guys down there are offensive-minded head coaches, except for maybe Saban and Miles.
When the time comes for him to consider head coaching jobs, Holt will take off the defensive coordinator hat and dawn a head coach hat. Don’t kid yourself- it’s all about wearing the right hat.
All I saw was purple
That's just what I expected you'd say.
Could Holt become a successful head coach, of course. Does he currently have the tools/traits to be a successful head coach RIGHT NOW? No, sorry, but it’s pretty obvious.
Forgive me for this analogy, I hope nothing like it ever happens, but say Sark gets struck by a lightning bolt and dies, do you really think Holt is ready to successfully run the program for the next 5 years? Sorry to say, but I’d be looking elsewhere for a head coach.
"Bow Down to Washington"
"Kick the tires and light the fires!"
He's playing the part Lear
Did you listen to coach Holt- he’s setting the tone for his defensive kids. Now if and when coach Holt transcends to head coach, I’m quite sure his mannerisms will likely change with him.
Look at every defensive assistant coach under Pete Carroll- all of them have frowns on their faces. It’s defensive coaches setting the tone.
Take a good look at Howard Schnellegburger and Gene Stallings. Both were not gifted gabbers and both were born grumpy, gruff, and liked to play rough. That is Nick Holt brother.
All I saw was purple
Right Crazi, whatever you say . . .
He’s just acting like he’s bad at interviews. Gene Stallings and Howard S., are you kidding? Who is the relic now? In modern day college football you have to be good at interviewing, kissing up to the boosters, recruiting and all that other stuff. Nick is an AWESOME d-coordinator, but I wouldn’t want him as a head coach. See his Idaho tenure for proof.
"Bow Down to Washington"
"Kick the tires and light the fires!"
Relic? Are you Kidding me with the word "Relic"?
O.M.G. Lear this isn’t ancient Greece or the Roman Empire dude. If I were to give you Knute Rockne, Bud Wilkenson, and John McKay then you could label me as such.
Howard Schnellenburger and Gene Stallings both won national championships in the 80s and 90s. That is not ancient stuff and I’d wager that the level of talent back in the 80s and 90s was much much more stronger in the game then what we see today. Title XI has allowed for parity- the big boys can no longer load up on talent and hord it all. Also more and more kids are leaving for the pros earlier and younger. Schnelly won a national championship in 83 and Stallings beat the crap out of a very good Miami club to claim a national title in 94 for Alabama.
You don’t need to be a smooth talking S.O.B. to be a head coach. You need charisma to get along with boosters. You’ve got to know talent and be able to recruit talent, you’ve got to know football and have the ability to hire quality assistants.
The only reason why the average fan thinks a head coach must be “corporate” is because many universities have pushed for a more business approach. The reason is because he is the face of the university.
Bobby Knight, Rick Majares, Mike Riley, Mike Leach, Charlie Weis, and Bill Bellicheck are just a few examples of not being corporate. They are coaches and have had plenty of success in their careers as head coaches [excluding Weis].
Holt is not concerned about interviewing properly right now. His only concern and mission is to get this defense ready to attack on gameday. I will address Holt’s Idaho issue a little later so that you are clear as to what went down.
All I saw was purple
The Idaho Situation is CRAP!
Many think Nick Holt was fired at Idaho. He left on his terms. Why did Holt bolt Idaho? The guy got there and realized the school could not compete. Couldn’t compete with Boise State any longer. Funding was a laughing stock and the fanbase was sprawled out from Seattle to Northern Utah. Moscow, ID is next door to Pullman, WA. and if you look at that place where are the fans going to come in from? Boise? Spokane? Tri Cities? Yakima? Northern Oregon? It’s a freakin’ cow trail into both Pullman and Moscow from all angles on the freakin’ map fro crying out loud.
Idaho had the resources to compete in the Big Sky Conference, but no way does it have the resources to compete in division 1. If you look back to when both Idaho and Boise State were in the Big Sky, the Vandies use to own the Broncs, in fact it was a one sided affair in favor of Idaho.
Nick Holt realized taking the Idaho job was not going to get his coaching career where he wants it to be. Idaho use to be a launching pad for upcoming coaches. Nowadays it’s a death march- ask Chris Tormey. Nick Holt escaped the pitfalls of the Idaho job and actually was hired as a defensive line coach for the St. Louis Rams. Word got out to Pete Carroll and Pete phoned him the very next day and offered him the position of defensive coordinator at USC- who wouldn’t take that gig?
So what is it with college football fans that think Nick Holt failed at Idaho? Their is no truth to it. The only thing Nick Holt was guilty of was a desire to be a head coach. A career position coach that he was, didn’t take the time to do any research in what Idaho had become. Holt took the job because he wanted to run his own program. He found out very fast that a program is only as good as funding allows. Therefore he chose to leave to pursue other avenues that would ensure his career takes him where he wants to go.
Nick Holt was loved at Idaho, hell one of Washington’s current grad. assistants was one of Holt’s players at Idaho- Mike Anderson. So stop with all the “Idaho/Holt learning a valable lesson” crap. Because in the end that’s all it really is- CRAP!
All I saw was purple
I will grant you that Idaho is a tough, tough job these days. And yes, Holt was not fired. But he also wasn’t gaining any traction in the win column. I’m sure Idaho would’ve been relatively patient with him and given him at least 2 more years, but he also wasn’t doing anything to give bigger schools a reason to come knocking on his door for a better head coaching gig.
And I think that Holt’s public demeanor was something that was accepted in Moscow, but probably wouldn’t play as well in a bigger city.
I like Holt as our DC. If he were introduced as the Head Coach though, I’m not as sure I’d be so excited. But if he can turn this defense around quickly, he’ll turn a lot of heads and his rougher public speaking skills will be viewed as a minor issue.
Hmm, interesting, but wrong.
I never said he was fired. I just implied he wasn’t successful at Idaho. YOUR theory that it after two years he realized that he couldn’t win at Idaho, is way off base. News flash, Holt worked at Idaho from 1990 – 1997, 7 long years. If he didn’t know enough about the program after 7 years, I don’t want him as our defensive coordinator.
Holt knew full well what Idaho was capable of, and what they weren’t capable of. He left because he knew he wasn’t going to be successful, in other words, he quit. Not a really resume builder, if you know what I mean.
I agree with kirkd’s response 100%, he hit the nail on the head.
"Bow Down to Washington"
"Kick the tires and light the fires!"
Lear your so full of it- you come across as you know this and know that, but when it comes right down to it, the best you can do is speculate.
News Flash to Lear: In 1997 Idaho was still flourishing under John L. Smith. They were still flourishing when Chris Tormey took the Vandies to the innaugeral Humanitarian Bowl- Idaho’s first and only bowl game. In fact Idaho had a lengthy winning streak over Boise State during that stretch. I think Idaho rolled up 11 consecutive wins over the Broncs. So everything wasn’t so miserable in Moscow for the Vandals, was it Lear?
If you don’t know what the hell you are talking about then you should just remain credible by keeping your mouth shut. I know first hand that you are dead on balls inaccurate.
kirkd brought up something that I will defend. To quote kirkd- “But he also wasn’t gaining any traction in the win column”. True, but why was he not gaining any traction in the win column? Good Question. Answer- By the time Holt arrived, Tom Cable had pushed Idaho into no-mans land. Idaho had become a “tweener” in every facet of the word. Translation- since going division 1 and for the first five years, they could not escape the celler in the now disfuncted Big West, which is now a non-football playing conference. Once the Big West dropped football, Boise State joined the WAC. The WAC didn’t want Idaho, so the Vandies had no choice but to play in the Deep South’s Sun Belt Conference. Question to all: how would playing in the Sun Belt affect recruitment when you are 2,500 miles away from your nearest Sun Belt brethern?
Meanwhile Boise State was blossoming and Idaho was sinking into everything that is unholy by squatting in the Sun Belt. Being affiliated with a conference so far away was like a death penalty to the program. Nobody was lining up to play for Idaho- no one!
Division 1 kids would decide to ride the bench in more successful programs. And kids that Idaho use to recruit when they were in the Big Sky didn’t want Idaho either. Why would those kids want to play for Idaho and lose every single saturday when they could go to Montana and play for national championships?
The bottom line is Idaho coaches weren’t in the running for division 1 kids. On the other hand they weren’t in the running for the div. 1-A kids either. Haven’t you seen how incredibly strong Montana has become since Idaho and Boise State jumped to division 1? Montana has become one of the premere division 1-A football powers.
In a nutshell this all came on the watch of Tom Cable. By the time Holt got there their was no recruiting trail to anywhere. If Holt would’ve stayed he would’ve been there as long as he wanted to be there.
Maybe Nick Holt is a little rough around the edges and maybe he needs to relax a little under the mike. But this I do know- coach Holt knows football and knows how to teach it and someday a big time program is going to see that and hire him in a heartbeat.
Sorry Lear for being rough around the edges myself- but I feel compelled to defend coach Holt.
All I saw was purple
Wow, and you think I'm in accurate!
There is no such thing as Division 1. This WAS division 1-A, you know the Pac10, Big10 and SEC. Then there was Division 1-AA, you know, Montana, Portland State, and even Idaho years ago. Division 1-A is now known as the Football Bowl Subdivision, and 1-AA is known as the Football Championship Subdivision. Don’t worry Crazi, this football lesson is free of charge!
P.S. – If Idaho was a successful program in 97 when Holt left, it just proves even more that Holt wasn’t able to return them to that level. Defending Holt’s record as a head coach is the same as trying to defend Keith Gilbertson’s record as a head coach. Both are GREAT coordinators, but didn’t have success as a head coach. I love Gilby, great offensvie coordinator, and great member of the Husky family, but not a good head coach. I see Holt in the same exact light, just hope he will become a great member of the Husky family.
"Bow Down to Washington"
"Kick the tires and light the fires!"
Lear did you read my post? Or did you just go on impulse? I just stated why coach Holt could not bring Idaho back to respectibility. Being in the Sun Belt conference, which consists of Louisianna Monoroe, Louisianna Laffeyette, North Texas, and Arkansas State killed recruiting for the entire time Idaho was a member. What NW kids were lining up to play for Idaho in the freakin’ Sun Belt? It was a death penalty.
And since going div. 1 Idaho has become a tweener. Div. 1 kids are not signing with the Vandals because who wants to sit and get their brains kicked in every single saturday. And the Big Sky level talent wasn’t/isn’t signing with them either because why play for miserable Idaho when they can effectively play for national championships at Montana.
The worst decision Idaho made was moving up. They don’t have the resources nor funding to compete, not to mention the fanbase. When they were Big Sky they dominated small ball. Back then Idaho didn’t need astronaumical funding/resources. Back then Idaho was on an even playing field with all the schools on that level.
Flat out- Idaho can’t compete for anything on the gridiron because they don’t have the funding and resources to play w/ the big boys. When coach Holt left Idaho in 97- Idaho was still good and still considered a launching pad for promising young head football coaches. Once Idaho moved up, was ousted from the dysfunctional Big West, and moving into obscurity in the Sun Belt- Idaho wilted. Holt didn’t see all this because he followed John L. Smith to Louisville and Holt is not a member of the Idaho alumni either. So when Holt left Idaho for a job w/ Louisville, Holt never gave Idaho another look until they came calling when he was at USC.
I will say this- Holt’s decision to take the Idaho job wasn’t properly and carefully thought out. He should’ve made some contacts to see how far the program had fallen. But the thought of being the head coach crossed his mind and he took a chance. Holt’s decision to leave was the right thing to do for his career. Afterall what does he do for a living? He’s a football coach. And if a football coach does not have the required funding/resources then it would eventually kill his resume and quite possibly career. This business is all about the win/loss column and how do you win more then you lose? Don’t kid yourself- you get there by being well-funded and have plenty of rescources at your disposal.
Evidence: the upstart of the Oregon Ducks. With pimp daddy Phil the ducks have become well funded and he and his money is the resource.
All I saw was purple
I like Nick Holt just the way he is...
You aren’t going to change a 50 year old man very much. I know because I am in the same boat. What you love the most about Holt is the passion and honesty the man has at his finger tips.
by John Berkowitz on Aug 26, 2009 10:17 AM PDT reply actions
I wouldn't change ANYTHING about him.
And that is part of the reason I think he is best suited to be a defensive coordinator.
"Bow Down to Washington"
"Kick the tires and light the fires!"
I'ts all about the forehead lines
What I like about Nick freakin’ Holt are those two forehead lines coming up from the his nose. The deeper those lines get, the more freakin’ intense coach is. Love the attitude. Holt is a freakin’ walkin’-talkin’ brick wall and that is the sort of attitude we need on defense.
Go Dawgs! WOOF!!!
All I saw was purple
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