Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Page 2* The Gamecock Holte' III * ' jj^H ' * -% fl ffiwH II >;? 119 ?9 ? ^FL.i. 1 i. LO T. Wnai mah.es a great coacn: is it his tenacity, his knowledge, his attitude, or his players? Perhaps it's his wife. You know that saying, "Behind every great man is an even greater woman." Or maybe it is his pure passion for the game. Whatever it is, You must be pretty good to be named the National Coach of the Year. You must be great to win a national championship and recruit top-notch players that win Heismans and go pro. Newly named USC Head Football Coach Lou Holtz doesn't think he's great, however. Holtz decided to return to coaching on Dec. 4 after a twoyear hiatus. The former Notre Dame head coach deeply missed dealing with coaching on an everyday basis. "I missed most dealing with people, dealing with athletes, getting up everyday and having something you absolutely had to do that day and that if you didn't do it, that other people would feel the effects of your indecisiveness," Holtz said. Money definitely didn't weigh into Holtz's decision. You can't i "I made more money than I've ever crov made [since being! out of coaching," is t( 1 Holtz said."But I had a lot of athletes, ( I mean many, many athletes, call me Holi and tell me I should go back into coach- that ing and these are athletes that if I was is p< murdered would have been the prime suspects," Holtz said. see1 The legendary coach's decision to be e; return to the field drew thousands to sees Williams-Brice Stadium on a sunny cept - Friday afternoon to witness the hiring of a national championship coach, you During his speech at the time, Holtz do v Gamecock Sports ?xtra ;live w " > yd that his goal at South Carolina ^ win a national rhamninnshin ' " ? rm r Dn the prospects of that event, tz declared, "That's my goal and ;'s my aspiration and I believe that jssible and not because I'm here." 'I think you can win it here; I don't why you can't," Holtz said. "WiH it asy, no. Can it be done, yes." Holtz ; the best way to win as not acing anything less. If you can't live with failure and can't live with mediocrity, you'll whatever you have to do to avoid ioltz said. loltz's philosophy in coaching is "There's two problems you have )aching: one is getting people to eve they can win and once you mplish that, then you've got to get n to believe they're capable of lg and by that I mean where you t become arrogant and you forget you won or how you won. But unou believe you can win, you 't going to win." loltz's first big task upon taking Inh was tn nsspmhlp n tnn-nntrh hing staff. On Jan. 5, his final stated that he was here because he it, 1 wanted to be. I A month later he remarked, "I'm this: not here to prove anything. I just hope in c< I can help a group of people work to- beli< gether for a common cause and enjoy acco some degree of success." thei "I've always had great respect for losir Mike McGee and Ginger [McGee's wifej don'i and that had a lot to do with it," Holtz why saia. - tn y "The state had a lot to do with my aren coming here as well." I However, the buzz of excitement the j ignited when Holtz exclaimed to the coac V ithmed . - : : V: - ' . , , assistants were announced and Holtz is now able to focus on his team and on recruiting. Holtz's son, Skip, was one of the first additions to his staff, and questions immediately arose about the seemingly different offensive styles of the two Holtzes. The older Holtz tends to be more of an option-minded offensive coach, while the younger utilized the pass more while at Connecticut. Critics won dered whether this would cause conflict on the field. "Skip's and my philosophy is not as different as people think," Holtz said. "I have great respect for Skip and we just have to see what our talent level is," Holtz said. "We have to see what we're capable of doing. We will throw 1 the football, but we wont throw it every down," Holtz said. <"ru - c au?ii :i. 11. iu i uii tut: luuiumi, it tatted ii, to throw it, sometimes it takes two." Defensively, Holtz states that "the best defense we can play is when our defense is sitting down." 1 Wednesday, January 13,1998 iocrity' "Do I know football? Yes. Do I know more than anybody else? Probably Not." Lou Holtz USC head football coach Another challenge reared its ugly head the day Holtz was hired. Former head coach Brad Scott was named to in-state rival Clemson's staff after being fired by USC on Nov. 23. Holtz isn't worried about any effect that might have on his players next November when the two schools meet in Columbia, however. "I don't believe coach Scott is going to play; I don't think so," Holtz said jokingly. UI jcnow I'm not going to play. I have great respect for coach Scott, but that's going to be a game, and it's an important game and we'll make great preparations and nothing will ever be said about this situation. I'm sure not going to bring it up." Aside from the obvious challenges of assembling a staff and getting recruits, Holtz forsees his biggest challenge as this: "How soon will we be - A. O A A. A. I A. : 1 come a team.' /\ team mai genuinely trusts each other. A team that genuinely likes each other. There's going to be certain people you don't like mainly cause you don't know them, but also a team where they are just totally committed to not letting each other down. That's the biggest challenge." "They're going to have to be able to trust each other and the only way you do that best is by doing what's right," Holtz said. "It's right to go to class. It's right to be on time. It's right tr> ho a ctuHpnt at this nnivprsitv Tt's right to be honest and they're going to be committed to excellence." Holtz is also excited about getting to know the students and hopes to hold a question-and-answer session for the entire student body. "The students are really important to our program," Holtz said. Finally, when asked what makes Lou Holtz a great football coach, Holtz replied, "I don't think I am a great football coach. I think that I've been able to gather people around that genuinely care about what happens. Do I know football? Yes. Do I know more than any Doay else.' Probably not. We can solve this if enough people care." "I believe in [the players]." Then again, maybe the best coaches are humble. All stories by Kelly Maguire Editorial Assistant All photos by Sean Rayford Photo Editor