Holtz Got A Job Many Pursued

Posted Jan 26, 2010 by Scott Carter

Updated Jan 27, 2010 at 11:40 AM

Skip Holtz got the job, but in the days after USF fired former head football coach Jim Leavitt, coaches from around the country began sending USF officials materials showing an interest in the job.

However, Holtz wasn’t one of them. USF officials contacted him first, leading to his eventual hiring on Jan. 14.

On Jan. 8, the day USF president Judy Genshaft and athletic director Doug Woolard announced at a noon press conference that the university had dismissed Leavitt, at least nine resumes/applications were emailed to USF officials either directly from coaches or their agents. The materials were obtained by The Tampa Tribune on Tuesday as part of a public records request.

The list of applicants painted a broad stroke across the coaching landscape: Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster, New York Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, Harvard head coach Tim Murphy, Syracuse special-teams coach Tim Casullo, former NFL assistant Jack Burns, former Tennessee State head coach James Webster, Bucs assistant coach Rich Bisaccia and Los Angeles Storm assistant head coach Tyrone Hughes all expressed interest the first afternoon the job opened.

My personal favorite applicant: Michael Moore, a high school student in Texas who has no coaching experience but decided to email university officials about the job.

Many of the application packages contained specific plans for the job, including an impressive submission from Michigan offensive coordinator Calvin Magee that included USF logos and very specific details about the job. Magee, a former USF assistant under Leavitt, interviewed for the job and was considered a strong candidate.

Other coaches to submit application materials: former NFL All-Pro receiver Mel Gray, now freshman head coach at Auburn High in Rockford, Ill.; Orlando Jones head coach Kenard Lang; former Virginia offensive coordinator Gregg Brandon; Southern Mississippi coach Larry Fedora, whose name surfaced as a leading candidate early in USF’s search; Rutgers offensive coordinator Kyle Flood; Joe Maglia, now a football consultant at Nebraska and former Ameritrade CEO; Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson and Nebraska offensive coordinator Shaun Watson.

Former USF defensive coordinator Joe Tresey officially applied, and Florida assistant Dan McCarney’s agent sent a package on his behalf. Finally, former University of Louisiana-Monroe head coach Charlie Weatherbie also contacted USF officials about the opening.

Not every candidate sent USF officials material highlighting his coaching career.

Bucs player personnel director Doug Williams interviewed for the job and former Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer, among others, expressed indirect interest in the position before USF hired Holtz as the second coach in school history.