Lou - S -C?

[bearsfedora]

I recently read where Notre Dame is placing a statue of Coach Holtz on campus. It made me contemplate Holtz's place in USC's history. When researching the topic, I came across this..... I know this usually starts some debate in other forums; but without going that far, what everyone's take on the leprechaun's legacy at USC?


http://www.dixiefriedsports.com/June_11_Article.html

[Baller]

I think Lou should be idolized at USC. Before you jump on me, let me explain. Before Lou arrived at USC our program was in shambles. Not only did Lou right the ship, he brought USC into the Limelight for basically the first real time. He brought in recruits USC never before could have gotten. He was also instrumental in getting Coach Spurrier to come to USC. Has USC been great or even good record-wise? No, but we are leaps and bounds ahead of where we were in 1998. We are currently upgrading our facilities and campus in large part of our football program which is in national light because of Coach Holtz directly and indirectly.

[SCRooster68]

This thread is soooooo two years ago.

[JerryBeeds]

Sure he had the two Outback bowl victories but the way he ran this program (especially in '03 and '04) set us back years IMO. He basically recruited nothing but JUCO's and trouble makers. He got one foot out the door after the '02 season and then basically let the inmates run the asylum. Just look at all the Holtz players and recruits who Spurrier threw off the team in his first season. It was obvious many of our players just weren't used to being disciplined in any tangible way. Also, the way he treated his son Skip was beyond disgraceful.

[lacene]

USC was brought somewhat into the limelight during Morrison's years, especially in '87 and '88, but I agree Holtz did take it a step further with his relationship with ESPN and getting USC on national TV. Holtz did also take USC to it's heights with the Outback Bowl wins - he doubled in two seasons what it took a hundred years for USC to do prior to him - but all the good things involved in those two years unfortunately couldn't bridge into Spurrier's tenur. By the time SOS got to the program, Holtz was being ushered out basically in disgrace over the USC-CU brawl, and SOS had to rebuild a program that shouldn't have needed rebuilding had Holtz tried to keep the ship from totally sinking under him.

They say you take the good with the bad, but that also means you have to take the bad with the good: what Holtz started in '00 and '01 was tremendous, and Spurrier has yet to return USC to that level, much less surpass it (maybe this season?), but Holtz couldn't - or wouldn't - sustain it. One thing about Lou Holtz is, he really doesn't care about leaving legacies behind at the program's he's coached at: if he wins titles - like at ND - that's good enough for him, but he doesn't seem to care if the programs he coaches at go straight down the shit tube when he leaves....

[Williams-Brice]

Lou was great the first three years. Yes, I know they went 0-11 in his first year, but for the first time in about 15 years, we saw a Carolina team fight until the final wistle . . . even though they sucked beyond all belief. You could see that if the bounces went our way a few times per game in the future, a Holtz team would play hard enough to cash in on those chances. Thus, you had the two Outback Bowl seasons.

The problems started after that second bowl. Holtz wanted to leave, and AD Mike McGee would not let him. He talked him out of re-retirement a couple times during that offseason. That was the biggest hit the program could have taken at that point. Why want a coach who doesn't want to be here? On the other hand, the program had just experienced the best two years in the history of the school, so why would McGee let Holtz walk? Afterall, he had talked Lou out of retirement just three years ago, and the returns on his investment were great. Why would it be different this time?

Well, the difference was that this time around, Lou really didn't want to be here. Lou wanted his son, Skip to get a chance. All things considered, promoting Skip to head coach after the second Outback Bowl would have been the best move McGee and Holtz could have made. Recruiting had picked up, and there were several coaches on the staff who were just flat out great recruiters. Skip was great. Charlie Strong was great. There were several others, too. However, the head guy didn't want to be here, and it got ugly fast.

Lou was basically here when he had to be here. He was here for spring practice. He was here for fall practice, arriving in August. Other than that, he was gone. Lou also failed to institute a recruiting plan. The coaches on the staff were given an area, and there was little to no communication among the staff regarding who would be offered, and whose commitments would be accepted. The individual staff members just did what they wanted without any type of comprehensive plan. At that point, the staff looked for quick fixes, and that's when we started to see Top 15 recruiting classes. Now, how did that happen if the staff didn't have a plan and if they were focusing on JUCO players? The answer is simple. Rivals.com did not rank JUCO prospects in those days. They gave that responsibility to another independent recruiting service, and very liberally told Rivals.com which prospect deserved what. My point being that all of these top notch recruiting classes people bring up regarding Holtz were vastly overrated. The talent brought in during those final three Holtz years was absolutely pathetic.

Next, we've got the Skip situation. Once Lou agreed to stay here, he threw Skip under the rug so many times. He gave him complete authority over the offense, and on gameday would throw out the game plan Skip and the other assistants had worked on all week. He even demoted him without telling him. Skip found out while on a recruiting trip . . . via a North Carolina radio station. How pathetic is that?

Finally, don't buy the whole "Spurrier is here because of Holtz" thing. Lou did not play as big of a role as many people have been led to believe. I'll leave it at that.

In conclusion, we should be thankful for Lou, especially for those first three years. However, the way he chose to handle the program and his son in his final three years was pathetic, and he has been held accountable for that. I think enough time has passed for people to move on, but I certainly understand why people still don't like Lou. All things considered, I don't really like him, but I appreciate what he did in his first three year.

There is one person who has come out scotch free in all of this. McGee moved out to Colorado and hasn't been heard from since. He screwed up this place in more ways than one, and begging Lou to stay after year three was one of his biggest mistakes. I wish there was a way to hold him accountable for all of his blunders, but I doubt he really cares what people in the Carolinas have to say anymore. Heck, he never cared to begin with.