By Bill Curry
Special to ESPN.com
Lou Holtz has been a college head coach for six universities. By season's end, he will have taken every single one of them to bowl games. To my knowledge, no one else has done that. Except for one awkward season with the New York Jets in 1976, he has stacked success on success, often in the unlikeliest of situations. His record of 216-106-7 is fourth winningest on the active coaching list and 11th on the all-time list. He is one of six coaches to have taken three different programs to a Top 20 finish (North Carolina State, Arkansas, Notre Dame). At North Carolina State and Arkansas his teams experienced instant success. At William and Mary, Minnesota, Notre Dame and South Carolina it was in the second year that startling results began to mount.
His odyssey has included many of the elements of the epic poem by the same name. The serious illness of his wife and the loss of his mother were national stories as he and his team endured an 0-11 season in 1999. He is world famous as a speaker and motivator, he is a successful TV commentator, a reasonable magician, and a clever stand up comedian. Even coaches who dislike him confess that he can "Get more done in a day then any other man on earth."
Even taking all of the above into account, anyone suggesting last summer that Holtz would have the South Carolina Gamecocks playing Florida for the Eastern Division Championship of the SEC this Saturday would have been summarily banished to the outer darkness of sports lunacy. Trust me, there are many voices "out there" (sports lunatics), but none so crazy as to predict such a bizarre happenstance. Well documented as the toughest division in the toughest conference for football, the SEC East annually grinds up the weak, which is anyone other than Florida and Tennessee, and spits out the toughest, always Florida or Tennessee, who then proceed to win the SEC championship most years. Each of those has added a national championship during the last five years. So how can this be? Is this guy really magic? Is it sleight of hand, or sheer genius? Though Lou may be a genius level I.Q., it is none of the above.
Our ESPN2 crew has done two South Carolina games this year, Georgia and Kentucky, and we were surprised by how little Holtz talked about strategy, and how much he talked about people and relationships. He talked about turning down Mike McGee three times, about how his wife Beth had insisted on his taking the job. He talked about turning over his beloved offense to his young coordinator (son Skip) last December. He talked about adjusting an already formidable defense just a little. But most of all he talked about players, their lives, their relationships, and their capacity to trust each other.
He said some real trust and belief were building, and that this team would shock the football world. And this was just prior to the second game of the season. When Lou Holtz speaks of teamwork, group dynamics, and trust-building on the gridiron, be sure to listen carefully. He understands some universal things...things that span conferences, decades, and cultural barriers. He is contagious, and his men will be ready this Saturday. And, the man can coach ball on gameday -- big time. Holtz is the Man for All Conferences (save the AFC East).
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By Rod Gilmore
Special to ESPN.com
Who is the better coach, Lou Holtz or Steve Spurrier? That is a very difficult question to answer. Both have had tremendous careers. However, they are at different stages. Spurrier is still in his prime, and Holtz is nearing the end of a great career. For me, it's like trying to choose between classic rock and hip hop -- old school vs. today. They're both good, but which one I choose depends on my mood. (In case you're wondering, Spurrier is the hip hop, and Holtz is classic). If forced to choose, I'd probably feel hip hop a little more.
There are two key factors in coaching: first is getting your team to buy into what you're selling; and second is having a style of play that fits your personality. Steve Spurrier does both of these as well, if not better, than anyone in college football. Players accept that he is the ultimate authority and that he may be a little cranky. They also know Spurrier will play the best guy to get the best result for the team. No politics. For example, check out the way Spurrier has handled his quarterback situation. He's placed the team in the hands of redshirt freshman Rex Grossman even though he has senior Jesse Palmer and hot shot freshman Brock Berlin. Despite facing a potential volatile situation, the QBs have accepted this and Florida is 8-1. Not bad.
Clearly, the South Carolina players have bought into what Holtz is selling too. They had no choice because they had not been successful for so long. However, the test will be whether they continue to buy into it after they have had success for a couple of years -- or will some "stars" emerge who want more individual success or more of an NFL style philosophy?
Also, you have to love Spurrier's style of play. His passing style is aggressive and puts pressure on defenses. He believes you have to outscore folks, and he's as innovative as any coach around. Holtz, on the other hand, is a bit of a throwback. He relies on strong defense and a sound running game. That's his reputation, and it has worked for him in every place he's coached.
Spurrier can be very emotional at times during games, but it doesn't appear to hurt his team very often. He is very demanding of his players and coaches. Holtz is similar in this respect. Both Spurrier and Holtz have coached in big games and know how to handle the pressure and prepare their teams. Both really know how to handle the media. I can hear Holtz right now saying something like this: "We're not a very good football team. We've been lucky. We'll need a lot of luck to be able to play with a team as talented and well-coached as Florida. We're just hoping not to be embarrassed." Hhowever, Spurrier usually does a better job of diverting the media's attention from his players to himself. This allows his players to focus and Spurrier to send whatever message he needs to send. Spurrier gets the edge in this game because the game is in the Swamp and he is a master at getting the fans involved in the big games.
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