A report emerged last week naming Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn as the front-runner to land the job as Butch Davis’ permanent replacement at North Carolina. Others such as Houston’s Kevin Sumlin and Southern Miss’ Larry Fedora have been mentioned as possibilities as well.
So has Skip Holtz, who spent five years in the state as a head coach at East Carolina prior to leaving for USF in 2010. The fact that Holtz was a classmate of UNC’s new athletic director, Bubba Cunningham, at Notre Dame added credility to the talk on a couple of levels.
On Monday, Holtz was asked about the speculation tying him to the opening, and, as expected, denied any coaching wheels are or have been in motion with the Tar Heels.
“I have not talked to anybody,” Holtz said. “It is this time of year when speculation goes on everywhere, who’s going to take what job. I have not talked to anybody about the North Carolina job.
“I’ve got my head in my dungeon here trying to do what we have to do to find a way to win. I think we have that obligation to this senior class and to the underclassmen as we’re trying to build the program. I’m excited about what we’re building here. I’m excited about the progress we’re making. I’m excited about the team I’m coaching here.”
As is always the case in coaching searches at this level, the fact that Holtz has not talked to anybody means next to nothing; these guys have agents to in part give them plausible deniability when it comes to sniffing around other opportunities.
USF’s athletic director, Doug Woolard, said he had not been contacted by anyone at UNC seeking permission to speak to Holtz, although, again, that means next to nothing.