I'm a huge fan of Braun and I'm not taking anything away from him. But when we're throwing around accolades, I wonder if we should throw some Skip's way, too.
How much credit does Skip Holtz get?
- Thread starter FeralFelidae
- Start date
It is a very interesting question, but I don’t think any of us know enough to answer.
I would love to know the answer. However, if Braun is retained, I would think it would be a good idea to keep someone like Skip around for someone he can turn to for advice for a couple years.
He could have provided helpful advice in specific game situations, but unless he is there day in day out in practice, I would heavily weight Coach Braun’s leadership.
I would rather see a hungry, competent 34 year old than an also-ran, generally speaking
I would rather see a hungry, competent 34 year old than an also-ran, generally speaking
What's good is that we don't know because he has been kept in the background doing his work behind the scenes
In the situation we are in it is good that he is enough in the background that we do not know what is going on. Good way to handle it as it does not undermine Braun
If Skip’s been instrumental, not a popular thing but have to give Gragg some props for that move. Just trying to be objective.
@lou v @mshelton33 have you seen Skip around at any practices or heard him mentioned in press conferences at all?
I think it's tough to judge since we don't know how active he has been.
Has the relationship been "one ten minute phone call a week, make it at 2:40 on Tuesday and don't be late" from him or has he been living in the area and coming to the Ryan Fieldhouse for 40 hours a week?
I am sure having him available, in any capacity, has been a good source of stability for coach Braun. It's always nice to have a guy a generation older than you who can be a mentor in my opinion.
Has the relationship been "one ten minute phone call a week, make it at 2:40 on Tuesday and don't be late" from him or has he been living in the area and coming to the Ryan Fieldhouse for 40 hours a week?
I am sure having him available, in any capacity, has been a good source of stability for coach Braun. It's always nice to have a guy a generation older than you who can be a mentor in my opinion.
Braun gave Skip props for helping with the recruiting, but didn't really say anything about how instrumental he was (or wasn't) on game day, the absence of any comment probably says a lot, as I get the feeling Braun would be heaping praise on him if he had been very helpful on game day.
Sir...this is a message board...how dare you question our knowledge of relevant information upon which we form our very strong opinions.
My sense is that Skip has zero contact with the players, and was brought in as a mentor/sounding board. The program’s culture, attitude are a function of Braun and the current coaching staff.
In many ways, NU was starting from zero on recruiting in July, after the initial crush of both decommits and players no longer interested because of the instability.
While NU has a full time recruiting staff, I imagine that Skip’s experience has been helpful as a sounding board. Ayeni had been the recruiting coordinator before leaving for the Broncos*. I don’t know who serves that role now — there is nobody named as recruiting coordinator on the coaches page.
Holtz’s role is intentionally ambiguous, and I assume has evolved over the year:
“Holtz will assist in a myriad of responsibilities including game preparation, day-to-day operations of the program and advising Coach Braun.”
To answer OP’s question, I HAVE NO IDEA.
*Lou seems to have done a good job at Denver. Buncha limited backs that he’s mixing and matching.
In many ways, NU was starting from zero on recruiting in July, after the initial crush of both decommits and players no longer interested because of the instability.
While NU has a full time recruiting staff, I imagine that Skip’s experience has been helpful as a sounding board. Ayeni had been the recruiting coordinator before leaving for the Broncos*. I don’t know who serves that role now — there is nobody named as recruiting coordinator on the coaches page.
Holtz’s role is intentionally ambiguous, and I assume has evolved over the year:
“Holtz will assist in a myriad of responsibilities including game preparation, day-to-day operations of the program and advising Coach Braun.”
To answer OP’s question, I HAVE NO IDEA.
*Lou seems to have done a good job at Denver. Buncha limited backs that he’s mixing and matching.
Last edited:
I didn't think there were any options remaining for those who are desperate to discredit Braun....
but I forgot about Skip Holtz!
I mean, obviously Holtz called the plays in the first half of the Wisconsin game, the entire Maryland game, the 2nd half of the UTEP game and the 2nd half of the Minnesota game. The rest of the time it was Bajakian and Braun.
but I forgot about Skip Holtz!
I mean, obviously Holtz called the plays in the first half of the Wisconsin game, the entire Maryland game, the 2nd half of the UTEP game and the 2nd half of the Minnesota game. The rest of the time it was Bajakian and Braun.
I honestly don't think discrediting or diminishing coach Braun is the purpose of this thread.
Well FeralFelidae makes that clear regarding his intentions. He's been solid on this throughout.
Somehow this thread has stayed relatively objective... a good indication that the anti-Braun crowd is capitulating.
Mike burns his neighbor's house to the ground out of sheer incompetence. The fire tragically kills the man of the house, but the surviving sons want to rebuild. Mike tells everybody in the neighborhood that the house was a disgrace and that the dead man was a bad guy. Mike hires somebody to advise the neighbors on how to rebuild, if the sons ask for help....
I don't want to be like Mike.
I know I’ll regret asking this, but who in the actual F is the “anti-Braun crowd?”
I have seen universal admiration on this board for the job the guy has done. My guess — I suppose it might make for a good poll — is that the majority of us want him to get the full time gig, myself included.
Last edited:
Read the board, there are still some people who are "not convinced".
And that is their right. There have been times in the past where emotionally schools have hired replacements based on a few good games.
Example Ted Roof got hired at Duke because the week after he got hired he almost knocked off National Championship contender Tennessee, and did beat Georgia Tech and archrival North Carolina. Instead of a national search, the powers at Duke said "We have our man" and hired him and he was awful.
I don't think this applies to coach Braun because he has had a full season to show us what he is capable of and also ran the summer practices. In the Duke case it was just coaching four games.
I support coach Braun but I do not doubt the sincerity of those who remain skeptical.
And that is their right. There have been times in the past where emotionally schools have hired replacements based on a few good games.
Example Ted Roof got hired at Duke because the week after he got hired he almost knocked off National Championship contender Tennessee, and did beat Georgia Tech and archrival North Carolina. Instead of a national search, the powers at Duke said "We have our man" and hired him and he was awful.
I don't think this applies to coach Braun because he has had a full season to show us what he is capable of and also ran the summer practices. In the Duke case it was just coaching four games.
I support coach Braun but I do not doubt the sincerity of those who remain skeptical.
Edit: Nevermind. Continuing this conversation is just inviting negativity to the board. This is an exciting time to be a cat fan. I will bow out, and allow PWB to have the final word.
Last edited:
Yes thats how it always seems to you. I've been defending Braun against his critics all season. No apologies.
Who is Anti-Braun? I can’t believe anybody isn’t grateful or unwilling to acknowledge his impressive accomplishments. We are all pro-Braun. The question is whether he should be given the reins full time for the entire program now or if he should benefit from working and learning under a more veteran and championship caliber coach. I’m very pro-Braun, but still see the ideal arrangement as hiring Bob Stoops for a few years, putting into place the culture and processes and foundation to compete for and win championships, and grooming Braun to take over full time.
I was merely saying that the Braun detractors (who wanted NU to get rid of him and bring in a "real" head coach) had seen all of their arguments destroyed and the only thing left for them was to try to give Skip Holtz credit for the team's surprising play.
Was I mocking the Braun detractors? Yes. Do they deserve it? Absolutely.
I can't really help it if people feel bad for saying Braun needs to go or isn't up to the job or whatever and then being proven wrong. Obviously they've all but disappeared now.
Its really silly to pretend that each thread is its own universe and there were never any Braun detractors.
I don’t recall anyone saying Braun needs to go. I honestly had somewhat tempered feelings as I understand why he was given the job and he honestly earned it (though if he drops the next two I’m not so sure) but I thought we could have taken a more optimal approach. I like him a lot but as others I am not sure he is proven in certain areas (e.g. recruiting at this level) but I can understand why people want to give him the benefit of the doubt. I very much wanted him to stay on as our DC (fantastic job restoring our excellence on that side of the ball) and to be molded into the successor of an older more accomplished coach whom he could learn from to fill in the few gaps. Objectively, nobody can say he is the most experienced or qualified person for the job, but do all the things he brings to the table overcome that? Probably, yes, to be honest.
In any case, I do appreciate all that he does bring to the table, I’m unable to complain. And I am super happy for him and I’m 100% behind him now that he’s our coach.
And I look forward to him proving those who claimed we were heading to a second dark ages completely wrong as they were about the prospects of this season.
In any case, I do appreciate all that he does bring to the table, I’m unable to complain. And I am super happy for him and I’m 100% behind him now that he’s our coach.
And I look forward to him proving those who claimed we were heading to a second dark ages completely wrong as they were about the prospects of this season.
I don't recall anyone saying that Braun had not done well under the circumstances we were facing, Don't recall anyone saying they felt he needed to go They did question whether he had the experience to be the HC that was going to be needed for the rebuild facing NU. And it is reasonable to question these things, After all, you don't hire a new HC every day and you want to make sure you get it right which means looking at not just the strengths but the weaknesses of the candidate
As far as Holtz's impact, he is part of a team and an attempt to help Braun navigate the challenges of the situation, He kept in the background as he should and we don't know the input he had which is also the best way to handle things to not undermine Braun.
Braun is now the HC and as much as we like him, he still has little experience in a lot of important areas, Hopefully they will surround him with the people that can continue to help him navigate these issues.
Last edited:
Four words I never thought EvanstonCat would write......
Back when he was at the Chicago tribune, the excellent/terrible joke was “Skip Baylees — is that a name or a suggestion?”
Then, who knew. Now, most certainly the latter.
