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Pete Thamel, ESPN
Northwestern is expected to hire veteran coach Skip Holtz as the special assistant to the head coach for the 2023 season, sources told ESPN on Monday.
Holtz’s assignment is temporary for the upcoming months and won’t interfere with his USFL job as the head coach of the Birmingham Stallions, according to ESPN sources.
He enters a difficult situation at Northwestern, which fired coach Pat Fitzgerald this summer in the wake of a flurry of hazing allegations. A spate of lawsuits have followed the firing.
Holtz will be tasked with being a veteran resource to interim Northwestern coach David Braun to help he and the Wildcats navigate the season.
Braun, who was hired as the school’s defensive coordinator this offseason, spoke at Big Ten Media Days about his plan to call the defense for Northwestern this year to help keep continuity. The presence of Holtz is expected to give Braun someone with a more holistic perspective and allow Braun to focus on and maximize the defense.
Holtz brings 22 years of college head-coaching experience from his time at UConn, East Carolina, South Florida and Louisiana Tech.
Holtz also won back-to-back USFL championships with Birmingham the past two years, and sources say he will continue in that role in 2024.
Holtz went 64-50 at Louisiana Tech from 2013-21, including a stretch of six straight bowl wins.
Holtz is the son of Hall of Fame coach Lou Holtz, who he worked for at South Carolina from 1999 to 2004 before taking over at East Carolina.
Northwestern went 1-11 last season, and Braun is a first-time head coach who just arrived at the school in January.
Northwestern opens the season against Rutgers on Sept. 3 in a nationally televised Sunday game.
