Heading into Saturday’s United Football League spotlight game between the Birmingham Stallions and St. Louis Battlehawks, here are some numbers to consider – Skip Holtz 303, Anthony Becht 16.
Those figures reflect the number of times the men who’ll lead their teams into action have been on the sidelines wearing the hat of a head coach.
Holtz logged a 152-121 record during 17 years as a college boss. He joined the new United States Football League in 2022 and never looked back, going 21-3 and leading Birmingham to back-to-back championships. Four teams from the USFL, including the Stallions, were folded into the UFL. His 2024 Birmingham team stands at 6-0.
Becht, on the other hand, got his first head coaching gig last year when St. Louis was one of the flagship franchises of XFL 3.0. He led the ‘Hawks to a 7-3 record and has them sitting at 5-1 in the new spring pro football circuit.
While Becht has proved to be a quick study, it makes sense that his and Holtz’s paths never crossed until the eight UFL teams convened in Arlington, Texas, last February.
“No, we hadn’t been together a lot,” Holtz said. “I mean, I spent my time in college and he spent his time in the NFL, so we had a little different path to get here.”
While Holtz’s playing days ended following his senior season at Notre Dame in 1986, Becht went on to have a fine NFL career after graduating from West Virginia in 1999.
The tight end played 12 years for five different teams, making the All-Rookie Team while suiting up for the New York Jets in 2000.
He finished his pass-catching/blocking days with 188 receptions for 1,537 yards and 21 touchdowns.
Becht’s whistle-and-clipboard career began in 2019 when he coached tight ends for the San Diego Fleet of the ill-fated Alliance of American Football, and then got his first shot at the top job last year with the Battlehawks.
“I was not on their radar,” Becht told Tampa’s FOX 13 in March. “But, be determined in what you want to do. Twelve years in the (NFL), five organizations, seven different head coaches with two firings in between. I learned a lot of good and bad from the coaches I’ve been around.”
One coach he gets to be around now is Holtz.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Skip Holtz,” Becht said on Monday. “He’s 27-3, he’s the crème de la crème of spring leagues. If you’re a coach that cares and wants to be a winner, you want to emulate that record – you want to be as good as they’ve been the last three seasons.”
Holtz said he’s become quite familiar with Becht over the late winter and spring.
“Where I really got an opportunity to be around him was when we scrimmaged each other during the preseason,” Holtz said. “The UFL had slated everybody to scrimmage somebody, and we got matched together. So, I spent a lot of time with him on the phone and I’ve talked to him a lot during the course of the season. I have great respect for him and I think he does an unbelievable job from a coaching standpoint.”
If past is prologue, the first regular season matchup between their teams should be a dandy.
Both sides are capable of big plays – and stopping big plays – and appear to be evenly matched across the board. Birmingham has the UFL’s No.1-ranked defense while St. Louis’ offense is No.1.
It’s just Week 7, but it would hardly be surprising to see these squads meet again on June 16 in St. Louis – site of the inaugural UFL Championship Game.
But, first things first.
Becht says he never looks ahead, so he isn’t looking past Saturday.
“Consistency matters if you want to be a good coach,” he said. “You can’t be a good coach one year and then the next year lay an egg. If you want to excel in this profession, you’ve got to show consistency.
“They play sound, aggressive football, they’re good on both sides, special teams are clean, they don’t make a lot of mistakes, and their quarterbacks make plays.”
The clash is set for 3 p.m. on FOX.