On January 20, 2022, I was sitting on my futon and furiously hammering out a story about the Birmingham Stallions’ new head football coach … Gene Chizik.
Remember that?
His name had been leaked earlier – along with some other men who would be part of the reimagined United States Football League – and I was hardly excited.
Yes, he had won a national championship at Auburn, but he was also notorious for shielding his players from the press. Maybe he’d be different as a pro coach but maybe he wouldn’t, and that had me worried that covering Birmingham’s latest alt-football team would be a challenge.
But as we quickly learned, Chizik wasn’t named head coach of the Stallions, instead accepting a job as defensive coordinator and assistant head coach for defense at the University of North Carolina.
However, almost as soon as the Chizik hire was nixed, Skip Holtz got the nod.
“I’m thrilled to be coaching in the USFL and I can’t wait to get started,” Holtz said via a USFL press release. “The opportunity to build a new league from scratch, with the support we have, is unique. I’m also really excited about having the chance to build something in Birmingham, a city that I know will embrace the USFL and the Stallions.”
I met that news with a shrug.
My points of reference were that he was Lou Holtz’s son and had spent the previous nine seasons as head coach at Louisiana Tech. As a UAB grad and UAB fan, I was morally obligated to despise the Bulldogs – at least when it came to athletic competition. So, to have a guy that led them for nearly a decade take over a team that would play in the Blazers’ home stadium was just … off-putting.
Then, on January 31, I went to his news conference at Protective Stadium and started warming to him. If nothing else, he talked a good game.
“You look at the draft and when training camp starts and you wake up thinking, ‘I’ve got to do that and I’ve got to do that and I’ve got to do that,’” Holtz said. “But that’s all part of the excitement and the energy and the fun of what we’re building.”
All that was less than two and half years ago but man, it seems like ancient history now.
And after two USFL championships, 30 victories, a transition to the United Football League and another banner year in the Ham, I can’t imagine anyone else but Holtz running the show.
What he’s accomplished in the latest incarnation of spring pro football is phenomenal, and he’s done it with good humor and class.
I asked him on Tuesday to look back on his decision to try something new.
“You know, I had just been fired from Louisiana Tech and I was frustrated,” Holtz said. “I felt like we had a lot of success there as we went to seven bowl games in a row and won six of them in a row … we had a lot of success for a program that had never been to back-to-back bowls. So, when I got fired, I felt like it was unfair and felt like it was unjust. I had to have my little pity party.”
With 151 victories on his resume, it was only a matter of time before someone came looking for him. That someone was Brian Woods, who would become president of the new USFL.
“I got a phone call from Brian Woods, who asked me if I was down at our beach house down in Florida,” Holtz said. “Then he asked me if I would come meet with him in Orlando because he wanted to talk to me about an opportunity.”
That opportunity was to take the reins of one of the new teams that would usher in the USFL’s 2022 season.
“I felt like I needed a fresh start,” Holtz explained. “I felt like I needed something new, and I always say when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. I was ready to get out of the college game and when I sat down and met with Brian, he sold me on it. I loved the idea and the business plan that FOX (Sports) had put together.
“I came out of lunch and I called my wife and she said, ‘How’d your interview go?’ And I said, ‘I took it.’ She said, ‘You did what?’ and I said, ‘I took the job … I’m going to be a coach in the spring league.’ She goes, ‘What team? and I said, “I don’t know. He didn’t tell me. He said he’d figure that out later.’”
Fortunately for Birmingham gridiron fans, that team was the Stallions.
Holtz and general manager Zach Potter have worked together to create quite a product, one built from the bottom up and molded into the best in the “offseason” gridiron business.
Just think about it … when all the coaches in the USFL assembled in Birmingham for the initial draft, they all had the same pool to draw from. They all shared similar information, and the scales were not weighted in favor of one team or the next.
Holtz promptly put together the best club in the USFL’s first year, then the best in its second, and – so far – the best in the UFL’s inaugural campaign.
But it’s not like he’s had the same guys year after year … or even game after game.
In leagues like the UFL (and the USFL and XFL before it), there’s going to be massive turnover. Some guys will get NFL shots, others will go to Canada, and a few will see seasons and/or careers end due to injury.
But through it all, Holtz’s teams have been able to maintain a remarkable level of excellence.
“It has been probably one of the best jobs I’ve ever had,” he said. “Definitely one of the most enjoyable jobs that I’ve ever had. Working with these young men, helping them grow and develop … the thing that I love about coaching is the development. And you’ve got a group of young men that are in this league because they want to play football.
“They’re not prima donnas. They want film. Everybody makes the same money and all they want is to get better. ‘Coach, help me get better. What do I got to do? How do I do this?’ They’re asking questions. When my wife and I look back at getting fired by Louisiana Tech, we see it as a blessing.”
Ruston’s loss has been the Magic City’s gain, and here we are again, with the 9-1 Stallions boasting the best record in the UFL, and playing the Michigan Panthers (7-3) on Saturday in the UFL Conference Championship.
Will the dynasty last forever?
No dynasty does.
It could end Saturday at Protective Stadium, or eight days later at The Dome in St. Louis in the UFL Championship Game.
Then again, it could extend into 2025, in which case pundits will wonder if Birmingham can turn a three-peat into a four-peat.
Regardless, Holtz has proven time and time again just what an outstanding coach he is.
He might not have been the Stallions’ first choice, but he’s shown he is absolutely the best choice.
Birmingham is lucky to have him.