Nick Holt
| Nick Holt | |
|---|---|
 Holt in October 2007 |
|
| Sport(s) | Football |
| Current position | |
| Title | Defensive coordinator |
| Team | Washington (fired 12/30/2011) |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | October 15, 1962 |
| Playing career | |
| 1981, 83-85 | Pacific |
| Position(s) | Linebacker |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1986 1987 1988–89 1990–93 1994 1995–97 1998–2000 2001–03 2004–05 2006–08 2009-11 |
St. Mary's HS - DC UNLV - GA UNLV - DL Idaho - DL Idaho - DC/DL Idaho - DC/LB Louisville - DL USC - LB Idaho USC - DC/DL Washington - DC (AHC) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 5-18 (Idaho) |
| Statistics College Football Data Warehouse |
|
Nicholas "Nick" Holt V [1] (born October 15, 1962) is a college football coach, most recently the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach of the Washington Huskies.[2] Prior to taking the position in 2009, he was the defensive coordinator and defensive line coach of the USC Trojans, and the head coach of the Idaho Vandals from 2004-05. He is the grandson of the American athlete and actor Buster Crabbe, best known for playing the title character in the 1936 science fiction film serial Flash Gordon and its two sequels.
Contents |
[edit] Education
Nick Holt attended high school at Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, California, where he played football and baseball and graduated in 1981. He attended the University of the Pacific in Stockton, where he played linebacker and lettered for four years for the Tigers. In his senior season of 1985, Holt was an All-American honorable mention, Pacific's MVP and a team captain. He graduated from UOP in 1986 with a bachelor's degree in political economics.
[edit] Coaching career
In 1986, Holt served as defensive coordinator at St. Mary's High School in Stockton. In 1987 he moved to Las Vegas to coach linebackers at UNLV, serving as a graduate assistant during the first season. In 1990 Holt moved north to serve as the defensive line coach at Idaho under head coach John L. Smith, then Chris Tormey. Ater eight seasons in Moscow, he moved east in 1998 to Louisville to coach the defensive line under John L. Smith again. After three seasons with the Cardinals, Holt returned west in 2001 to Los Angeles to coach the linebackers at USC under Pete Carroll, where he stayed for three seasons.
[edit] Idaho
Following the 2003 season, Tom Cable was fired after four seasons at Idaho. Holt returned to the Palouse and was hired as the head coach, signing a four-year contract at $205,000 per year.[3] The Vandals went 3-9 in 2004 in their last season in the Sun Belt Conference and 2-9 in 2005, their first season in the WAC.[4] During his tenure at Idaho, a game was scheduled between the Vandals and his former Trojans for September 1, 2007.[5] Holt decided to take the game because it offered an opportunity to increase visibility to recruits in the region as well earn the Idaho $600,000 for the appearance.[6] However, despite a contract that ran through 2008, Holt departed after two seasons to return to USC, 19 months before the game was played.
[edit] USC
When former Idaho quarterback and alumnus Scott Linehan became head coach of the NFL's St. Louis Rams, he offered Holt a position as his defensive line coach. The two had coached together under John L. Smith at both Idaho and Louisville. Deciding to make a move before his children entered high school, Holt resigned as head coach from Idaho on February 6, 2006, to take a position with the Rams. After hearing the news, USC head coach Pete Carroll offered his former assistant more money and the position of defensive coordinator. A day later, Holt declined the offer from the Rams (estimated at $320,000 annually,[7] he had not signed a contract) to return to USC, and took over defensive coordinator responsibilities from Carroll.[6] Holt signed a three-year contract exceeding $1.4 million. [7] His second tour at USC also lasted three seasons, while the Trojans posted a 34-5 record (.872).
[edit] Washington
In December 2008, USC Trojans offensive coordinator and colleague Steve Sarkisian was hired as the head coach of the Washington Huskies in Seattle. Sarkisian and Holt coached their final game with the Trojans, the Rose Bowl, on January 1, 2009. Though it meant moving the family while the children were in high school, on January 5, 2009, Holt accepted the position of defensive coordinator at Washington, taking over for Ed Donatell, who was not retained by Sarkisian.[2] Holt signed a three-year contract valued at $2.1 million.[8]
At the end of Holt's second season at UW in 2010, the Husky defense appeared improved as the team went on a three-game winning streak to finish the regular season and become bowl-eligible, capped with a 19-7 victory over Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl.[9]
Holt is a member of the Washington Athletic Club.
[edit] 2011 season
While 2011 saw the emergence of sophomore quarterback Keith Price and improvement on offense, the Huskies were ranked near the bottom in the conference and nationally on defense.[9] Washington broke to an early 5-1 record and was bowl-eligible in October, but lost three straight in November before winning the Apple Cup to finish the regular season at 7-5. The five losses were not close games, with copious points and yardage yielded on defense, including 65 points at Stanford, with most of the damage coming from the Cardinal running game, not quarterback Andrew Luck.[9] At the Alamo Bowl, the Huskies faced Baylor, with Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III at quarterback. Similar to the Stanford game, the Huskies generally contained the high-profile quarterback, but were soundly beaten by the rest of the offense. Despite scoring eight touchdowns on offense, the Huskies gave up 67 points and 777 yards on defense. Holt was fired two days later, as were linebackers coach Mike Cox and safeties coach Jeff Mills. All three coaches had contracts through the 2012 season,[10] totaling over $1 million.[1][11] Cornerbacks coach Demetrice Martin left the staff two weeks earlier for UCLA under new head coach Jim Mora.[12] Johnny Nansen, defensive line and special teams, was the only defensive coach remaining on the UW staff at the end of 2011.[10][13]
[edit] Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Idaho Vandals (Sun Belt Conference) (2004) | |||||||||
| 2004 | Idaho | 3–9 | 2–5 | T–7th | |||||
| Idaho Vandals (Western Athletic Conference) (2005) | |||||||||
| 2005 | Idaho | 2–9 | 2–6 | T–6th | |||||
| Idaho: | 5–18 | 4–11 | |||||||
| Total: | 5–18 | ||||||||
[edit] References
- ^ a b Spokesman-Review - Washington State Employee Salaries - Assistant football coach employees - Univ. of Washington - 2010 compensation - accessed 2011-12-31
- ^ a b Holt takes over Washington's defense, Associated Press, January 5, 2009, Accessed January 5, 2009.
- ^ ESPN.com - Idaho coach Holt confirms exit for NFL's Rams - Associated Press - 2006-02-08
- ^ College Football Data Warehouse.com - Nick Holt - head coaching record - accessed 2009-10-09
- ^ Gary Klein, Opener against Idaho is Holt's legacy, Los Angeles Times, August 27, 2007.
- ^ a b Matt Baney, About to renew acquaintances, Lewiston Tribune, August 29, 2007.
- ^ a b Spokesman-Review - Holt 'soap opera' takes turn - 2006-02-08
- ^ The Tacoma News Tribune - Nick Holt's intensity comes with a price - 2009-01-07
- ^ a b c Yahoo sports - Holt, 2 other defensive coaches out at Washington - Associated Press - 2011-12-31
- ^ a b Seattle Times - Holt, Mills, Cox fired - Husky blog - 2011-12-31
- ^ Seattle Times - All UW assistants signed through 2012 season (or about to be) - Husky blog - 2011-04-06
- ^ Seattle Times - Huskies lose cornerbacks coach Demetrice Martin to UCLA - Husky blog - 2011-12-14
- ^ Go Huskies.com - University of Washington athletics - football - coaches - accessed 2011-12-31
[edit] External links
- Go Huskies.com - Nick Holt - Assistant Head Coach & Defensive Coordinator - 2009-11
- USC Trojans.com - Nick Holt - Defensive Coordinator - 2006-08
- Univ. of Idaho Argonaut - "Holt bolts for Rams," - 07-Feb-2006
- The Orange County Register "In Holt he trusts." - 19-Aug-2006
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- 1962 births
- Living people
- Washington Huskies football coaches
- USC Trojans football coaches
- Idaho Vandals football coaches
- UNLV Rebels football players
- Louisville Cardinals football coaches
- Pacific Tigers football players
- University of the Pacific (United States) alumni
- People from San Jose, California
- Sportspeople from San Jose, California
