of the Huskies football team, he accumulated a winning percentage of .596 (34–23) over five seasons. South Carolina On December 4, 1998, The University of South Carolina announced that Lou Holtz would serve as its next head football coach. Lou asked Skip if he would move down to Columbia to become his offensive coordinator—the same position Skip held during his final two years at Notre Dame. Skip accepted the offer, in part due to a desire to live closer to his parents and so his children could spend more time with their grandparents. In 1996, Skip's mother, Beth, was diagnosed with throat cancer. Two years later, the cancer spread to her liver, lung, adrenal glands, and ovary. Meanwhile, Skip and Lou continued to coach football at South Carolina. As Lou began to struggle as head coach, the question of his eventual successor arose. When Skip was hired in 1998, Lou had included a clause in the hiring contract that Skip would succeed him after he retired. South Carolina Athletic Director Mike McGee rebutted by saying, "There are no formal or informal guarantees at him," and "It's always helpful to have potential succession in a staff." The 2000 and 2001 seasons brought South Carolina back to national prominence with consecutive Outback Bowl wins over Ohio State and season ending rankings in the Top 25. However, after going 5–7 the following two seasons and suffering a season-ending blowout in 2003 by intrastate rival Clemson, Skip was demoted from the offensive coordinator and assistant head coaching positions to quarterbacks coach. Four assistant coaches—including the team's defensive coordinator—were fired in the same shakeup that saw Skip demoted. On November 22, 2004, one season after Skip's demotion, Lou Holtz announced he was retiring as head coach of South Carolina. The next day, South Carolina announced Steve Spurrier as the next head football coach. Coach Spurrier announced that he was keeping only three members of Lou Holtz's staff. Letters were sent to all the other staffers—including Skip Holtz—informing them that they likely would not be retained. East Carolina With his firing imminent, Holtz resigned. Because he was formerly a head coach, Skip had several offers from Division I-A and Division I-AA teams. After several interviews, he elected to take the head coaching position at East Carolina University. East Carolina announced Skip Holtz as their 19th head football coach on December 3, 2004. Holtz assumed control of