Holtz finalizes staff

USF coach Skip Holtz announced the completion of his coaching staff after hiring offensive line coach Steve Shankweiler on Monday afternoon.

Shankweiler, Holtz’s offensive coordinator for five years at East Carolina, joins quarterbacks coach Peter Vaas, offensive coordinator Todd Fitch, defensive coordinator Mark Snyder, assistant head coach and defensive backs coach Rick Smith and special teams coordinator and defensive ends coach Vernon Hargreaves as new USF coaches.

Shankweiler, 57, has been a part of seven bowl appearances during three separate coaching stints at ECU, coaching the 2005 unit to 2,816 passing yards – the most at East Carolina since 1996.

In 2006, ECU set a record for first downs in a season while gaining 3,024 passing yards, the third-best total in school history.

Smith, Hargreaves, Vaas and Fitch also coached with Holtz at ECU.

Holtz, hired on Jan. 14, retained wide receivers coach Phil McGeoghan, defensive line coach Kevin Patrick, defense graduate assistant J.R. Reed, tight ends coach Larry Scott and offensive graduate assistant Kevin Bird from former coach Jim Leavitt’s staff.

Former offensive coordinator Mike Canales and former defensive coordinator Joe Tresey weren’t retained.

Former running backs coach and recruiting coordinator Carl Franks, who served as USF’s interim head coach after Leavitt’s firing, will remain with the program in an administrative role yet to be determined.