Fans take to social media, reacting to Holtzs departure
When news broke Sunday afternoon that USF football coach Skip Holtz had been fired, students and fans took to the Internet.
Reports broke online a few hours before the official announcement was made at a press conference at 4 p.m., with much of the student reaction coming from Twitter and Facebook.
Twitter is about to get buck wild #USF #SkipHoltzFired, Jordan Romero, a student majoring in finance and leadership studies, tweeted.
Many students initially reacted with excitement to Holtzs firing.
It feels like Christmas Day. I woke and finally heard USF admin has wised up and was kicking Skip Holtz to the curb, Jenna Broughton, a class of 2007 alumna, tweeted.
With USFs 3-9 record many fans had already been calling for USF to fire Holtz.
The Official Fire Skip Holtz page was created on Dec. 2, 2011, exactly one year before he was fired.
It has been done! the Facebook page read hours after rumors spread.
Mission accomplished, @FireSkipHoltz tweeted.
But student body President Brian Goff said it was a shame to lose Holtz.
I think Coach Holtz is a great man, he said. I think he genuinely cares about USF and the football program. We all can agree that it was a disappointing football season (but) its tragic when anyone loses their job.
Goff said he hopes for a quick turnaround and a new coach for the football program soon.
I hope we can quickly get a head coach with the talents to work with a program of our size and to keep the talent that we have, Goff said. I think Skip Holtz has been an excellent recruiter for our school. Its tough not to get caught up in the emotions of a losing season.
Chris Cacciotti, an alumnus who graduated in 2011, said the responsibility for the teams dismal record did not rest on Holtz alone.
We beat Notre Dame, and that was a pretty big win. Hes not getting that many wins but I dont think its just him, he said. Its weird he got fired.
But Collin Tennant, a senior majoring in environmental science, said he was looking forward to seeing a new coach.
(Holtz) probably needed to be done, he said. Hopefully we will get a better coach. I hope we get a coach that is tougher. (Holtz) seemed to be smiling too much, even when we were losing.
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