East Carolina begins search for Holtz's successor

Published Jan. 15, 2010 11:39 p.m. ET

foxsports

East Carolina athletic director Terry Holland says the Pirates will begin working this weekend to find a new football coach after Skip Holtz left for South Florida.

In a news conference Friday, Holland said administrators will meet with members of the current coaching staff on Saturday to determine whether any want to be interim coach or a candidate to become Holtz's successor. From there, Holland said the Pirates will be ``hard at it'' next week in their search.

Holtz announced Thursday he was leaving behind a program he led to consecutive Conference USA championships and four straight bowl games. Holland said he has always had an informal list of 20 to 30 names in the back of his mind with the knowledge Holtz could one day leave for another job.