Holtz Speculation Has Donahue as Possible Successor

By LARRY STEWART

Nov. 17, 1996 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Lou Holtz has not even vacated his Notre Dame coaching job yet, and already there is speculation as to who will replace him.

One of the names that surfaced Saturday was former UCLA coach Terry Donahue.

After the Irish routed Pittsburgh, 60-6, and amid rampant speculation that he would be leaving Notre Dame at the conclusion of the season, Holtz dodged questions about his status. But all that appears left is a formal announcement, which could come early this week after Holtz has had time to address his players and coaching staff.

A source close to Donahue said he is a viable candidate, possibly the No. 1 candidate, to replace Holtz, and a Notre Dame source said the Donahue possibility made sense because he is available.

Other names being mentioned include San Diego Charger Coach Bobby Ross, Northwestern’s Gary Barnett, Louisiana State’s Gerry DiNardo (a Notre Dame guard in the early 1970s) and current Irish defensive coordinator Bob Davie, who took over for Holtz last season when he had neck surgery and directed the team to a 41-0 victory over Vanderbilt.

Wisconsin’s Barry Alvarez, a former defensive coordinator under Holtz at Notre Dame, may have been a more viable candidate before this season.

Reports of Holtz’s impending resignation came out Friday. CBS Radio and ESPN had Holtz telling his players as early as today and an announcement coming Tuesday or Wednesday that he was leaving.

There was speculation Saturday that Holtz is headed for the Minnesota Vikings, where Dennis Green may be out because of problems on and off the field. The Vikings have lost four games in a row and Green is involved in a lawsuit and a countersuit with a woman who claimed Green paid for her to have an abortion in 1992.

After Notre Dame’s victory Saturday in South Bend, Ind., Holtz said, “I’m not saying I will be here next year because I don’t know. There comes a time when you need to sit and you need to look at certain situations.

“You know I’m going to resign eventually. You knew that when I took this job. I will leave Notre Dame eventually. I want to leave it on a solid footing. I’m sure we’ll have a press conference in the future.”

Notre Dame Athletic Director Mike Wadsworth said there could be a news conference this week to announce whether Holtz is going or staying.

“We feel we owe it to Lou to allow him to make that announcement,” Wadsworth said. “We expect that may happen sometime early next week.”

Asked what the announcement would be, Wadsworth said, “If I answered that question, I’d be making the statement for him.”

Donahue, in Miami working the the Hurricanes’ game against Virginia Tech for CBS, was asked on the air by play-by-play announcer Tim Ryan if he was a candidate for the Notre Dame job.

“I’m very happy working for CBS,” Donahue said.

Donahue’s wife, Andrea, said her husband was en route from Miami to Los Angeles on Saturday night and wasn’t due home until around 2 a.m. Andrea said the trip was taking so long because of a layover in Atlanta, not because of any meeting with Notre Dame officials in the Chicago area.

Donahue has told friends he is enjoying his first season away from coaching and enjoying his first year in broadcasting.

“If this broadcasting thing works out--and I am really working at it with hopes that it does--then I don’t think I’d ever go back to coaching,” he said recently. “But then you can never say never.”

And the Notre Dame job is not simply another job. It’s the most coveted job in college football. And Donahue, who is Catholic, has privately in the past expressed interest in the Notre Dame job.

If he ends up coaching at Notre Dame after 20 years as UCLA’s head coach, he would be following a coach who has a 99-29-2 record since 1985. Holtz’s 99 victories are second only to Knute Rockne’s school record of 105, which Holtz has said repeatedly he does not want to break.

Holtz, 59, has an overall record of 215-94-7 in a 27-year career and is sixth on the active Division I-A list.

Holtz’s latest victory on Saturday was an easy one as the 14th-ranked Irish (7-2) scored six touchdowns in the second quarter against Pitt (3-7).

Highlighting the barrage were three punt returns for touchdowns, 55 and 83 yards by Allen Rossum and 74 yards by Autry Denson.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

A Fine Line

Where Lou Holtz ranks among Notre Dame football coaches:

SEASONS

Coach:Seasons

Knute Rockne: 13

Lou Holtz: 11

Ara Parseghian: 11

Frank Leahy: 11