"Doc" Holliday Signed as Marshall's Head Football Coach

by Caesar Cliffius

A couple of days ago, the Philadelphia Phillies signed Doc Halladay. Today, at around 2:00 EST, the Marshall Thundering Herd will sign John "Doc" Holliday for a five-year run as their head football coach.

The hiring of Butch Jones by the Cincinnati Bearcats yesterday threw a wrench into the gears of the Thundering Herd’s plans. They had interviewed five or six coaches and made a last minute interview with Holliday yesterday.

The position at Marshall became vacant when Mark Snyder resigned after being blasted at UTEP to end the season at 6-6. They will go to the Little Caesar’s Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit (formerly the Motor City Bowl) and play the Ohio Bobcats. Interim coach Rick Minter will coach Marshall for that game.

Who is Doc Holliday?  Holliday, 52, was born in Hurricane, WV about 30 minutes from Huntington. He graduated from West Virginia University, where he played linebacker.

He began as a graduate assistant for the Mountaineers in 1979. He spent the majority of his coaching career at WVU, mostly under Don Nehlen. He has also coached at North Carolina State and the University of Florida. This is his first head coaching assignment.

Holliday signed a five-year deal that will pay him $600,000 per year.

Former head coach Bobby Pruett was being mentioned by some alumni and financial supporters as their choice for the job. Some supporters had even agreed to pay Pruett $650,000 for three years, but Marshall President Steve Kopp nixed the idea. It is similar to when George Chaump, a former successful Marshall coach, was finished at Navy and applied for the job, just to be snubbed by the Muckety Mucks.

It is hard to come up with solid reasons for not hiring a coach with Pruett’s record. In nine years at Marshall, he drove the Herd to a 94-23 record, one Division 1 II-A national title, and a No. 10 finish in I-A.

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