East Carolina football coach Skip Holtz contacted Minnesota coach Glen Mason on Monday asking to speak with defensive coordinator Greg Hudson about an assistant position on his staff, East Carolina Director of Media Relations Tom McClellan said Tuesday.
McClellan said he spoke with the Pirates’ new coach Tuesday about the matter, and Holtz said he wasn’t comfortable releasing anything or pursuing Hudson further in light of the Gophers’ upcoming bowl game, the Music City Bowl, on Dec. 31.
“He is not on the list (of assistant coach announcements) to finish out the week,” McClellan said.
The Daily Reflector in Greenville, N.C., reported Tuesday that Hudson would be named an assistant under Holtz soon.
Minnesota Athletics Director Joel Maturi said Tuesday that he had not heard anything from either Mason, who is in New York, or Hudson concerning the matter.
Mason and Hudson could not be reached for comment.
Maturi said there was no reason for him to think Hudson might have been on the way out at Minnesota or was asked to look elsewhere for a job.
“I think coach Mason has said exactly the opposite,” Maturi said. “Coach Mason told me there would probably not be any coaching changes, so I don’t anticipate that being the reason (Hudson) would leave.”
Hudson, who took over as defensive coordinator before Minnesota played in the 2002 Music City Bowl, shared in the Gophers’ troubles this season. His unit ranked ninth in the Big Ten in total defense and last in passing defense as Minnesota lost five of its six last games to finish 3-5 in the Big Ten, 6-5 overall and earn a berth in this year’s Music City Bowl on Dec. 31 in Nashville, Tenn..
Last year, the Gophers ranked fifth in the conference in total defense and sixth in passing defense as the team went 9-3 in the regular season and earned a trip to the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.
During that campaign, the defense’s 21.9 points allowed per game were the second-fewest since 1985, the 340.4 total yards allowed per game were the second-fewest since 1980 and the 122.7 rushing yards allowed per game were the second-fewest since 1962. Those three figures ranked in the top 35 in the nation.
This season, those numbers increased to 23.4 points per game, 408.7 total yards per game and 140.6 yards rushing per game.
Hudson coached with Holtz at Notre Dame in 1993 under Holtz’s father and former Gophers coach, Lou Holtz, and at Connecticut from 1994 to 1996.
With the Irish, Hudson was the offensive line coach and Skip Holtz was the offensive coordinator. With the Huskies, Hudson was the offensive line coach and Skip Holtz was head coach.
Hudson has been with the Gophers since the beginning of the 2001 season, which he began as linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator.
