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SALT LAKE CITY — Receivers coach Guy Holliday did not follow former BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall to his new coaching chapter at Virginia like much of his supporting staff.
But Holliday wasn’t fired from BYU, either.
Following the postseason exodus by the former BYU coaching staff, Holliday was in a sort of limbo waiting to see how the new coaching staff would take shape. Would he be included in the new staff or would he be forced to look for a new home, simply a casualty of something out of his control?
Along came the University of Utah which had just fired its receivers coach of two seasons after generating little production in the team’s receiving game. The time had come for a change and Holliday was available and a worthy replacement.
“We were in need of a new wide receivers coach and we did a lot of investigating and searching and the guy that everyone in the staff room seemed to think would be a good fit was coach Holliday,” Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham told KSL.com shortly after hiring Holliday. “We were able to get him on board and we were excited about that. He’s a guy that’s got a lot of background, a lot of knowledge, a lot of experience, not only as a wide receivers coach but as a recruiter.”
And while it would be easy for Holliday to hold some resentment toward the university or Kalani Sitake for not keeping him on staff, he recognizes it’s a business and there was nothing personal about his departure from the program.
“There are some people out there who don’t like me for coming here, but at the end of the day, this is a business and you’ve got to do what’s best for you and your family and the University of Utah,” Holliday told media ahead of Utah’s renewed rivalry matchup against the Cougars on Saturday. “And BYU has to do what’s best for them, and that’s the way it rolls. You can’t take anything personal in this business.”
As a result, Holliday said Saturday’s matchup between the two programs is not about him trying to get retaliation against his former employer; in fact, it’s not about him at all.
“Does it mean any more because I worked there? No, I enjoyed my time there. I have a great deal of respect for those people there,” he said. “I want to win the freaking game for the University of Utah, not for Guy Holliday. I’m going out to win. I wasn’t fired there; I don’t hold any grudges. I love Kalani like a family member. At the end of the day, I want to win the game. I want to win for these players here, I want to win for coach Whitt and I want to win for our fans at the University of Utah.”
Holliday’s impact on the team is already noticeable, with coaches and players praising his coaching style and passion for the game. Holliday expects the receivers to never be satisfied with their last performance in practice or on the field; there’s always something more to give, more to learn.
“Holliday is the same guy and always on us ... every day,” receiver Tim Patrick said. “Every day he doesn’t let us slack at all and it’s just pushing us to be a better group.
“He doesn’t play around,” Patrick added. “Whether we’re doing up-downs or pushups or something after practice, he’s on us 24/7. For how young our group is ... we need the structure.”
“Coach Holliday has brought a whole different level of coaching. When you’ve coached for more than 22 years and put 20 guys in the NFL, you’ve got a good formula, you know what you’re doing,” cornerback coach Sharrieff Shah said. “What he’s been able to do with some of these boys is pretty special, to this point.”
Utah is hoping that Holliday’s passion, attention to detail and pure desire to improve the receiving game will translate into a better attack against BYU and moving forward throughout the remainder of the season. And while Holliday may be on the opposing side of the field less than a year since the two teams met in Las Vegas, Holliday continues to be about his business.
“I believe the moment you become satisfied is the moment you start failing. I’m never going to walk out here satisfied,” he said. “I’m not going to leave a game saying, ‘hey, we played outstanding or great.’ We played good enough to win the game and that’s our job. We’ve got to keep pushing and keep grinding.
“If you want to be great, you’ve got to practice great, you’ve got to live to be great every day,” he added. “And you’ve got to accept the fact that it’s an everyday thing. It’s not one game, it’s not one practice, it’s day-in and day-out.”
