Cincinnati again interested in Holtz

East Carolina football coach Skip Holtz turned down Cincinnati in 2007. Pirates fans are hoping history will repeat itself.

Cincinnati is the latest school to eye Holtz - it was Kansas last week - and the coach could have another list of pros and cons to weigh.

Holtz elected to stay at ECU in 2007, bypassing a jump to the Big East, a Bowl Championship Series conference. The Bearcats ended up with Central Michigan's Brian Kelly.

The Bearcats won two straight conference titles under Kelly. Still, the program has more liabilities than assets, even though promising quarterback Zack Collaros, a redshirt sophomore, threw for 1,434 yards and 10 touchdowns starting four times in relief of senior star Tony Pike.

Along with Kelly, who left last week to take the Notre Dame job, some 16 seniors are moving out of a program that has won 16 consecutive regular-season games and went 34-6 in three seasons under Kelly.

Facing Florida in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, the Bearcats are expected to start 11 seniors and five juniors. Kelly won big despite playing home games in the Big East's smallest facility -- 35,000-seat Nippert Stadium.

Another factor will be future nonconference schedules. In 2010, the Bearcats are set for N.C. State (in Raleigh), Oklahoma (in Cleveland), Miami of Ohio (home) and Fresno State (Fresno, Calif.).

The 2011 lineup features home games against N.C. State and Albany, plus road trips to Tennessee and Miami of Ohio. So far, the 2012 card includes Ohio State and Virginia Tech.

In addition to Holtz, the Bearcats are interested in Central Michigan's Butch Jones, interim coach Jeff Quinn, Temple's Al Golden and Cincinnati Bengals assistant Mike Zimmer. Former Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan would be a long-shot dream

Jones, 41, who met with Cincinnati athletic director Mike Thomas on Monday, has a great deal of fan support, in part because Kelly previously coached Central Michigan. In three seasons at the school, Jones is 22-12 overall and 20-3 against Mid-American Conference opponents.

Holtz, 45, is 76-49 overall and 38-26 at ECU. His teams have won two straight Conference USA championships and will face Arkansas in the Jan. 2 Liberty Bowl.