Former Rams great Torry Holt makes guest appearance as Cardinals coach
Jun 6, 2017, 1:44 PM | Updated: 6:04 pm
Torry Holt speaks with the media following a Cardinals mini-camp practice June 6. (Photo by @CardsMarkD)
(Photo by @CardsMarkD)
TEMPE, Ariz. — Back in 1999, Torry Holt thought he would be an Arizona Cardinal.
A receiver coming out of North Carolina State, he seemed like a good fit for Arizona, who held the eighth overall selection in the draft.
It was not meant to be.
Holt was chosen by the St. Louis Rams sixth overall, leaving the Cardinals to snag Ohio State wideout David Boston with their first pick.
Nine-hundred and twenty receptions, 13,382 yards, 74 touchdowns, two Super Bowl appearances, one Super Bowl title and seven Pro Bowls later, it’s safe to say things worked out well for Holt, who was on the Cardinals’ practice field Tuesday wearing team gear and coaching wide receivers.
“I’m familiar with this organization, I’ve been familiar with this organization a long time,” Holt said following the team’s minicamp practice. “Talking about the draft and then when I came and used to play in this division and playing against these guys.
“But it’s good to be here. It feels good because I know (Steve) Keim, I know Larry (Fitzgerald) and I know a lot of the coaches, Byron Leftwich, so I feel very comfortable here.”
Holt looked like a natural instructing Arizona’s bevvy of wideouts, which makes sense given his pedigree as well as the fact that he is a wide receivers coach, albeit for Heritage High School in North Carolina.
He is in Arizona to get a taste of coaching at the NFL level.
The 40-year-old said he has kept in touch with Keim, whom he played with in college, and while coaching at the NFL PA Bowl had a chance to chat with Cardinals scouts Adrian Wilson and Josh Scobey.
“Got to talking and they came back and said some good words on my behalf, and I called Steve, and I said, ‘Hey look, I don’t know if I want to get into coaching right now, but I do have some interest. Would you be open for me coming out to Arizona, spending a couple days out at mini-camp,’ and he said, ‘Sure.’
“So here I am. Good first day.”
Holt said his time in Arizona will end with mini-camp, as Heritage’s training camp is at the same time as the Cardinals’ and he is also does not want to be away from his son, who will be a junior in high school.
“Once he gets older and gets — I feel comfortable with him ready to take that next step to college — then I have some time that will open up and we’ll see,” he said.
Whether or not Holt lands back in the NFL as a coach down the road remains to be seen, but for as long as he is with the Cardinals, they are happy to have him.
“Another great set of eyes that has done it at a very high level,” Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said of the benefit to having Holt around. “I think Torry will get more out of it than they do.
“I think Torry’s going to be a hell of a coach some day and our job as coaches, established coaches, is to bring the next group of coaches along.”
Arians added that they had hoped to have Holt around all spring, but the brief time they will have him will be valuable both for him and his players.
If nothing else, Holt’s stint in Arizona allows him to get a better idea of what it is like to coach at the NFL level, while the Cardinals have another set of eyes on their players.
It also provides an opportunity for Arizona’s staff to get an up-close look at someone who could find his way onto a sideline — possibly theirs — in the near future.
Asked if coaching comes natural to him, Holt said, “People tell me it does.”
“I just love being around the game; I love being around the guys,” he said. “I love talking X’s and O’s, I love watching tape, I like seeing guys improve, and I like good offensive football — it’s good to hear B.A. talk offensive football and the strategies and the schemes and the concepts that they do out on the perimeter and in the running game.”
Holt mentioned David Johnson, who he compared to former teammate Marshall Faulk in that he also has the ability to do everything. Getting a chance to be around players like that brings a smile to his face.
“So it’s been good,” he said. “I’m looking forward for these next couple of days, and once my schedule does open up more and they decide to have me back, I’ll be back out.”
A former WR’s take on the current WRs
As long as he was around, it made sense to ask Holt — who played with some great receivers during his time — what he thought of Arizona’s wideouts.
The group has been widely praised, with both Arians and Larry Fitzgerald talking about its incredible depth.
Holt agreed.
“Very deep group and I’m standing beside them and they make me feel so small because everybody’s 6-3, 6-4, 6-5, and for us in St. Louis, in my era, guys were 6-foot, 188 pounds, they can move, get in and out of breaks.
“Now, the guy from Rutgers (Carlton Agudosi) is 6-foot-6. I’m like, damn, that’s Harold Carmichael — shouldn’t you be in the NBA Finals or something? The Cavs could use you right now.”
Holt complimented how the Cardinals have big, long receivers who can move and get in and out of breaks. He also praised the team’s receivers coach, Daryl Drake, for having the players’ respect.
“I think the biggest thing I noticed with the group is the camaraderie and the open communication that they have within the group, and that’s important,” he said. “The years that, when we were rolling in St. Louis, we were a very tight-knit, close group, and I think that’s very important for your teams and this particular group.”
