Lou Holtz Claims He's Retiring at the End of the Season

In an interview with Blue and Gold Illustrated, Lou Holtz said he's retiring from ESPN at the end of the season:

“I’d like to leave when people say, ‘Why are you leaving?’ not ‘When are you leaving?’” he said. “This is my fifth last year. They usually talk me into it. ESPN is a great organization to work for. We’ve been together nine years now. That’s unusual. They’re like my family. I love them. We enjoy it. There comes a time where you need to step aside and let the younger people do it.”

On why he wants to retire after the 2014 season: 
“I’d like to practice my golf a little more. I’ve been everywhere except to bed. I’ve spoken to everybody except my wife. Somebody said, ‘Do you ever go anywhere where people don’t recognize you?’ I said home. I owe it to her to spend a little more time with her. I said that last year too.”

An ESPN spokesman told The Big Lead that Holtz's retirement was news to him, however.

Holtz, a defensive backs coach on Ohio State's 1968 team that went undefeated and captured the national championship, has been a staunch supporter of the Buckeyes, especially when paired with noted Buckeye hater, and Twitter champion, Mark May.