One of the most legendary head coaches in college football history — and the last man to lead Notre Dame to a national championship — has died.
The family of former Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz announced on Wednesday that he died at 89 years old at his home in Orlando, Florida.
“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Lou Holtz,” Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said. “Lou and I shared a very special relationship. He welcomed me to the Notre Dame family immediately, offering me great support throughout our time together. Our relationship meant a lot to me as I admired the values he used to build the foundation of his coaching career: love, trust and commitment.”
Holtz led the Fighting Irish to a national championship in 1988 and was Notre Dame’s head coach from 1986 to 1996. He is third-winningest coach in school history with 100 wins — behind just Brian Kelly (106) and Knute Rockne (105).
Notre Dame won 23 consecutive games in 1988 and 1989 and made 9 consecutive appearances in January bowl games — the school record. Under Holtz, Notre Dame finished No. 2 in the final polls twice, in 1989 and 1993.
“Remembering the life and legacy of Lou Holtz The man who always reminded us to play like a champion,” Notre Dame Football wrote on its official X account. “We love you, Coach.
Holtz Had Long Career as Coach, Broadcaster
Holtz was a linebacker at Kent State in the late 1950s before going directly into coaching, where he started out as a graduate assistant at Iowa in 1960.
He spent almost a decade as an assistant coach at Iowa, William & Mary, UConn, South Carolina and Ohio State before he got his first opportunity as a head coach at William & Mary in 1969.
Holtz won conference titles at William & Mary then at North Carolina State before becoming the head coach for the New York Jets in 1976, where he was hired over Marv Levy and had 1 of the shortest tenures in NFL history, going 3-10 in 1 season.
“God did not put Lou Holtz on this Earth to coach in the pros,” Holtz famously said after he resigned.
He returned to the college ranks at Arkansas in 1977, where he went 60-21-3 over 6 seasons before he “resigned” — later it was discovered he had been fired in part over his support of North Carolina senator Jesse Helms, who at the time was leading the movement to stop Martin Luther King Jr. Day from becoming a national holiday.
From ESPN: “Notre Dame hired Holtz in 1986 to restore a once-proud program that had stumbled under Gerry Faust. The hire fulfilled a childhood dream for Holtz, who grew up in the 1940s listening to Notre Dame football on the radio. Throughout his career, he fondly recalled marching to the Notre Dame victory march during grade school in Ohio. Holtz even had a “Notre Dame clause” written into his Minnesota contract that would allow him to leave for the Irish only if he took the Gophers to a bowl game. That happened in 1985, opening the door for Holtz to lead the Irish. ”
Holtz’s final 6 seasons were spent as head coach at South Carolina from 1999 to 2004 and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
He gained more fame as a broadcaster on CBS Sports and ESPN for a decade, although he also wound up in controversy, once comparing former Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez to Adolf Hitler.
Legendary Notre Dame Head Coach Lou Holtz Dies at 89 Years Old