Lou Holtz is the only college football coach to lead six different programs to bowl games and guide four programs to final top 15 rankings. He is also the last head coach to lead Notre Dame to a national title (1988).
Born in Follansbee, West Virginia, Holtz attended Kent State University, as did Nick Saban, another native West Virginian. Both future Hall of Fame coaches played defense, Holtz at linebacker and Saban at defensive back.
For most of the 1960s, he moved around (just as Saban did), working as a college assistant. Holtz’s stops included Iowa, William & Mary, Connecticut, South Carolina, and Ohio State when legendary Woody Hayes was the head coach. In 1968, the Buckeyes won a national championship with Holtz on the staff, and Hayes became one of Holtz’s heroes.
In 1969, Holtz landed his first head coaching job at William and Mary, and he led the Tribe to a bowl game in his first season. By 1972, Holtz had moved to North Carolina State, where he led the Wolfpack to four bowl games. Following a brief detour to the NFL (NY Jets in 1976), Holtz proclaimed, “God did not put Lou Holtz on this earth to coach in the pros.”
Holtz returned to college football in 1977 with the Arkansas Razorbacks, and immediately led the Hogs to an Orange Bowl win (31-6) over the favored Oklahoma Sooners. Minnesota came next, where he coached for two years, before transitioning in 1986 to the place where his work is best known, Notre Dame.
Photo courtesy KCRG
He took over a program that had struggled under Gerry Faust, but it didn’t take much time for Holtz to right the ship. He coached for 11 seasons in South Bend, with the no-doubt highlight being a national title, which he won in the 1988 Fiesta Bowl against Don Nehlen, Major Harris, and the West Virginia Mountaineers.
In addition to being number one in 1988, Holtz led the Irish to two number-two finishes nationally (1989 and 1993), but then unexpectedly walked away from the Notre Dame job in 1996 without explanation. Later, in a 2002 interview with the Associated Press, Holtz said he was tired of maintaining the team. “What I should have done was set dreams and goals and ambitions for this university and the football program that nobody thought was possible.”
But that decision didn’t end his college head coaching career. His next and last head coaching job came in 1999 with the South Carolina Gamecocks. The team went winless in the first season, but then played in back-to-back New Year’s Day bowl games, the first time that had occurred in school history.
Holtz at The White House (photo courtesy The Morning Journal)
Holtz’s last game as a head coach was memorable, but for the wrong reason. The game played against in-state rival Clemson was marred by an on-field brawl. Holtz blamed himself for the fight, saying he lost control of his players. Holtz retired the next day. Holtz then pivoted from the football field to the television booth, joining CBS and then ESPN from 2004-15 as a college football analyst/commentator.
Overall, Holtz had a 249-132-7 head coaching record, was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He was also presented honorary degrees from the University of South Carolina, Trine University, and Notre Dame.
In his final years, he was known widely for giving motivational speeches and offering pithy sayings. Here’s what he said about his own life principles:
“I follow three rules: Do the right thing, do the best you can, and always show people you care.”
Lou Holtz passed away at 89 in early March 2026. He is remembered as one of the best head coaches in college football history.
