In Memoriam: Lou Holtz (1937-2026)
By Stiofán Mac Fhilib
The Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Notre Dame’s campus stands between the Golden Dome of the main administration building and the two lakes referenced in the university’s full name. Above the World War I Memorial Door is the inscription ‘God, Country, Notre Dame’. Louis Leo (Lou) Holtz surely loved all three dearly.
One of the most beloved of Notre Dame Head Coaches, he embraced the school, its students, and, most of all, what Notre Dame stands for. As he was fond of telling anyone, “to those who understand Notre Dame, no explanation is necessary; to those who do not, no explanation will suffice”.
He was a firm believer in the magic of the Notre Dame football program and the wider student body. Interviewed on the field immediately after the famous 31-30 upset of Miami in 1988 en route to ND’s last national championship, he was quick to assign praise for the victory. “This game was won by the Notre Dame spirit. You owe it to the student body, everybody that’s been here at Notre Dame, it’s the spirit that did it”. Though given his devout Catholic faith, perhaps he was giving the Holy Spirit some credit, too?
His path to the Cathedral of College Football began in more humble surroundings. Born in Follansbee, West Virginia, and raised in East Liverpool, Ohio, the Kent State graduate first took on a series of assistant coaching positions. Ironically, considering his recent interaction with Ryan Day, these culminated in an assistant position with the 1968 national championship-winning Ohio State team.
This earned him his first head coaching role at William & Mary in 1969. He left his next school, NC State, after four seasons to head to the NFL and the NY Jets. That lasted less than a season when he resigned before the final game, realising that pro football was not for him. Seven years at Arkansas and then two at Minnesota left him in position to be seriously considered for the same role with the Irish when Gerry Faust stepped away at the end of the 1985 season.
The Faust era at Notre Dame ended with a 5-6 campaign, culminating in a 58-7 humiliation at Miami. One of Fr. Ted Hesburgh’s final major acts as ND President was to appoint a man who was so keen to come that he reputedly had a clause in his Minnesota contract that allowed him to leave for South Bend if the Irish ever came calling.
Holtz would spend eleven eventful seasons with the Irish, ultimately finishing with a 100-32-2 (.754) record. Of course, it is the run from 1988 to 1993 that is the most memorable, and indeed the gold standard of modern Irish football. His teams went 64-9-1 (.872) over this period, but it was against the very best opposition that Holtz particularly excelled. He was 17-4-1 against Top 10 opponents and 11-2 versus Top 5 teams.
His 1993 team was denied a national title despite beating Florida State, which would be awarded the crown 31-24 at Notre Dame Stadium on a day when College GameDay broadcast from a school campus for the very first time. Both teams finished 11-1, but the same head-to-head principle that denied the Irish a 2025 playoff spot was not applied 32 years earlier. That would have been Holtz’s second national championship because he was, of course, the last Notre Dame Head Coach to win it all in his third season, 1988.
The title itself was clinched courtesy of a 34-21 win over West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl, but the truly decisive moments came several months earlier in the most memorable game of Holtz’s career and arguably the most momentous Notre Dame victory in the last 50 years.
On October 15, 1988, #1 Miami headed to South Bend to take on #4 Notre Dame, in a game that spawned t-shirts, an ESPN 30 for 30, and the most legendary of all Coach Holtz’s many, many memorable quotes. In this ‘Catholics v Convicts’ matchup, the game ebbed and flowed through a series of famous plays and equally famous (missed) calls.
The Irish held a late 31-24 advantage, but the Hurricanes drove down to score a TD with just 45 seconds left. Jimmy Johnson eschewed the option of a tie and went for two. Steve Walsh was hurried in his fade throw to the corner of the end zone, and Pat Terrell batted down the pass to carve his name into ND football folklore.
While the ending was iconic for Irish fans, Holtz’s pre-game speech provided the day’s most memorable line. After a pre-game on-field scuffle as the teams headed for the locker rooms, a furious and embarrassed Holtz lectured his men about conducting themselves on the field with class. Anyone who did not wouldn’t just be pulled from the game but would never play for Notre Dame again.
And if Miami still wanted to fight, well then, they could sort it out in the parking lot after the game. “And if they do, you save Jimmy Johnson’s ass for me!”. The rest of his intended speech was never given or heard, as the entire Irish roster charged down the stairs to the tunnel, ready to go to war. And they did.
For CFB fans on this side of the Atlantic, Holtz earned a small footnote in his final season when his side took on Navy in Croke Park, Dublin, forerunners of what would eventually develop into the annual Aer Lingus Classic, and the first of Notre Dame’s three visits so far to the Emerald Isle.
Eventually worn down by all the pressures associated with the job, Holtz stepped down after the 1996 season. He spent two years as a commentator with CBS before returning to coaching, taking charge at South Carolina before retiring for good after the 2004 season.
He ended up with a 249-132-7 (.651) career record and the remarkable distinction of taking all six of his schools to bowl games within the first two seasons, in an era when such a feat was significantly more difficult. His lifetime efforts in the sport were acknowledged in 2008 when he was voted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
For a younger generation of fans, he went on to be remembered for his time at ESPN, especially his College Gameday Final appearances with Mark May, a good friend and on-screen adversary, and Rece Davis, who would judge their output – quite literally, in full robes.
He also forged a career in motivational speaking and left far too many notable quotes to even begin including them all here. But some are well worth repeating.
“Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it”.
“Do the right thing. Do the best you can. And always show people that you care”.
“Everybody needs four things in life: something to do, someone to love, someone to believe in, and something to hope for”.
But for all that he’s remembered for the games he won, and his quips on TV, by far his biggest legacy has been the profound life-long impact he made on the young men he coached and mentored. Hundreds of his former players would stay in touch in the subsequent decades after leaving South Bend, and all had their own stories to tell about how he inspired them to be better men.
There were many heartfelt messages of grief from his alumni, but perhaps they were best summed up by Jerome Bettis, who played for Holtz from 1990 to 1992. After enjoying a Hall of Fame pro career with the Steelers that included a Super Bowl win in his native Detroit, he retired and returned to Notre Dame to finally complete his degree and keep a promise he made to his mother when Holtz was recruiting him in 1989.
“Coach was so much more than a football coach to me. He was family. I still remember the day he came to my house to recruit me. He didn’t just sit down and talk to me about football or what I could do on the field. He talked to me as a young man. And he spoke to my mom the way a man should speak to a mother who was trusting someone with her son. He looked her in the eye and promised that I would be taken care of at Notre Dame. That moment meant everything to us, and it’s something I’ve carried with me my entire life.
Coach Holtz believed in people. He believed in building men, not just players. He welcomed my entire family into the Notre Dame family and always made sure we felt that love and support. That’s who he was. He cared deeply about the people around him, and he made every one of us feel like we mattered.
The lessons he taught me went far beyond football. His faith, his discipline, his belief in doing things the right way shaped who I became as a man, a father and a leader”.
After a life that was indeed well-lived, Holtz’s Mass of Christian Burial will be held in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Monday, before interment in Cedar Grove Cemetery at Notre Dame. Those who understand will need no explanation why.
STIOFÁN MAC FHILIB
COLLEGE FOOTBALL ANALYST
A VERY LONG-DISTANCE SUBWAY ALUMNUS OF NOTRE DAME, COUNTY ANTRIM-BASED STIOFÁN HAS BEEN A FAN OF THE FIGHTING IRISH SINCE 2000. FOLLOW HIM ON TWITTER @SMACFHILIB.