Lou Holtz, former Minnesota and Notre Dame coach, dies at 89
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Lou Holtz, the College Football Hall of Fame coach who led Notre Dame to the 1988 national championship and won 249 games over 33 seasons at six schools, has died. He was 89.
Notre Dame announced on Wednesday that Holtz died in Orlando, Florida, surrounded by his family. Spokeswoman Katy Lonergan said a cause of death was not provided by the family.
Holtz became the first and so far only coach to lead six different teams to bowl games during a career in which he compiled a record of 249-132-7. He still ranks 10th all-time in career victories by a Football Bowl Subdivision coach, eighth all-time with 388 games coached.
At Notre Dame, he went 100-30-2 in 11 seasons producing both the third-highest win total in school history and the second-highest loss total.
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Immediately before his legendary tenure at Notre Dame, Holtz spent two seasons — 1984 and 1985 — coaching the Minnesota Gophers. He inherited a team that went 1-10 in 1983. The Gophers finished the regular season 4-7 in 1984, and 6-5 in 1985 — earning a trip to the Independence Bowl, which they won. But by that point, Holtz had already accepted an offer to coach Notre Dame, his dream job.
“When I went to the University of Minnesota, I firmly believed in the bottom of my heart that would probably be the last coaching job I would ever have. However, the only stipulation we did put in was, if Notre Dame ever did contact me, I would be … free to go. And they understood that from day one,” Holtz said when he took the job with the Irish. “It was difficult to leave Minnesota — but I tell you what was more difficult, would have been to say ‘no’ to Notre Dame.”
Holtz was a popular figure in Minnesota during his brief time with the Gophers. His tenure was somewhat tarnished by later findings of NCAA violations, which led to the Gophers getting put on probation.
Holtz won at every stop in his long career — except for a brief stint in the NFL as coach of the New York Jets. Holtz quickly returned to college football.
He didn't just win games, either. The diminutive coach captivated fans with his occasionally fiery sideline demeanor, his self-deprecating wit and folksy phrases all while demanding excellence, on and off the field, from his much larger players.
Holtz became such a popular personality that after coaching his last game, in 2004 with South Carolina, he parlayed that into a broadcasting career and motivational speaking.
