Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM APRIL/MAY 2026 19 ence on my life of anybody profession- ally," Holtz said of the man for whom he served as an assistant coach during Ohio State's 1968 national title season. "Even though I was only with him for a year and a half — and it was a tumultuous year and a half, I'll tell you — it was a year and a half I wouldn't trade for the world. " I l e a r n e d s o many things during my one and a half years with Woody. Two things stand out. Football is a game of fundamentals. It's about blocking, it's about tackling. The other thing is that the coach's ob- ligation is not to be popular, not to be well-liked by the players. "Your obligation is to make your players the best they can possibly be. That means you're going to have to have standards. You're going to have to have demands. You can't compromise. These are the things you have to believe. Those were the things I learned from him." Holtz started his head coaching career in 1969 at William & Mary the season after winning the national title with the Buckeyes, and he amassed 249 wins, 132 losses and seven ties for the Tribe (1969-71), North Carolina State (1972- 75), Arkansas (1977-83), Minnesota (1984-85), Notre Dame (1986-96) and South Carolina (1999-2004). As late as 2007, he was still fielding — and turning down — head coaching offers and inquiries, he said. As far as the OSU opportunities, the first came just a little over a year into his head coaching stint at William & Mary. Hayes' idea was to bring Holtz back to Ohio State as defensive coordi- nator and recruiting coordinator — and designated successor. "Now this was 1970," Holtz said. "I said, 'Well, how much longer are you going to coach?' He said, 'Two or three years.' "My wife wanted to go back in the worst way. I said, 'If I'm going to end up at Ohio State, I'll end up there because they want me and not because they're sort of forced to take me.' I told Woody, 'You can't guarantee that, Coach.' He said, 'Well, I'll just resign in August. They'll have no other option but to hire you.' But I stayed at William & Mary. "The funny thing is Woody didn't retire in two or three years. After they let him go following the 1978 season, I heard from Ohio State again." But Holtz didn't like the way Ohio State handled the vacancy, offering him a chance to interview instead of offer- ing him the job. So he stayed at Arkan- sas, and eventually he found his way to Notre Dame. THE END AT NOTRE DAME, AND HOLTZ'S LASTING LEGACY "My only real piece of advice I gave him," Corrigan said, "was, 'Don't stay longer than eight years.' I said that be- cause it is such a high-pressure job. Ara told me he probably should have left a year or so before he did. "He said it got to him, and that he didn't realize how much until after he stepped away. He said, 'If I had stayed o n a n d c o a c h e d Notre Dame much longer, I'm not sure I'd be alive today.' It really does take a chunk out of you." Holtz stayed 11, until his resignation at the end of the 1996 season that felt almost like a push. In his later years — after Corrigan, Hesburgh and Joyce were long gone — Holtz clashed with the Notre Dame ad- missions office over what constituted a good risk. He was frustrated that he was criticized by his own administration for what they perceived as alarming attri- tion, when Holtz felt like he was simply purging toxic players for the good of the program. Bob Davie, Holtz's defensive coordi- nator for his last three seasons in South Bend and eventual successor as head coach, even questioned Holtz's sanity to seemingly everyone with an office in the Joyce Center but Holtz. It was during the Charlie Weis era (2005-09) that Holtz got fully engaged again with Notre Dame football, at Weis' invitation and insistence. But Holtz never lost touch with the players who played for him, just as he had promised. And that's a powerful piece of his legacy. "He has never let me down," Tony Rice, Holtz's starting QB on his 1988 national championship team, said more than a decade after he graduated. "He's done a lot as far as opening doors for me, getting contacts for me. As a foot- ball player, Coach Holtz prepared me for the real world. And when the real world gets too real, he was still there for me. "I guess part of you thought he was going to be there forever." ✦ Editor's note: The quotes from Holtz, Rice and Cor- rigan were gleaned from one-on-one interviews Hansen conducted while working at the South Bend Tribune and when writing the book, "Notre Dame Stadium Stories." "He has never let me down," 1988 national cham- pionship quarterback Tony Rice said of Holtz. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS "Lou's impact at Notre Dame has gone well beyond the football field. He and his wife, Beth, are respected across campus for their generous hearts and commitment to carrying out Notre Dame's mission of being a force for good." CURRENT NOTRE DAME HEAD COACH MARCUS FREEMAN