Lou Holtz’s coaching career: Former Notre Dame HC's coaching history explored

Lou Holtz’s career is as legendary as it gets in college football. Holtz played and coached in more than ten CFB programs in a career that spanned almost half a century. After retiring from coaching, he had a stint on TV as a football analyst.

Holtz’s career in broadcasting saw him appear on CBS and ESPN. Although he has been largely out of public space since his exit from ESPN in 2015, he recently appeared on “Outkick With Hutton & Withrow.” On the show, he commented on Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes, among other things.

The long and successful coaching career of Lou Holtz

Lou Holtz was born in Follansbee, West Virginia, on Jan. 6, 1937. However, he was raised in East Liverpool, Ohio, where he attended East Liverpool High School. After high school, Holtz enrolled at Kent State University. At Kent State, he was a linebacker on the university football team from 1956 to 1957.

Holtz graduated from Kent State in 1959 with a degree in history. He started his coaching career at Iowa, working as a graduate assistant in 1960 while doing his Master’s degree. He also held assistant coaching roles at William & Mary, Connecticut, South Carolina, and Ohio State. He was part of the 1968 national championship-winning Buckeyes football team as an assistant coach.

His first role as a head coach came in 1969 when he was appointed by William & Mary, then in the SEC. In 1970, he led the team to the SEC championship title and an appearance in the Tangerine Bowl. He got his next appointment at North Carolina State in 1972. He led the Wolfpack to an ACC championship title in 1973 and won 2 out of the four bowl games he led the team to.

He had a brief stint in the NFL as head coach of the New York Jets in 1976. His foray into the big league didn’t go well, and he left with one game to play in the 1976 season and a 3-10 record. His next stop was Arkansas University, where he spent seven years coaching the Razorbacks. He was relieved of the role in 1983 for political reasons.

Lou Holtz coached the Minnesota Golden Gophers next. He led the Gophers for only two seasons before he accepted the offer to coach the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Lou Holtz led the Irish to a national championship victory in 1988.

He retired from coaching in 1996 but returned in 1999 to coach the South Carolina Gamecocks until he finally retired in 2004.