Legendary college football coach Lou Holtz dead at age 89

Legendary college football coach Lou Holtz, who led the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to their last national championship in 1988, has died, the school announced Wednesday.

He was 89.

Holtz had been in failing health in recent months, with his family announcing he'd been moved to hospice care in Orlando, Florida.

In 33 seasons on the college sidelines, Holtz went 249-132-7, with much of that work coming in South Bend, Indiana, where the Irish were 100-30-2 from 1986 to 1996.

"We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Lou Holtz," current Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said in a statement.

"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 carry out Notre Dame's mission," he said.

Holtz's head coaching career took him to William & Mary, North Carolina State, Arkansas, Minnesota and South Carolina, in addition to Notre Dame.

Between the N.C. State and Arkansas gigs, Holtz tried his hand at pro ball, going 3-10 in one season running the New York Jets. He quit with one game left in the 1976 season.

Holtz famously said of his time in New York: “God did not put Lou Holtz on this Earth to coach in the pros.”

He could not have been more correct, immediately landing in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and leading the Razorbacks to glory. The Hogs were 60-21-2 in Holtz's time there; only one coach has win more games at Arkansas since he departed.

But he'll always be most closely associated with Notre Dame, where five coaches have won 11 national championships.

The others are Knute Rockne, Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian and Dan Devine. All are legends.

The "Play Like A Champion" sign that adorns the Irish dressing room "was first displayed during the Holtz era," the school said in a statement.

"Holtz also removed names from the back of the football jerseys to emphasize the team dynamic, a tradition that is still followed today during all regular-season games," Notre Dame added.

He retired from coaching after the 1996 season in South Bend and launched a new career in the studio, working as an analyst for CBS Sports.

The retirement didn't last long, as Holtz still had one coaching run left in him, taking over a downtrodden South Carolina program.

The Gamecocks were 1-10 in 1998 and then 0-11 in Holtz's first season in 1999. He turned it around, going 33-26 in the next five seasons in Columbia.

The next retirement from the sidelines was for real, and Holtz went back to the studio, as an analyst on ESPN.

ESPN's Andrea Adelson fondly recalled mingling with Holtz and another college football legend, Lee Corso, at one of his final public appearances, in Orlando in November.

"He and Lee Corso told epic stories, and Lou was as sharp and funny as ever," according to Adelson. "He knew he didn’t have much time left, but that didn’t stop him from filling the room with joy."

Holtz is survived by his four children, Luanne; Lou Jr., known as “Skip”; Kevin; and Elizabeth. The latter three all graduated from Notre Dame, the school said.

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