Lou Holtz, the legendary Notre Dame coach who led the Fighting Irish to the 1988 national championship, has died at 89, the school announced Wednesday.<\/p>\n
A cause of death was not disclosed. He was surrounded by family in Orlando, Fla., the school said.<\/p>\n
Holtz won 100 games at Notre Dame, where he coached from 1986-96.<\/p>\n
He was born in West Virginia in 1937.<\/p>\n
Lou Holtz won 100 games in 11 seasons as Notre Dame head coach. Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cI was born during the Depression, my dad had a third grade education,\u201d Holtz told Joe Buck<\/a> in a 2018 interview. \u201cWe had one bedroom for my sister, myself and my parents. We had a kitchen, a half bath. The half bath did not have a tub, a shower or a sink. There\u2019s no welfare, there\u2019s no food stamps, there\u2019s no safety net.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reason I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth, I was born in this country and I was taught that if I made good choices \u2014 whatever happened in your life \u2014 if I made good choices, got an education, worked hard, didn\u2019t blame other people, I could have very positive things happen to me.\u201d<\/p>\n He played linebacker at Kent State and served as an assistant at five schools, including under Woody Hayes at Ohio State, where the Buckeyes won the 1968 national title.<\/p>\n His first head coaching job came at the College of William & Mary in Virginia, where he was at the helm for three seasons and led the team to an appearance in the 1970 Tangerine Bowl.<\/p>\n He moved on to NC State, where he went 33-12-3 in four seasons before making a surprise move to the NFL to coach the Jets.<\/p>\n The NFL move was a disaster. In Joe Namath\u2019s final season with the Jets, the team started 0-4 en route to a 3-11 finish. Holtz, who wrote a fight song for the team, wasn\u2019t around for the finale, having resigned after 13 games.<\/p>\n Lou Holtz went 3-10 as Jets head coach in 1976. Bettmann Archive<\/p>\n \u201cGod did not put Lou Holtz on this earth to coach in the pros,\u201d he said<\/a>.<\/p>\n Holtz went to Arkansas, where he made an immediate impact. The 1977 squad went 11-1 and shocked the college football world with a 31-6 victory in the Orange Bowl over Oklahoma after Holtz suspended three of his top players for the game.<\/p>\n In addition to being a successful coach, Holtz was also popular thanks to his sense of humor.<\/p>\n When Arkansas fans threw oranges after the team clinched its Orange Bowl berth, Holtz quipped, \u201cI\u2019m glad we\u2019re not going to the Gator Bowl.\u201d<\/p>\n Lou Holtz leads Notre Dame before a 52-7 win over Purdue during the 1988 season. Getty Images<\/p>\n