Practicing what he preached

“Want to be happy for an hour? Eat a steak. Want to be happy for a day? Play golf. Want to be happy for a week? Go on a cruise. Want to be happy for a lifetime? Put your faith in Jesus Christ.”

That quote from Lou Holtz immediately entered my mind Thursday morning upon learning that the legendary college football coach, television analyst, and gospel-spreading motivational speaker had passed away. Holtz died Wednesday surrounded by family in Orlando, Fla., at age 89.

Best known as the last coach to lead the University of Notre Dame to a national championship, Holtz was so open about his faith that it was among the first things even secular media outlets noted about him.

Columnist Matt Hayes of USA Today, a rather left-leaning publication, had this to say: “Forget about football and winning and losing, or championships and near-misses. That’s the very last thing Lou Holtz would have wanted any celebration of his life to include.”

Holtz certainly did his share of winning: He went 249-132-7 in 33 seasons on college football sidelines, placing him 10th all-time in total victories and earning him a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame. In addition to Notre Dame—where he won 100 games in 11 seasons—the native West Virginian’s career also included stops at William & Mary in Virginia, North Carolina State, Arkansas, Minnesota, and South Carolina.

He also had a one-season stint with the National Football League’s New York Jets in 1976. Like many coaches in Jets history, Holtz struggled to win in the Big Apple, going just 3-10 and resigning before the season’s end.

“God did not put Lou Holtz on this earth to coach professional football,” Holtz declared, semi-jokingly, on his way out.

Here’s what Hayes, the USA Today columnist, had to say about that: “More likely, God put Lou Holtz on this earth to preach. When he spoke, his unique voice and delivery—and the escalating, booming sound of his voice, despite his lisp, driving home point after point—had every person in the room on the edge of their seat.”

Whether rousing his Notre Dame troops to action before a 1988 game against the defending national champion University of Miami—a game dubbed “Catholics vs. Convicts” due to the Hurricanes’ image as college football’s bad boys—or talking to a corporate audience, Holtz never pulled punches in his speeches. He landed a hard one at the 2020 Republican National Convention: One of the few sports figures I’ve seen publicly advocate against abortion, he called former President Joe Biden and like-minded Democrats who support abortion rights “Catholics in name only.”

He wasn’t wrong.

Holtz’s comment about pro football not being part of God’s plan for him was also a prime example of his self-deprecating humor. He played a past version of himself at his final coaching stop, South Carolina, in the Oscar-winning 2009 film The Blind Side: Depicted as one of several coaches recruiting prized offensive lineman Michael Oher (played by Quinton Aaron), Holtz offers Oher’s elementary school-aged adoptive younger brother S.J. (Jae Head)—playfully acting as his agent—“a Gamecock headdress, with real feathers.”

More than that, though, players, coaches, and fellow TV analysts alike remember Holtz as a caring, if sometimes demanding, mentor.

“Lou and I shared a very special relationship,” current Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman told CBS Sports. “Our relationship meant a lot to me as I admired the values he used to build the foundation of his coaching career: love, trust, commitment.”

ESPN analyst Mike Greenberg remembered Holtz giving him advice about fatherhood before the birth of Greenberg’s first child: “Young man, the most important thing you can do for your child is make sure every day they know how much you love their mother.” Married to his wife Beth for more than 50 years, it’s safe to say Holtz lived out his own advice.

Holtz could be a strict disciplinarian and he was not above benching star players, even when it hurt. He did so at while coach at Arkansas just before the 1978 Orange Bowl. (His Razorbacks still beat No. 2-ranked Oklahoma 31-6.)

Sometimes, Holtz took his tough love too far: He once tackled Notre Dame quarterback Tony Rice after a failed play in practice. He also drew fire in 1991 for grabbing a Fighting Irish player by the facemask and dragging him to the sideline, barking at him the entire way, after the player committed a personal foul. To his credit, Holtz later apologized.

All in all, though, Holtz was, and will remain, a beloved figure. As his family wrote in a statement about his death: “Holtz is remembered for his enduring values of faith, family, and service, and an unwavering belief in the potential of others.”

As Holtz made clear, those things matter.