Slap the Sign
Fansided

The top five Notre Dame football head coaches of all time

By Corbin Whitney

23 Nov1996: Head coach Lou Holtz of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish is carried off the field by his team after defeating the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 62-0 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Daniel/Allsport
23 Nov1996: Head coach Lou Holtz of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish is carried off the field by his team after defeating the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 62-0 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Daniel/Allsport /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 6
Next

4. Lou Holtz (1986-1996)

23 Nov1996: Head coach Lou Holtz of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish is carried off the field by his team after defeating the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 62-0 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Daniel/Allsport
23 Nov1996: Head coach Lou Holtz of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish is carried off the field by his team after defeating the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 62-0 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Daniel/Allsport /

Overall Record: 100-30-2

Win Percentage – .765

Consensus All-Americans (ND Only) – 10

National Titles – 1

NFL Draft Picks – 74

Length of Tenure – 11 Seasons

Lou Holtz comes in at number four on the list, but what makes him better than number five (Brian Kelly), well to start off, unlike Kelly he has won a national championship for Notre Dame. This lone National Championship came in 1988.

He also has nearly double the amount of players (74) that were drafted into the NFL compared to Kelly, which can be seen listed at nfl.com. Having 74 players drafted, that played under him earns him the number two spot in that category.

His win percentage was also much better — even if you were to calculate in Kelly’s vacated wins. Lastly, he had 4 more (10) consensus All-Americans than Kelly during his 11 season tenure at Notre Dame.

For a breakdown of each individual season and a list of his 11 consensus All-Americans, go to sportsreference.com.

Holtz’s average rank was 3.2, which is what earned him the number four spot in this top five.

Home/Notre Dame Football