Notre Dame football: Who is the greatest coach in program history?

Notre Dame football: Who is the greatest coach in program history?

Lou Holtz

• 1986-1996 (11 seasons), 100-30-2, 1 National Championship

When Lou Holtz came to Notre Dame, he had to revive the program. After all, Gerry Faust was a nice guy, but not a good college football coach. Holtz had been a house flipper throughout his career. He came to a program that was struggling, then he turned them around.

Once he turned them around, he would take a slightly more prestigious job that needed help. From William & Mary, to NC State, ignore that one season with the New York Jets, to Arkansas and Minnesota, then finally Notre Dame. Of course, after he retired from Notre Dame, Holtz turned around a terrible South Carolina program too.

If you only judged Holtz’s first season, 1986, strictly by the wins and losses, then you wouldn’t have noticed much difference from the end of the Faust era. However, if you watched the games themselves, then you would have seen the improvements being made under Holtz.

In Week 1, the Irish scared a third ranked Michigan team that played for the Rose Bowl, only losing by a point. Number two Alabama also beat Notre Dame, as well as two top ten teams in back to back weeks, LSU and Penn State. But, none of those games were blowouts. The Irish even ended their season by beating a ranked USC team in Los Angeles.

The light was at the end of the tunnel. By the next season, 1987, Notre Dame went 8-4, playing for the Cotton Bowl. That season, notably, saw the Irish get shut out by Miami in the Orange Bowl.

That set 1988 up as an exciting season. Every coach to win a National Championship since Frank Leahy had done it in their third season. Rockne also went unbeaten in his third season, though that team wasn’t made national champions.

So, with a thirteenth ranking in the AP Poll, expectations were high. Week 1 almost shattered those expectations, as the Irish played a close game with Michigan. Notre Dame had to rely on Reggie Ho, a walk-on kicker to beat the Wolverines. That was great, but it seemed like a national championship might be too tall a task for this Irish team. Then, Notre Dame got hot against a relatively weak schedule to rise in the rankings to number four.

That’s when the top ranked Miami Hurricanes came to South Bend.

It was the Catholics vs. Convicts game. Both teams were unbeaten, and the winner had the inside track on the national championship. The two teams had developed a recent history, and they didn’t like each other.

Before the game even started, there was a fight by the tunnel onto the field between the two teams. Reportedly, Lou Holtz said in the locker room, responding to the fight, “If I see anybody during the course of this football game show anything but class or disrespect to Notre Dame or anything else, you represent thousands, millions of people, you’re not going to be pulled out of this game, you’re never going to play for Notre Dame again.

I want to see a class operation. Now, after we win the game if Miami wants to fight, fine. We’ll meet them in the ally. And if they do…you save Jimmy Johnson’s ass for me.”

They ended up fighting on the field and playing one of the most iconic games in the history of college football history. It ended up being a back and forth game throughout. It wasn’t without controversy, though.

Notre Dame led 31-24 midway through the 4th quarter with the Hurricanes driving downfield. On fourth down, it looked like Miami had made a key conversion near the goal line, but it was ruled a fumble with a Notre Dame recovery. Replay showed that this, more probably than not, wasn’t the case. But, there wasn’t review in 1988.

Later, Miami would score to make it 31-30 with less than a minute left. They could have played for the tie, and likely stayed at number one. Instead, they went for two and the win. Notre Dame defensive back Pat Terrell was there, though, batting away the conversion and sealing an Irish win. That game propelled Notre Dame for the rest of the season, including a win over number two USC, to win the 1988 National Championship.

Holtz would never again reach the heights of a national championship while at Notre Dame, but his teams were great throughout his tenure. In 1989, Notre Dame wouldn’t lose until the final week of the regular season, when Miami returned the favor by giving Notre Dame their first loss since 1987.

That Miami team was named National Champion, though the Irish did beat top ranked Colorado in the Orange Bowl, while Miami had a loss to Florida State. So, an argument could have been made for the Irish to get a second championship. In 1993, Holtz and Notre Dame also came incredibly close to a second championship, beating top ranked Florida State, before being upset by Boston College.

The Irish finished that season second, with just the one last second loss to the Eagles.

It is worth pointing out that Holtz left under some scrutiny from Notre Dame. He retired from a lifetime contract under what were seen as slightly mysterious circumstances. Some people thought he might be heading to the NFL, though that never happened. On top of that, shortly after Holtz left the program would be put on probation for actions that occurred during and after his time in South Bend.

Holtz would be elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008. At Notre Dame, Holtz went 100-30-2 with a national championship. His overall record in college was 249-132-7, with three additional conference championship wins.