30 best college football coaches of all time, ranked
By Nick Villano
20. Lou Holtz, NC State 1972-75, Arkansas 1977-83, Minnesota 1984-85, Notre Dame 1986-96, South Carolina 1999-04
Lou Holtz is one of the most recognized names in college football because of his decades as a coach for so many different organizations, and then for his time covering college football for ESPN. Holtz has been around the game for 50 years. That’s a long time to see the same face covering college football. When looking just at his coaching career, he’s legendary. He never stayed anywhere for very long, but his coaching style always got him a new job immediately.
Holtz became a head coach for the first time with William & Mary back in 1969. He would get a job with NC State, and he was incredibly successful with them. He took them to four bowl games in four seasons. He even won the ACC conference championship one year with the Wolfpack. Then, he accepted a job with the New York Jets. We don’t like to talk about that.
Less than a year later, Holtz was back in college football. He took a job running the Arkansas Razorbacks. He won 60 games in seven years and only missed a bowl game once. He was fired after one rough season, but there were rumors that his political involvement played a factor. After leaving Arkansas, Holtz went on to coach Minnesota, a team known for being the laughing stock of the Big Ten. He turned the program around, winning four games in his first year and then seven in his second year.
His most well-known stint was with Notre Dame. Holtz took over the Fighting Irish in 1986 after the team struggled to get back to its winning ways. Three years into his tenure, Holtz had an undefeated season and won a national championship with Notre Dame. Between 1988 and 1993, he finished the season in the top ten five times. The only time he didn’t, his team finished 12th. He was given a lifetime contract with Notre Dame, but he retired about 11 years into his tenure. He eventually came out of retirement for one last run with the University of South Carolina, but he’s kept it to primarily television work since 2004.