Lou Holtz, the last coach to lead Notre Dame to a national championship, died Wednesday at age 89.
After news of his death broke, his former teams, colleagues and his son, Skip Holtz, paid tribute to the College Football Hall of Famer on social media.
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Skip Holtz played one season at Notre Dame in 1986 as a walk-on under his father. He later served as an assistant coach with the Fighting Irish under his father and coached again at South Carolina before serving as head coach at East Carolina, South Florida and Louisiana Tech.
Skip confirmed his father’s death on Wednesday, praising him as “successful” and “significant.”
Current Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman released a statement honoring his predecessor, writing he “immediately welcomes me to the Notre Dame family.”
“Lou’s impact on Notre Dame extended far beyond football,” Freeman wrote. “He and his wife, Beth, are respected across campus for their generous hearts and commitment to fulfilling Notre Dame’s mission of being a force for good.”
In addition to announcing Holtz’s death through a statement from his family, Notre Dame released a video tribute to the late former coach on social media.
North Carolina, Minnesota, South Carolina and the New York Jets, who Holtz coached for one season in 1976, also paid tribute to their late former coach.
After his coaching career ended, Holtz continued to work as a broadcaster for CBS Sports and ESPN. His former ESPN colleague Mike Greenberg shared a story about some advice Holtz gave him when Greenberg and his wife were pregnant with their first child.
“RIP Coach and thanks for the best advice anyone ever gave me,” Greenberg wrote.
