Lou Holtz death: Urban Meyer reveals biggest lesson learned from legendary Notre Dame coach

In 1996, after six-year run as Colorado State wide receivers coach, Urban Meyer got a phone call. Lou Holtz hired him as the wide receivers coach at Notre Dame, and he remained in the role until he took over as Bowling Green’s head coach in 2001.

During their lone season together before Holtz’s resignation, Meyer got a first-hand look at how the legendary coach operated. But what stood out the most was how Holtz – who passed away Wednesday at age 89 – related to his players and tried to maximize their individual potential.

He didn’t want to do it alone, though. Holtz also pushed his assistants to make sure each player was on a path toward greatness, and Meyer recalled how challenging that was. But it spoke to Holtz’s character and how much he cared about each athlete. That’s what Meyer remembered most after hearing of Holtz’s death.

“His love for his players – and I used to say this, as well, to people. Love is not soft,” Meyer said on SiriusXM College Sports Radio. “If you love your children and you see them doing stupid things, you’d better not say, ‘Oh, kids will be kids.’ No, no, no, no. End it. Stop it. Same thing with your players. He believed there was greatness in everyone, Lou Holtz did. He would say that. There was greatness in that kid. You find it as a coach. I get chills right now thinking about it. ‘You’re damn right, we’re going to find it.’ Now, we’ve got to push every button – and that can be love, fear, hate, whatever it is. You’d better get that player to maximize who he is.

“Lou Holtz believed … there was greatness in everyone. And it was his job as a coach to find it. Sometimes, it was uncomfortable. As a matter of fact, it was uncomfortable a lot. He was preaching to the choir with me because I believed in that. I don’t believe God makes mistakes. We have kids that are not playing well, don’t say he’s a bad player. You get it fixed. And it’s hard.”

The 1996 season was Holtz’s last as part of a decorated run at Notre Dame. He left the Fighting Irish after amassing a 100-30-2 overall record in South Bend. In fact, his 100 wins rank third in Notre Dame program history.

Of course, Holtz made his biggest mark in 1988. That was the last time Notre Dame won a national title to date after the Irish went 12-0 and won the Fiesta Bowl.