Former Gopher HC Lou Holtz in hospice care (UPDATED 3/4: Coach Holtz has passed away)

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gopherguy said:
I'm not a fan of him as a human being, but as a football coach here at Minnesota he was the best we ever had. Why you ask. Because I was a freshman and witnessed when we lost 84-13 to Nebraska. The gopher program was in the absolute sh*tter. Holtz came in the following year and immediately, and i mean literally immediately established credibility like no gopher fan had ever witnessed before. By Holtz's second season they barely lost to eventual national champion Oklahoma 13-6, no other team played the Sooners as well as Minnesota did that year. The closest was when Texas lost to OU 14-7. If Holtz had stayed for a 3rd season Minnesota would have been National Champions. Yes, really. Since that time (Harvey Mackay/Paul Giel) U leadership has lacked the balls to essentially accomplish what Indiana recently did by putting the right people in place, swing for the fences, and actually try to become a winner. Too bad for us.
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That Sooner game is what sticks in my mind too.
 

Big Dawg said:
My talent for hoops and football was D2. I applied to the U to be just a student. After applying, I got a letter from Coach Holtz. He noticed my accomplishments and asked me to walk on. I jumped at the chance. I was a punter and a WR. We were 3 a days and classes didn't start until mid September. Between practices me, Tim Juneau and some others would play basketball. I believe Tim was all state. I know he sat on the basketball bench when the iron five played. Adam Kelly was our punter. Chip was our kicker-he was cocky as a freshman. We were short of uniforms, so I borrowed Brett Sadek's pants for pictures. I was only on the team for less than half the season. I was in over my head at D1 football. Had a few interactions with Lou. One time he was with the punt returners. I boomed a moon shot that he lost in the sun. It hit his foot. He came storming down to where the punters were and asked who kicked that one. I sheepishly raised my hand. He came over and said "great kick". I hope he is at peace.
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Chip had one job, and he knew how to do it.
 


I don't like seeing anyone suffer as they reach the end of their life and I hope that Lou Holtz is being comforted as he nears his end. I'm old and I've gotten perspective on the things that used to tick me off, especially regarding sports. Holtz could clearly coach, recruit, and motivate (and get hit with sanctions), but he was in the Tommy Lasorda vein of "walking eagle" (so full of sh*t that he couldn't fly) when he started with his schtick. And that's not all bad. He clearly motivated the fan base and if he had stuck around the program would have taken a step forward.
 

I have always been conflicted with Holtz since the day he left for Notre Dame.
 















Condolences to his family, friends and the many young mens lives he touched.
 

A great coach. He gave us hope when we had none.

And...... We have the KQ Morning Show Lou Holtz skits to listen to for an eternity.

RIP Coach
 


I imagine if there's a debate at the Pearly Gates, Lou will just kept talking until St. Peter falls asleep. A very good coach and quite a character.
 

Patrick Reusse with his Ode to the Music Man:


From my debut as a copy boy at the Minneapolis Tribune in August 1963 until this moment, we have never had a sports person come in and, just by his presence, take over this state as did Holtz.

The only one close was Brett Favre, arriving at Winter Park by helicopter in August 2009, but the Vikings already had their standing as kings of our sports scene, and the Favre phenomenon flamed out quickly in Season 2.

Lou’s popularity was still growing in Season 2.
 
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Was reminded that he sold out a Spring game at the Hump. I also remember the Lou lookalikes who would roam the stairs as ambassadors.
 

gopherguy said:
I'm not a fan of him as a human being, but as a football coach here at Minnesota he was the best we ever had. Why you ask. Because I was a freshman and witnessed when we lost 84-13 to Nebraska. The gopher program was in the absolute sh*tter. Holtz came in the following year and immediately, and i mean literally immediately established credibility like no gopher fan had ever witnessed before. By Holtz's second season they barely lost to eventual national champion Oklahoma 13-6, no other team played the Sooners as well as Minnesota did that year. The closest was when Texas lost to OU 14-7. If Holtz had stayed for a 3rd season Minnesota would have been National Champions. Yes, really. Since that time (Harvey Mackay/Paul Giel) U leadership has lacked the balls to essentially accomplish what Indiana recently did by putting the right people in place, swing for the fences, and actually try to become a winner. Too bad for us.
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My recollection of that game sitting in the student section, late in the game, our wide out catches a 10 yard out near the sidelines and turns up field and his momentum takes him out of bounds. Had he stayed in bounds, its a late Gopher touchdown as no one was close. Anybody remember that or is my memory shot?
 

Didn't realize he was a linebacker in high school at 150 pounds.
 

Lou Holtz had many lessons for life

By HARVEY MACKAY For the Minnesota Star Tribune

I had to say goodbye to one of my closest friends, and we lost a national treasure with the passing of Lou Holtz.

I will always remember all the times Lou said I was the brother he never had .

I frequently quoted the Hall of Fame college football coach in my speeches and nationally syndicated column. His wisdom and common sense apply to so many areas of life beyond football. He was intensely loyal to his faith, his family, his friends, his players and his country.

Ask the hundreds of young men whose lives he helped shape. They’ll tell you that he was the real deal. As much as he liked to win, he liked to see his players grow into responsible and decent adults.

Football was his passion from his earliest days, but looking at him, he was the last person you would expect to see on a football field. A scrawny 80-pound kid with Coke-bottle glasses, he begged to be in the lineup of his Ohio high school team. That meant facing tanks outweighing him by nearly 150 pounds! Lou was no star, but he made himself valuable by learning all 11 positions.

That’s when he began developing his unforgettable list of lessons.

Here’s a sampling:
“WIN is an acronym for, ‘What’s important now?’ ” If you want to win at anything, Lou asks, what sacrifices will you make to get the result? Even easy answers can demand pain and hard work.

“Setbacks don’t define your goals, you do.” Lou’s path to a professional coaching slot included a job swabbing blood off the floors of hospital operating rooms. He couldn’t even get a job as a high school coach at first. Later when he thought he had landed a spot at the University of South Carolina, the new athletic director fired him within an hour of their first meeting. “Have you thought about going into a different profession?” the director asked him. Still, Lou persevered.

Lou believed there were four things any person or organization needs to be No. 1.

“First,” he said, “you have to make a commitment to excellence.” When you are interested in doing something, you do it when circumstances permit. However, when you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.

Second is complete attention to detail. “It is the teams that pay strict attention to little things that win,” Lou said . Having a fanatical attention to detail must be an obsession. It has to be part of a company’s culture or an individual’s mindset. You can’t just talk about it. You have to practice it every day for years.

The third thing is to have sound fundamentals. “You can’t be bored with such basic things as blocking and tackling.” Whatever it is you do, you can be better at it if you keep learning and practicing the right concepts.

The fourth requirement is discipline. “Virtually nothing is impossible in this world if you put your mind to it and maintain a positive attitude,” he said.

Lou always amazed me with his practical, down-to-earth advice. He simplified life into three rules.

Rule No. 1: “Just do the right thing,” Lou would say. “We’ve all done dumb things and wish we hadn’t done them, but you can’t go through life with an albatross around your neck saying, ‘I made a mistake.’ Say you’re sorry, make amends and move on.”

Rule No. 2: “Not everybody will be an All-American. Not everybody will be first team. Not everybody will be great. But everybody can do the best they can with the time allotted.”

Rule No. 3: Show people you care. Lou was constantly asking people, “How can I help you? ” And he meant it. He had a deep down burning desire to help .

Mackay’s Moral: (from Lou Holtz) “I hope all of you have the desire to dream, the courage to win, the faith to believe and the will to succeed.”

Harvey Mackay is a Minneapolis businessman. Contact him at 612-378- 6202 or email [email protected].
 


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