Legendary football coach, commentator Lou Holtz dies at 89

"I could not possibly turn down the opportunity to come to Notre Dame. I just felt this was the dream of a lifetime. Holtz had grown up in the 1940s listening to Notre Dame football on the radio and even marching to the Notre Dame victory march during grade school in Ohio, making the position uniquely meaningful to him."

"A lot of us were kind of slouched back in our chairs, had hats on, head back, just not overly impressed with what was going on. He got up to the podium and he looked at our team and he said, 'Get your feet on the floor, sit up straight, take your hats off and get ready to play some football.' We sat up and we were li—quarterback Steve Beuerlein recalled Holtz's commanding presence at the first team meeting."

Lou Holtz, a renowned college football coach known for his ability to rebuild struggling programs, passed away at 89. He compiled a 249-132-7 record across six schools including William & Mary, NC State, Arkansas, Minnesota, Notre Dame, and South Carolina, plus one NFL season with the New York Jets. His greatest achievement came at Notre Dame, where he was hired in 1986 to restore a program in decline. Fulfilling a lifelong dream rooted in childhood memories of listening to Notre Dame football, Holtz transformed the Irish into a national championship team in 1988. After retiring from coaching, he worked extensively in television, particularly with ESPN, but his Notre Dame accomplishment remained his defining legacy.

Read at ESPN.com