By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics

Lou Holtz's first head coaching job came at William & Mary in 1969. Nearly two decades later, he won a national championship at Notre Dame.

True, those two programs are solar systems apart in regard to fame and fortune. But Holtz, now 84 and living in Florida, sees it another way.

"I'll tell you: The games meant as much to the players at William & Mary as they did to the players at Notre Dame," said Holtz, who was in Williamsburg last week. "When Notre Dame played Miami, that game was important to them.

"But that game was no more important to them than when William & Mary played Richmond. The difference was the country cared more about Notre Dame and Miami. But to the players, the win was just as exciting, and the loss was just as depressing."

Of Holtz's 249 victories as a head coach, only 13 came in his three seasons at William & Mary. But half a century later, his memory of those days hasn't faded.

For instance, he recalls that his first game was a loss under the lights at Cincinnati. That his first win came a week later at Temple. And that his team lost its last four games of the '69 season to finish 3-7.

W&M's starting quarterback that year was senior Jimmye Laycock, who Holtz remembers as "not necessarily mobile but very smart." In their only season together, Holtz made an instant impression on Laycock, whose name would become synonymous with Tribe football.

"It really was enlightening for me to be with someone like that," Laycock said. "He was strict, he was enthusiastic, and he really got into it. We developed a really good relationship."

In fact, it was Holtz who helped Laycock get his first job as a Clemson assistant in 1971. Laycock became the Tribe's head coach nine years later & stayed nearly four decades.

"I don't think you can give Jimmye enough credit for the success he had here," Holtz said.

But back to the past.

Holtz came to W&M under the mistaken impression that he could run the same offense he had learned as an assistant coach at Ohio State. In '70, his second season at W&M, he snapped back to reality and switched to the twin veer.

Quarterback Steve Regan took over for Laycock at quarterback. Behind him were fullback Phil Mosser, who obliterated the school rushing record with 1,286 yards, and halfback Todd Bushnell, who ran for 760 more.

The season came down the final game of the regular season at Richmond. Trailing 33-28, W&M needed to cover 80 yards in 51 seconds. Fifty-one years later, Holtz remembers the final drive almost verbatim.

"We ran Mosser on the draw for about 10 (yards)," he said. "We hit Todd Bushnell on a swing pass (for 30), and then Knight on an out (pattern) to win the game."

OK, there were probably a few plays left out. But it was Regan's 12-yard touchdown pass to Knight with 12 seconds left that gave W&M the Southern Conference championship. That sealed a spot in the Tangerine Bowl, which the Tribe lost 40-12 to No. 12 ranked Toledo.

W&M started the '71 season with four consecutive wins but lost six of its last seven. Holtz said he wanted to stay longer, but with a change in the program's direction, he left for N.C. State.

"Davis Young Paschall was the president, and his goal was to get to the ACC," Holtz said. "But he got sick and had to resign. They brought in (Thomas Ashley) Graves, and he quickly informed everybody that he wanted to drop down a level.

"Now, there wasn't anything wrong with that, and William & Mary thrived very well at that level. But it wasn't what I wanted. I was young, and my goal was to compete with Bear Bryant, Bobby Bowden, and the rest of them. In order for that happen, I would have to leave."

The Wolfpack went 33-12-3 in Holtz's four seasons, including 2-1-1 in bowl games, and won the ACC championship in 1973. He then jumped to the NFL as head coach of the New York Jets, where Knight was a starting receiver. With a 3-10 record, he resigned before the final game.

Then came head coaching gigs at Arkansas (seven seasons, 60-21-2) and Minnesota (two seasons, 10-12). Then, in 1986, Holtz was hired to resurrect a Notre Dame program that hadn't won more than nine games in nine years — remember, the bar is set pretty high in South Bend.

His first year ended with a 5-6 record. His second was a slightly better (again, by Notre Dame standards) 8-4. Then came the magical season of 1988, when Holtz delivered the Irish's 10^th perfect season and 13^th national championship. 

The most memorable game from that season was a 31-30 win over No. 1 Miami, which came in having won 36 consecutive regular season games. The intensity became obvious before kickoff when a scuffle broke out in the entrance tunnel.

Notre Dame led 31-24 late in the fourth quarter, but Miami scored a touchdown with 45 seconds remaining. With no overtime in those days, the Hurricanes went for the 2-point conversion. The Irish got the stop and the win.

Notre Dame won out and defeated West Virginia 34-21 in the Fiesta Bowl for the consensus national championship.

Which brings us to why Holtz was in town last week. He and several players from that era came to Williamsburg to participate in a documentary titled "From These Ashes," which will explore Notre Dame's return to prominence under Holtz.

"That wasn't my idea," he said. "I'm just being recognized for what the players did."

While he was in the neighborhood, Holtz also was honored for his 2020 induction into the W&M Athletics Hall of Fame.

"I happen to be the beneficiary of some very good athletes," he said of that recognition.

In the '89 season, Notre Dame won its first 11 games — which made 23 in a row, the third-longest streak in school history. Then came Week 12 at Miami.

The previous year's altercation was in every pre-game story. It didn't help that five weeks earlier, the Irish had another dust-up in the tunnel with USC. 

"So we now had two confrontations at Notre Dame and we were going to play Miami in a high energy environment," Holtz said. "It was a powder keg waiting to explode, and I was so cognizant of the image of Notre Dame.

"Lo and behold, I had that team so subdued and so calm that we weren't ready to play. We were the better team, but we lost that game— because of me, not because of our players."

The 27-10 loss ended any hopes of a repeat championship. Notre Dame recovered to beat No. 1 Colorado 21-6 in the Orange Bowl for a final ranking of No. 2 — behind the Hurricanes.

Holtz coached eight more seasons in South Bend, never winning fewer than eight games. He retired in 1996, spent two years as a commentator for CBS, and returned to the game as head coach at South Carolina in '99. He went 33-37 in six seasons before retiring in 2004.

Holtz's 249 career wins place him tied for 26^th — with Laycock, interestingly enough — on Division I's all-time list. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.

Holtz went back to television and became a fixture on ESPN with Rece Davis and Mark May through the 2014 season.

"It was completely different than coaching," he said. "You had to remember names and stats, so that keeps your mind young and active. But when the game's over, you go home and don't think twice about it."

Holtz spent more than six decades in football — as a player, a coach, and an analyst. He follows his son, Skip, the head coach at Louisiana Tech. He has three other children along with nine grandchildren.

The last 12 months have been challenging for the Holtz. Last July, he lost Beth, his wife of 58 years. In November, he tested positive for COVID-19. And two months ago, he underwent major back surgery.

"I've got a scar that big on my back," said Holtz, holding his hands about six inches apart. "It's been difficult adjusting to living alone and having a bad back. Everybody needs something to do, someone to love, someone to believe in, and something to hope for.

"That's a problem you have when you get older. But one thing I do know is that no matter how old you get, you're always going to have problems, you're always going to have challenges, and you just have to deal with them."