He Said “Do What’s Right”—But This Is What It Looked Like

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

Over the past several years, I’ve had the incredible privilege of writing three non-fiction books about former Notre Dame student-athletes—along with a cookbook and a children’s book. Through those stories, I’ve tried to capture something special: the way Notre Dame shapes the people who pass through her doors.

In the Echoes from Notre Dame book series, the stories aren’t just about football games or championships. They’re about the Notre Dame value stream—the lessons, character, and relationships that shape these young men into the men they eventually become.

And as I listened to their stories, one name kept appearing again and again.

Coach Lou Holtz.

Many of the men I’ve interviewed played under the guidance of the legendary Notre Dame head coach. Through their memories—sometimes funny, sometimes deeply meaningful—I began to realize that Coach Holtz wasn’t just a championship coach. He was something much more.

He was a teacher.
A mentor.
A motivator.
And often, the person who believed in someone before they believed in themselves.

Over time, I started collecting these stories. One by one.

Before long, I had pages and pages of them—moments where Coach Holtz left an indelible impression on someone’s life.

Today, that collection has grown to more than 75 pages of stories.

Some are hilarious.
Some are powerful.
Some are simple moments that meant the world to the player who experienced them.

And all of them together paint a picture of who Coach Holtz really was in his day-to-day interactions with his players.

So, I’ve started thinking about something.

What if these stories became a book?

The idea would be simple: continue to gather the stories of the men whose lives were shaped by Coach Holtz and share, in their own words, the lessons, humor, and wisdom he left behind.

Because while many of us can quickly rattle off a few classic Lou Holtz-isms, the stories behind them reveal something even deeper about the man.

After all, Coach Holtz gave us plenty of wisdom to remember:

“Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.”

“Adversity is another way to measure the greatness of individuals. I never had a crisis that didn’t make me stronger.”

“Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I’ll show you someone who has overcome adversity.”

“You don’t go to Notre Dame to learn something; you go to Notre Dame to be somebody.”

“Those who know Notre Dame, no explanation’s necessary. Those who don’t, no explanation will suffice.”

And one of my personal favorites:

“I can’t believe that God put us on this earth to be ordinary.”

But the quotes are only part of the story.

The real magic is in the moments behind them.

So today, I’d love to share one of the many stories I’ve collected from Coach Holtz’s former players—one that beautifully captures his humor, humanity, and the heart that meant so much to so many.

Jeremy Sample

Coach said a lot of things, and then at one point in your life they all click.

“He talked about the preparation and the work, paying attention to the details, having every person be accountable, you focus on doing your job; and then you realize that all of those things are life’s realities, and it all makes sense. Life is nothing more than a series of decisions. One of the most important things that I took from Coach Holtz is, when you apply that simple phrase to the different aspects of your life, it all makes sense. When you think about some of the things you have done and the situations you’ve put yourself in, and you think about how Coach Holtz said that life is nothing more than a series of decisions. . . you see that your life doesn’t have to be hard. When he says, ‘Always do what’s right,’ yep. That’s it. He was able to bring all of these kids together, from various backgrounds, various regions of the country, various upbringings, and unify them all under this golden helmet. It didn’t matter where you were from or what your history was; nothing mattered. It was all about the team, the unity, and the togetherness.”

Coach Holtz is such a legend at Notre Dame, and the years he spent coaching at Notre Dame are surrounded by such lore. Jeremy talks about what it was like to play Division I college football under such a storied head coach, and how the lessons Coach Holtz taught them both on and off the field are still a big part of his everyday life. 

“It was a lot of different things. And I don’t know anyone who will tell you otherwise. It was hard because he expected so much from you. His level of expectation was for you to be your very best, and you, in return, did not want to disappoint him. At the end of the day, you knew you’d have to sit in the film room and explain to him what you did. He taught you that you needed to step with this foot, and you needed to have your helmet in this location, and you needed to stay in this lane when you ran down the field, and if you didn’t do that, you had to hold yourself accountable. Coach Holtz’s whole philosophy was based around making sure you were prepared. And if he felt that he didn’t prepare you properly, he would take the blame for that and tell you, ‘That was on me. That was my fault.’” 

If you are one of his guys, you are one of his guys forever. And that’s such a beautiful thing.

“Yes, it was hard, but it was fun, too. There were times when he was heavy on discipline and structure, but at the same time you could go to him with any issue you had, with anything that was troubling you, and he’d be there for you. His door was always open, and he was always available to us. He made us feel like his family. And he never forgets a player. If you are one of his guys, you are one of his guys forever. And that’s such a beautiful thing.” 

One of the most popular conversations that people have in regard to Notre Dame Football is what makes a coach successful. Notre Dame has had several extremely successful coaches over the years, and Coach Holtz is definitely one of them. Jeremy talks about what made Coach Holtz such an excellent football coach. 

“Coach Holtz had such a focus on discipline and accountability. He made sure that we all knew what our jobs were, and if everyone did their job, everything would be fine. He would go to his board and list out the reasons why we’re going to win, and how we’re going to win. He would write down his list. These are the things we need to do in order for us to be successful, and if each and every one of you does these things, you will win. We went over this chart every week, ‘The Ways We Win.’ And then after the game each week, we’d go back over the chart, and as we went through each thing, you could pinpoint exactly why we won or why we lost. If we did the things on the chart, we were successful. If we did not do the things on the chart, we were not successful. It was just that clear. And when you think about it, you say to yourself, ‘Wow, did that really happen?’” 

“The thing was, it was just a chart, but we went through the chart every week, and the chart was spot on. He would tell us we have to out-hit them and we have to have the best fundamentals. Then he’d go into each of our areas. Did we win turnovers? Did we give up the big plays? Did we make the big plays? Were there missed assignments? Third downs? Foolish penalties? How did we do on the goal line? The kicking game? And then he’d talk about togetherness, being together as a team, always having each other’s back, always being positive, always believing we’d win, don’t flinch, and in the moment where you need to make the play, make the play. And so, he would go down this chart and tell us, this is how you’re going to beat them. When you think about it, it’s brilliant. If you follow the plan you will win, and if you don’t follow the plan you will lose. There is no grey area there.”

“He was a brilliant man, and anyone who played for him walked away with something. You take a piece of all of that time with you. For me, one of the big things I took away from Coach Holtz was time, and being on time, and being a stickler for being on time. I’m always early, it’s something that carried over into my regular life. It’s tough, I make plans with friends, and I’m always early. My body is just programmed to the Notre Dame way. Time is the one thing you can never get back, and I am not here to waste anyone’s time. When Coach Holtz called a meeting, he expected you not just to be on time, but to be early. He wasn’t going to wait on you, you were going to wait on him. If Coach Holtz called a meeting for 4:30 pm, we showed up as early as 3:30 pm, because if Coach was early and you weren’t there, you were late. The meeting started when he got there, and if you weren’t in your seat, you were late.” 

“It’s funny, anybody who knows me knows I am someone who is always early. It’s to the point where my friends lie to me about what time I need to be there, so that I’m not there so early. And working in my career as a stunt professional, that has become arriving an hour early. I’ll show up at a location an hour early because sometimes a director or someone will want to do a walkthrough, or they’ll move your call time up. Let’s say your call time is 5 pm, and you happen to be there at 3:30 pm or 4 pm. They’ll say, ‘Hey, are there any stunt guys here? We’d like to do an early walk through or rehearsal.’ Or, ‘We’d like to help set up a shot and we need some stunt guys to set that up.’ If people are there, they move your call time up. And if you’re not there you miss out on an opportunity.”

Coach Holtz didn’t just win football games.

He shaped lives.

And the men who played for him carry those lessons with them decades later—in boardrooms, communities, families, and friendships.

Maybe that’s the real legacy of a great coach.

Not just the championships.

But the people.

So, I’m curious…

If I were to turn these 75 pages (plus a few more) of Coach Holtz stories into a book, would you want to read it?

Because if the answer is yes, I think Coach’s lads have a few more stories worth telling.

Cheers & Go Irish!

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos