Before Urban Meyer became the head coach of the Ohio State football program, he had various other stops. One of the stops he made was at Notre Dame. In his last stop before becoming a head coach, he was the wide receivers coach at Notre Dame under Lou Holtz.
That was Holtz's final year as the head coach of the Irish. Holtz also coached with the Buckeyes under Woody Hayes as an assistant in 1968. Holtz did have a viral moment with Ryan Day a few years ago, but his heart was always with the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Unfortunately, Holtz passed away on Tuesday at the age of 89. He had been put into hospice care a few weeks ago, so this was not unexpected. Meyer and Holtz were friends, and Meyer was mentored by Holtz early in his career. He released a statement via a video shortly after Holtz passed.
Former Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer mourns Lou Holtz
Meyer released a video statement on the Triple Option Podcast.
"Lou Holtz was my mentor. He was a family friend, and without Lou Holtz, our career really never would've gotten started. But he hired me back in 1996 at Notre Dame, and then became a family friend, a mentor. I leaned on him for strategy, for advice."
Meyer went on to tell a story he's told many times, which is that Holtz told Meyer to take the head coaching job at Bowling Green. Without Holtz, Meyer never would have gotten his first head coaching gig. He owes the start of his career, including winning a national title with the Buckeyes in 2014.
Holtz learned a lot from Hayes early in his coaching career, and that helped him win a national title at Notre Dame. Meyer will certainly miss his close family friend.