Urban Meyer has reacted to concerning news about former Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz, who once sparked a viral exchange with Ryan Day. On January 30, HawgBeat’s Kyle Sutherland confirmed reports stating that the 89-year-old veteran coach was placed in hospice care. Holtz’s family later confirmed the report, claiming that he was receiving medical care at their Orlando home.

“Appreciate everyone’s text and prayers,” Lou Holtz’s son stated. “Dad is 89, and he is STILL fighting the fight! Only the man upstairs knows how much time is left on the clock. Cherishing the time we still have together in Orlando.”

Thereafter, Urban Meyer decided to repost the tweet as soon as he came across it. He has been vocal for years about how often he leaned on Lou Holtz, especially early in his head coaching career. Back in 2024, he told the story in detail, explaining how Holtz helped him manage the long buildup before the 2006 national title game. 

Lou Holtz’s advice wasn’t complicated. Don’t let the team peak early. Keep the routine. Respect the calendar. Urban Meyer even wrote “January 8, 8 p.m.” in Sharpie on a whiteboard in his office to drill the point home. It’s the kind of anecdote coaches love to pass down, partly because it sounds simple and partly because it worked.

Kevin Holtz’s statement on Saturday carried a different tone, more measured. He wrote that the family’s focus is on “maintaining his comfort, quality of life and care” and asked for privacy. 

“As family has always been the highest importance to Coach, we are holding to each other and focusing on making every moment and day count,” he wrote. “The whole family appreciates your thoughts, prayers, and support, but ask for privacy as we navigate this journey.”

Holtz’s legendary 33-season career as a head coach, which saw him amass a 249-132-7 record, left an indelible mark across college football. From his early stops at William & Mary to his celebrated, title-winning tenure at Notre Dame and his program-reviving work at South Carolina, Holtz built a Hall of Fame resume defined by turning teams around. But his name hasn’t just lived in nostalgia lately.

The feud between Ryan Day and the Notre Dame icon

Lou Holtz has a special connection with Notre Dame, even though his coaching years are behind him. The day before Ohio State played Notre Dame on September 23, 2023, the legendary coach appeared on The Pat McAfee Show and made a bold claim about the program he took to glory in 1988. Holtz claimed that the Fighting Irish have more physicality than Ryan Day’s Buckeyes. 

In fact, Lou Holtz pointed to Ryan Day’s losses, specifically to Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, and Michigan, arguing that a bit more physicality could have won them those games.

“Everybody that beats him [Ryan Day] does so because they’re more physical than Ohio State,” he said. “I think Notre Dame will take that same approach.”

Those comments would backfire later because Ohio State went on to beat Notre Dame with a 17-14 score on a last-second takedown. In the NBC postgame interview, Ryan Day responded to Lou Holtz leaving no stone unturned. 

“What he said about our team, I cannot believe,” the OSU head coach confessed. “This is a tough team right here. We’re proud to be from Ohio. It’s always Ohio against the world, and it’ll continue to be Ohio against the world. I’ll tell you what, I love those kids, and we’ve got a tough team.”

Well, Lou Holtz didn’t shy away from going a little back-and-forth with Ryan Day. A few days later, he said Ryan Day didn’t want to talk about Michigan and maintained that Notre Dame was the better team. He added later that Ohio State eventually became more physical, which, in his terms, was a concession. College football has seen stranger beefs. But this one stood out because of the age gap.