THE car inched forward in the driving rain, which made Honolulu's rush hour a nightmare on the dreary winter day. Notre Dame’s Holtz
is hard act to followLou Holtz paused for a second when I asked him how the 1996 Notre Dame team would be.
He smiled and said that he was excited about coaching this group of players. Quarterback Ron Powlus, obviously a favorite, was recovering from a broken arm. Some holes had been filled, especially on defense, he said.
Even Holtz himself was finally starting to feel better after a tougher-than-usual year of bad health, which included emergency surgery to relieve pressure on his spinal cord.
He had just played golf at Waialae Country Club and was on his way to wrap up Hawaii's top prep recruit, Jason Ching.
USUALLY portrayed as a pessimist, Holtz was upbeat about the coming season.
Just like Notre Dame itself, Holtz is either loved or hated. His announced resignation yesterday will please some fans, while others will be extremely disappointed.
There is the same debate about the job itself. Some feel that the head coach of the Fighting Irish has it made because of the unmatched tradition and high visibility, which makes recruiting top players easy.
I disagree. It is probably the hardest job in college sports.
You are expected to win every game and a national championship each season. One or two losses - heaven forbid four or five - are unacceptable, even if you play one of the toughest schedules in the nation.
Every opponent is sky-high for Notre Dame, which puts incredible pressure on the head coach to avoid any upsets.
Holtz won only one national championship with his great 1988 team, which went 12-0. He should have had another, but lost a popularity contest in the final poll voting to Bobby Bowden and Florida State in 1993, when both teams finished 11-1 and the Irish had beaten the Seminoles.
Going into Saturday's game against Rutgers, Holtz's record at Notre Dame is 99-29-2. Obviously the guy can coach - and I feel he is one of the best ever at preparing his team for a single big game.
What I like about Holtz is his simplicity as a person. Sometimes he is crabby and hot-tempered, other times warm and friendly. In other words, he is human - and never afraid to show it.
I mentioned to him that my uncle, a lifelong Notre Dame fan who lived near South Bend, just had his foot amputated. Holtz said he would write him a letter and he did, despite his busy schedule.
NOW everyone is wondering why he is retiring. Some speculate that he is headed for the Minnesota Vikings and another shot at the NFL. Or that he is finally burned out by continually being in the spotlight.
My guess is this: The players have changed. Even at a top-quality school like Notre Dame, it's hard to get young athletes to realize how important dedication and discipline are, especially in a team game like football.
The loss to Ohio State and especially Air Force crushed Holtz, who felt that this team could win it all.
It's true that he looks much older than his 59 years, so health concerns might be a factor. But they don't make people any tougher than Holtz, who has overcome physical problems throughout his life. Can you imagine coaching a major-college football team while wearing a full neck brace?
These days, college sports is filled with dull and mediocre coaches, young robots who seem to be the same person sometimes.
John Wooden once told me that today's coaches are more worried about looking like coaches than coaching itself.
Lou Holtz didn't fit that mold. He never looked like a coach and didn't give a damn.
But he could ring down the thunder from the sky as well as anyone in the long and proud history of the country's greatest football program.