Where does Lou Holtz rank all-time among Notre Dame coaches?

In Notre Dame’s illustrious history, six coaches have been named to the College Football Hall of Fame, five have won national championships and another coach entirely from that group has the most wins in program history. So, finding the best coach is not an easy task.

Holtz posted a 100-30-2 record during his time in South Bend. That included one national championship, as well as five wins in what are considered New Year’s Six bowls today. 

Since Holtz finished coaching, Notre Dame hasn’t managed a national championship. Brian Kelly came close, going to a BCS Championship Game and the College Football Playoff twice. He also managed to win the most games in program history, at 113. However, that’s with a longer yearly schedule and his lack of postseason success that looms large. 

The most famous coach in Notre Dame history is, of course, Knute Rockne. He took over in 1918 and would lead the program until his early death in 1930. During that time, he went 105-12-5. That’s the second most wins and the best winning percentage of a coach with more than 15 games at the school. He also won three national championships. 

Perhaps more importantly, he helped build the legend of the Notre Dame program. That included his “Win One For The Gipper” speech. It included recruiting immigrants, like himself, and playing a national schedule as an Independent. That helped to build a national fanbase and set up all future coaches for success.

One coach who arguably had more on-field success was Frank Leahy. A Rockne disciple, Leahy missed time coaching to fight in World War II, but still went 87-11-9 with four national championships, re-establishing the Notre Dame brand in football.

The other two coaches with national championships were Ara Parseghian, with two and Dan Devine with one. Parseghian went 95-17-4 in 11 seasons. Devine went 53-16-1 in six seasons.

Jesse Harper, incidentally, is the final Notre Dame coach to make the Hall of Fame. He holds a 34-5-1 all-time record and coached before Rockne.