In the Monday (12/6/2004) issue of Investor’s Business Daily, there will be a story about Lou Holtz and his influence beyond football. For the story, the reporter interviewed several business leaders to find out how Lou Holtz has shaped their outlook on life, on business and how the coach has directly and indirectly helped their careers. Karen Hayward was among those interviewed and, as it turns out, is the only business leader quoted in the story. I’ve highlighted her quote in the story that follows below.
BY JONAH KERI
At the start of his college football career, the 5-foot-10, 150-pound Lou Holtz had to scratch and claw just to stay on the roster.
In the 45 years hence, the backup linebacker from Kent State University became a coaching legend. And he did so as the consummate underdog, the self-deprecating figure who gave all credit to his players.
Throughout his career, Holtz stuck to what worked for him.
Explaining why he, rather than the quarterback, called his team's plays: "We have a lot of success with a dumb person calling plays. I'm hesitant to have a smart one call them."
On his perceived lack of job security: "I have a lifetime contract. That means I can't be fired during the third quarter if we're ahead and moving the ball."
That was Holtz, often cracking wise, always looking over his shoulder. But the coach, now 67, channeled his humor and motivational skills into more than his critics could have imagined. One of the winningest coaches in college ball, he retired Nov. 22 with 249 victories.
More than the sheer number of wins, it's the nature of the teams he coached that stamped Holtz as the underdog's hero. At each of the six schools he coached — William & Mary, North Carolina State, Arkansas, Minnesota, Notre Dame and South Carolina — he guided a once moribund team to a bowl appearance by his second season.
Pushed The Right Buttons
While his sharp wit endeared him to reporters, Holtz achieved his greatest successes by figuring out how to push his players' buttons. Whether his teams were playing a title contender or an also-ran, Holtz made his players give their all by creating a daily sense of urgency.
"If there wasn't a crisis, he'd create one," said John Heisler, now associate athletic director at Notre Dame, and sports information director during Holtz's 11-year stint at the school. "If there was a game where Notre Dame might be favored to win, and the players might think it'll be an easy week, he'd find a cause. Media people used to give him a hard time, because he would take every opponent and make them sound like the Green Bay Packers. It was his way of making sure that his players never took anybody lightly."
In 1988, Holtz made Notre Dame play like those Packers. The Irish went 12-0 for the national championship and did so with a 100% graduation rate, in keeping with Holtz's academic emphasis.
Holtz held assistant coaching jobs at several schools before taking the helm at William & Mary in 1969. Though he guided the team to the Southern Conference championship in 1970, Holtz amassed a poor 13-19 record at the school.
Determined to learn from his mistakes, he spent long hours studying film and player psychology. He didn't meet his goals the first time around, so he wanted to do better the next time.
His preparation paid off in his next job, at North Carolina State. From 1972 through 1975, Holtz compiled a 31-11-2 record there. The team played in bowl games in four years, going 2-1-1.
By then a hot coaching commodity, the NFL's New York Jets hired him as head coach in 1976. But Holtz quickly learned that the motivational tactics he used on 20-year-old sophomores didn't have the same effect on 28-year-old veteran pros. The Jets lost 10 of 13 games before Holtz stepped down.
Humbled by his failure, Holtz could've taken the easy way out and quit the game then and there. But the coach chose to see the situation's silver lining instead.
"I think everyone should experience defeat at least once during their career," he said. "You learn a lot from it."
Holtz, who grew up in East Liverpool, Ohio, decided he'd stick to what he did best — coaching college ball. He resumed his coaching career at the University of Arkansas in 1977. In seven years there, he racked up a 60-21-2 record, taking the Razorbacks to six bowl games.
Firm Resolve
Though known as a professorial type with a thin frame and glasses, Holtz maintained strict standards and had no problem laying down the law when needed.
Just days before coaching Arkansas in the January 1978 Orange Bowl, Holtz suspended three stars who together accounted for more than 70% of the team's offense: running backs Ben Cowins and Michael Forrest and wide receiver Donny Bobo. The three players had become involved in a dormitory incident involving a woman, and Holtz wanted to set an example for his players. That the team was already a huge underdog facing No. 1 Oklahoma didn't weaken his resolve.
Despite long odds, Holtz and the Razorbacks crushed the Sooners 31-6. Years later, he benched star South Carolina rusher Derek Watson in the January 2001 Outback Bowl for a violation. Holtz's Gamecocks slammed Ohio State 24-7.
Businesses began using Holtz's sayings as motivational tools and codes of conduct. Just as former NFL coaching great Vince Lombardi spawned a cottage industry through his quotes, Holtz gained a legion of fans, many not even football fans. To reach out to that wide variety of people, Holtz's wrote the motivational book "Winning Every Day."
"He talks about teamwork, about how to build a team, and says, 'Are you doing the right things?' " said Karen Hayward, executive vice president of sales and marketing for San Jose, Calif.-based IT services provider CenterBeam. "I think that's something that has really become ingrained: Do what's right for our customers, and for each other."
Though many head coaches delegate most duties to assistants, Holtz knew firsthand observation gets you the best information. So he often donned the headset and called offensive plays, a job that usually falls to offensive coordinators.
While he built his reputation on offense, Holtz wasn't afraid to switch his focus and put his stamp on defense. In the three games leading up to the January 1992 Sugar Bowl, his Notre Dame team yielded 35, 35 and 42 points. Disgusted, Holtz scrapped his plan, instead dropping six players into pass coverage. The move befuddled Florida's pass-happy coach, Steve Spurrier. Though an underdog against the Gators, Holtz's Irish won 39-28.
Upon his retirement, Holtz was disappointed to have not done more at his last job with South Carolina, despite his 2001 and '02 Outback Bowl wins and other triumphs. He had a near impossible task, coaching a perennial doormat and competing on the recruiting trail against national powers such as Georgia, LSU and Auburn in one of the nation's toughest conferences. Still, Holtz refused to host a self-pity party.
In vintage Holtz style, he cracked up the crowd at his retirement press conference. Asked what he'd do, he quipped: "What am I qualified to do? I don't know, maybe carry the cord" of the coach's headset.
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