ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, November 19, 1996 TAG: 9611190105
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: SOUTH BEND, IND.
SOURCE: Associated Press
The Lou Holtz era is over at Notre Dame.
Indications are the coach will announce at his weekly news conference today that he is resigning after 11 seasons. Details were completed at a meeting Monday with athletic director Mike Wadsworth and the Rev. William Beauchamp, the university's executive vice president.
``He met with the administration and told them he's leaving,'' one of two university sources, who spoke on the condition they not be identified, told The Associated Press.
School spokesman John Heisler declined to confirm Holtz's resignation, saying only the coach had met with Wadsworth and Beauchamp.
``They have reached a decision and it will be announced at 1 p.m.'' today, Heisler said.
Why Holtz, 59, is resigning is not clear, but one possibility is he wants another crack at the NFL, where he led the New York Jets to a 3-10 record in 1976 before resigning with one game left. One scenario has him coaching the Minnesota Vikings if Dennis Green leaves to coach the Oakland Raiders.
It was business as usual at Notre Dame's practice Monday, with Holtz pacing the field and occasionally yelling at players when they did something he didn't like. He refused afterward to confirm his resignation, but he did say the situation is starting to take its toll.
``I will talk about that at the appropriate time and now is not the appropriate time,'' he said. ``Practice went a little longer than I wanted because I was eating Rolaids, and I couldn't call them up.''
His players and assistants were equally tight-lipped, though it was apparent Holtz had told his players of his decision before practice.
``Our team meetings are confidential,'' defensive linebacker Kinnon Tatum said. ``If he wanted us to talk to the media, he'd let the media into the meetings. So I have no comment whatsoever.''
Holtz's resignation ends nearly a week of speculation that he was leaving. He did nothing to deny it, saying at one point: ``We can talk about this forever, but there isn't much I'm going to say. But there's a time and a place for everything.''
With Holtz leaving, speculation now turns to who will replace him. It was not immediately known if his successor would be announced today. Among the top contenders to take over college football's glamour job are Northwestern's Gary Barnett and Irish defensive coordinator Bob Davie.
The Chicago Sun-Times, citing unidentified sources, reported Monday that Notre Dame wants Barnett to succeed Holtz and has agreed to talk with him. But Barnett said such talk was premature.
``I don't think you ever say never,'' he said Monday. ``I don't know at this point in time. I would hope Northwestern wants me here. You never know.''
Others mentioned include Louisiana State's Gerry DiNardo, former UCLA coach Terry Donahue and Wisconsin's Barry Alvarez.
Despite speculation about Holtz and the Vikings, team president Roger Headrick said Sunday his team has had no official contact with Holtz.
But Headrick told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis and the St. Paul Pioneer Press he could not rule out that at least two board members might have discussed the former University of Minnesota coach's availability.
Tenth-ranked Notre Dame (7-2) has two games remaining - at home against Rutgers and at Southern California. A bowl bid, probably the Orange or Fiesta, would close Holtz's career at Notre Dame.
He is 99-29-2 at Notre Dame - six victories shy of tying Knute Rockne's Irish all-time victory record - and 215-94-7 overall. But he has encountered rough times recently. Notre Dame has lost 10 games in the past three seasons - more than his 1988-1993 squads lost combined.
His problems this year were due, in part, to his attempts to modernize his offense and make better use of Ron Powlus' throwing abilities. He abandoned his beloved running game for a spread offense, but his players never adjusted to it.
By the time he switched back midway through the season, the Irish had lost one game and their intensity. A loss to Air Force, which hadn't beaten Notre Dame since 1985, threatened hopes for a 10th consecutive bowl bid and further frustrated Holtz.
Some have questioned if health played a role in Holtz's decision. A frail-looking man, he's had a series of health problems. He underwent emergency surgery in the fall of 1995 to relieve pressure on his spinal cord, a condition that could have caused paralysis if left untreated.
But he said before the season began that he'd never felt better.
``I've been more interested in doing things that maybe after 20-some years would get to be monotonous. They aren't now,'' he said. ``I still have a burning desire to coach football.''
Holtz came to Notre Dame with a reputation for reviving failing programs, and he endeared himself to the Irish faithful by rescuing Notre Dame. When he arrived in November 1985, Notre Dame had lost its place among the college elite after five mediocre seasons under Gerry Faust.
The Irish went 5-6 in Holtz's first season, but rebounded the next year to finish 8-4 and earn their first bowl bid since 1984.
In 1988, three years after he took over, the Irish upset then-No.1 Miami on their way to their first national championship since 1977.
Notre Dame came close to repeating in 1989, but fell to Miami in the season finale. Not even a win over top-ranked Colorado in the Orange Bowl could redeem the 12-1 Irish, and Miami won the national title.
Holtz had one more run at the title in 1993, when Notre Dame and Florida State each finished with one loss. Holtz claimed the Irish should have been No.1 because they'd beaten the Seminoles head-to-head - the same reasoning that gave Miami the national championship in 1989.
But voters disagreed, and Notre Dame finished second to Florida State.
LENGTH: Long : 106 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Holtz. color. KEYWORDS: FOOTBALLby CNB