HONORING LOU HOLTZ

HONORING LOU HOLTZ

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 42 (Thursday, March 5, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 42 (Thursday, March 5, 2026)] [House] [Page H2430] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HONORING LOU HOLTZ (Mr. Fallon of Texas was recognized to address the House for 5 minutes.) Mr. FALLON. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, a legend was called home. Lou Holtz passed away surrounded by his loving family, and I know coach, if he had to choose, wouldn't have it any other way. Coach Lou Holtz will forever be a national treasure. He is a Hall of Fame coach, and he earned it. He was born in modest means on January 6, 1937. His parents, Andrew and Anne Marie, raised him near a small mill town in West Virginia, right on the border in East Liverpool, Ohio. Coach went on to play linebacker--I think he probably was 135 pounds soaking wet, but he was a linebacker--at Kent State. He used to joke when he would give some of his great speeches that he graduated third in his class. He was third from the bottom, not the top. When he was 34 years old, he was having a tough time in life, so he wrote down 107, and then it became 108 life goals. There were some very lofty ones. One goal I believe was to appear on ``The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.'' He wanted to be a head coach. He wanted to win a national championship and many other goals. If he didn't achieve all of them, he achieved nearly all of them. He became a head coach at William & Mary, then at North Carolina State University, and then 1 year with the New York Jets when Joe Namath was there. That didn't go too well. His calling was back in college, and he went to the University of Arkansas. He had wild success there. Then, he went to the University of Minnesota. In his contract, he could leave for one school, and that school was the University of Notre Dame. We won a national championship there in 1988, and it was a very special time. Coach Holtz coached many great Americans, such as Byron Spruell, Pat Eielers, Rod West, Tony Rice, Derrick Brown, Reggie Brooks, Ricky Watters, Jerome Bettis, Steve Buerlein, Andy Heck, Ron Meyer, James Dillard, and Antwon Lark. As one of 1,500 players, I got the privilege to--I used to joke. I didn't necessarily play for Coach Holtz; I practiced for him. Coach used to say you should have four things in life: something to do, someone to love, someone to believe in, and something to hope for. I want to share this with you all. Coach was in hospice. He passed away yesterday. You know when you are in hospice, you know the end is coming. This is what I shared with Coach Holtz. I sent him a text last month. I am going to read it to you. ``Coach, I am sitting in my office in the U.S. Capitol, and I know one thing for certain. I wouldn't be here right now had I not crossed your path. In short, you are a legend, and I love you.'' I had the honor of introducing him about a half dozen times over the last decade or so, and if you read Coach Holtz's bio, it is going to tell you that he has two sons, but that is wildly inaccurate. He has 1,502 sons. That is how players see him: as a coach, a mentor, a friend, and very much a second father. Coach, you demanded the best from all of us and taught us to dig deep and reach our full potential. You taught us not to exist but to live, not to wallow but to thrive, and not to just dream but to act. You taught us to take hold of our own futures and fates. So many of us did just that. I oftentimes share with people that the coach came out and did a fundraiser for me in 2018 when I was running for the Texas Senate. I share that not to name drop or to impress people, but to share the person that he was. He refused payment. He flew from Florida to Texas to help a reserve player that he had coached 30 years prior. That is who he was. He was generous beyond measure and a great American patriot of our Republic. He is to be admired and emulated. Coach, you inspired us to be the men the good Lord made us to be. I was reading the other day that, at some point, for most of us, there will come a day when our name will be spoken for the last time for most of us. But not for you. Your name will live on for eternity because you are a legend. Do you know what, Coach? Damn it, you earned it. Coach Lou Holtz, God bless you. Coach, thank you. ____________________