Wyoming’s Jay Sawvel Shares Memories of Late Mentor Lou Holtz

LARAMIE -- First days are stressful enough.

Now, imagine your first gig at the highest level of your profession is at the University of Notre Dame and your boss is Lou Holtz.

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Jay Sawvel's introduction to this storied program wasn't an 8-hour shift, consisting of making copies and brewing fresh coffee, he was immediately tasked with driving a recruit and his family to O'Hare in nearby Chicago.

Easy enough.

Upon his return, though, he was summoned to the head coach's office.

"He said, 'I've got to be in Orlando tomorrow and all the airports around here are fogged out, so we have to go to Columbus,'" Wyoming's head coach recalled on Thursday, less than 24 hours after it was announced Holtz had died at the age of 89. "I'm thinking to myself, is there like a Columbus, Indiana?"

Nope.

Sawvel, then 24 and a defensive graduate assistant, was riding shotgun with the national champion for the next four-plus hours.

"This was Lou Holtz, you know what I mean?" Sawvel said, adding it was a dream opportunity. "This is a fascinating person. He was so well-read, so well-learned."

Did you know Ohio is the birthplace of seven U.S. Presidents? Eight if you include William Henry Harrison, who was born in Virginia, but lived in the Buckeye State.

Holtz knew that. So did Sawvel.

The latter is a native of Barnesville, Ohio. Holtz grew up in East Liverpool, just 76 miles up the road.

The self-proclaimed "fastest driver you know," Holtz kept the pedal to the metal on that journey. Sawvel joked that he was breezing through construction zones at 85 miles per hour.

Aside from the history lesson, the 54-year-old said he got to know the wiry, yet fiery, head coach, who was known for his lisp and high-pitched tone. From 1986 to that very season, 1996, Holtz led the Fighting Irish to an overall record of 100-30-2. In 1988, he was instrumental in bringing a title back to South Bend for the first time since '77, defeating West Virginia 34-21 in the Fiesta Bowl.

"He probably asked me 10 questions to my every two," Sawvel said with a laugh. "He was just kind of fascinating that way. He always had some really good humor, you know, good jokes. He would test those out on people who worked for him first."

During Sawvel's first season as the head coach in Laramie, he told a story about how Holtz would test his players on the rivalry with USC. Fail and you wouldn't dress. That actually happened, too, he added. He believed in disliking your opponent, even if it was completely random. Sawvel can still recall the rambling about Boston College and how they weren't a rival of the mighty Irish. For some reason, Holtz really wanted to beat Rutgers that season, referring to them as "Ruptures."

The Scarlet Knights were 2-9 that season and suffered a 62-0 blanking at the hands of the Irish in what would be Holtz's last game inside Notre Dame Stadium.

"They were the worst football team I think that I'd ever seen, that year," Sawvel added.

After a last-second victory over No. 6 Texas in Austin, Holtz invited a surprise guest to the Friday meal. Jenny McCarthy, Playboy's former Playmate of the Year and co-host of the MTV show Singled Out.

Why? Great question.

There was also the time Holtz was given the honor of running with the Olympic torch. He practiced by running to the end of his block. Sawvel said he joked that he was so winded his heavy breathing would extinguish the flame.

Holtz was just quirky like that, Sawvel added.

Another core memory is the tongue lashing he took from the head man in fall camp at the Culver Military Academy just outside of South Bend. Sawvel had racked up a $500 phone bill the previous May, calling recruits and setting up various appointments and visits for assistant coaches like Urban Meyer, Charlie Strong and Bob Davies.

"I said, 'Look, if there's a personal call in there, I'll highlight it and I'll pay for it,'" he said. "We're at Notre Dame and he's mad about a phone bill."

Holtz's "kick" that preseason was the story of Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés, who was infamous for ordering his ships to be destroyed upon landing in Mexico in 1519. It was a tactic to prevent his men from retreating. For Holtz, it was the perfect symbolism for the season ahead: We're all in.

The last day of camp, at a team cookout, Holtz and the team captains arrived on the shore of Lake Maxinkuckee in a boat, which they proceeded to light on fire on the shore, Sawvel said.

"Bob Davie comes up to me, hits me on the shoulder and he goes, 'Hey, you know, the hell of it is, we spent over $3,000 on that boat,'" he continued. "And He's yelling at you about a $500 phone bill."

Holtz resigned following that 8-3 season. The final outing of his legendary 11-year career at Notre Dame ended with his first-ever loss to the Trojans in Los Angeles. He resurfaced at the University of South Carolina in 1999, leading the Gamecocks to an 8-4 season after an 0-11 debut. They won nine games in Year 3.

He officially hung up his whistle for good in 2004 and settled in as a television personality and public speaker.

Holtz's coaching tree is an impressive one. He mentored the likes of Barry Alvarez (Wisconsin), Pete Carroll (USC, NFL), Strong (Texas, Louisville), Meyer (Utah, Florida, Ohio State) and his own son, Skip Holtz (ECU, South Florida, Louisiana Tech), among many others.

Sawvel is entering Year 3 of his head coaching career.

He learned work ethic from Holtz. He admired his aura. He misses his mentor.

"He is an icon of college football," Sawvel penned on X Thursday. "... Saddened by the passing of one of the all-time greats."