Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney met with the media Wednesday evening following the Tigers’ spring practice.

Swinney began his post-practice media availability by paying tribute to legendary college football coach Lou Holtz, who passed away Wednesday at the age of 89.

Holtz won 249 games as a college head coach, including 100 victories at Notre Dame from 1986-96, and he led the Irish to the 1988 National Championship.

Holtz, who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008, also served as the head coach at William & Mary, NC State, Arkansas, Minnesota and South Carolina.

“Obviously one of the greatest coaches, certainly, to ever coach this game, and I would think a lot of people who played for him and know him would probably say one of the greatest people, one of the greatest influences, in a lot of people’s lives,” Swinney said.

In 1999, Holtz took the job at South Carolina and rebuilt the Gamecock program, finishing 0-11 in his first season then 8-4 in year two, which included an upset of Ohio State in the Outback Bowl. The eight-game turnaround earned him SEC Coach of the Year honors. Holtz would eventually win 33 games in six years at South Carolina, which included back-to-back Outback Bowl wins in 2000 and 2001.

Swinney briefly coached against Holtz after Swinney joined the Clemson staff as an assistant coach prior to the 2003 season, and Swinney has developed a friendship with one of Holtz’s four children, Skip Holtz, who most recently served as the head coach for the Birmingham Stallions of the United Football League.

“I obviously competed against [Lou] when I first came here to Clemson a little bit early on as an assistant here, and then became friends with Skip over the years,” Swinney said. “Obviously he’s a coach as well, and I actually went down to a Stallions game. He hosted me and his wife in their box and stuff, and they’ve got a place here on Keowee. So, I’ve gotten to be buddies with him over the last couple years.”

“I know he lived a great life,” Swinney added of Lou. “What a life. What a life well-lived, and the impact that he had on people’s lives will live on forever and ever and ever. But you know what, no matter how long we live, it’s a blink of an eye in the timeline of eternity. Truly. Whether you get 99 years or nine years, life is a blur. … I know he was a man of faith, and I’m thankful for that. Again, it never makes it easy when you lose a loved one, but just great respect for Coach Holtz and his family. My heart is with them. My prayers are with all of his children and grandkids.”