By way of the South Bend Tribune comes a story about the relationship between Lou Holtz and former North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms. As EDSBS points out, Holtz is an interesting guy to say the least.

Lou Holtz met Jesse Helms during his coaching stint at North Carolina State. According to Holtz, Helms used his political influence to help Lou build the program. In his autobiography, “Wins, Losses and Lessons”, Holtz explains how the friendship later cost him his job at Arkansas.

“When he ran for the U.S. Senate … Jesse asked me to do an ad for him. I did, but when I got home, I felt uncomfortable. The politics of football is tough enough; injecting myself into a Senate race didn’t seem to make a lot of sense. So I called Jesse and told him how uncomfortable I felt. He understood, and the ad never aired.”

Holtz was fired not long after taping the ad. He says in his book he wasn’t given a clear reason for his release but he believes the Helms commercial was the primary factor.

The authors of “The Razorbacks: A Story of Arkansas Football,” write about Arkansas’ decision to fire Holtz.

“Lou’s old friend Jesse was conducting a one-man filibuster against the establishment of Martin Luther King Day while the Arkansas staff was calling black mothers trying to recruit their sons.”

It’s hard to blame Arkansas. Even if Lou Holtz doesn’t have a racist bone in his body hanging out with Jesse Helms can send the wrong message.