Lee Holladay grew up near Selma, Alabama and attended high school at Orrville. He received his degree from Livingston University following high school. Holladay spent seven years as an assistant before taking the head coaching job at Louisville in 1962.

Holladay served fourteen seasons at Excel High School where his teams went 43 regular season games without suffering a defeat from 1972-76. Arriving in 1970, he enjoyed 11 consecutive winning seasons and would compile a 90-27-1 record.

Over his career he was the head coach at eleven different high schools around the state. That alone may be a record for a coach at so many different schools.

Holladay coached at Graceville, Florida in 1990-91 before returning to Alabama. He won 239 games over a span of 42 years as a head coach. After retiring as a head coach he served as defensive coordinator for Keith High School.

The Alabama Football Coaches Association honored him in 2010 with the Lifetime Achievement Award.