Former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr enjoying his retirement
File photo
As much as he enjoyed coaching the Michigan football team, former U-M coach Lloyd Carr said, at 64, he has no plans to ever coach again.Â
"There's only one place for me," Carr said. "And that place is Michigan. To be honest, I'm having too much fun retired to ever consider coaching again."
Semi-retired, actually. An associate athletic director, Carr spends his days "touching a lot of bases" at the University, doing public speaking to help various academic departments, from the College of Engineering to the medical school.
The position gives Carr the chance to promote the University where he built his career, and the time to broaden his horizons.
Carr was recently in attendance for the Institute for Social Research's MLK Symposium lecture by Robert Bobb, emergency financial manager for Detroit Public Schools.
And for the last 18 months or so, Carr has been the face of Governor Jennifer Granholm's Mentor Michigan campaign, encouraging adults in the state to take a child under their wing.Â
Leisa Thompson | The Ann Arbor News
"Almost everyone who's been successful has had a mentor figure in their lives," Carr said.Â
Carr said one of the biggest perks when he coached was mentoring the young men he had recruited. Some mature on campus, for others it takes years, but most come around eventually.
"The coach-player relationship can be a strained one," Carr explained in his office at Weidenbach Hall. With 70-plus players to manage, it's easy for player and coach not to see eye to eye on issues like playing time, commitment, and attitude.
"I always tell the guys that, one day, we'll be friends," Carr said. "They don't believe me until they leave campus and we reconnect."
Carr said that seeing former players like Tai Streets, Larry Foote, and Charles Woodson give back to their communities and to the University has been a privilege.
Another honor is watching former players compete at the highest level.
Foote and LaMarr Woodley played for the Pittsburgh Steelers team that won Super Bowl 43. Â Woodson was voted the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year in 2009.
Carr was a guest in Miami in December when former Michigan quarterback and three-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady and the New England Patriots squared off against former Michigan quarterback Chad Henne and the Miami Dolphins.
"I barely blinked the entire time," Carr said, save for a few Wildcat plays when Henne was on the Dolphins' sideline.
That weekend in Miami also gave Carr the chance to catch up with Jake Long, Henne's left tackle at Michigan and now with the Dolphins, and other Wolverines involved in the game.
"That experience was a beautiful thing," Carr said.
Like his mentor Bo Schembechler, Carr hopes one day to be remembered not only for the wins, losses and titles, but for the way his teams played the game.
"From the players we recruited to the coaches we hired to the way we prepared," Carr said, "I honestly wouldn't change a thing."
James David Dickson can be reached at JamesDickson@AnnArbor.com.
Comments
flyerpride01
Wed, Feb 17, 2010 : 7:42 p.m.
lloyd please please consider comin back.. we'd love to have u back rich rodriguez bush cant get it done..
Lokalisierung
Tue, Feb 16, 2010 : 2:21 p.m.
"Theo212: I'd say that Carr's legacy already does surpass Bo's." I certianly wouldn't. Bo is so over rated the "idea" of him will never be passed. Carr was better in every aspect...not even close.
Dan
Tue, Feb 16, 2010 : 8:41 a.m.
As a Buckeye fan, I would like to say that I miss Lloyd Carr. He's a class act and a great ambassador for the Big Ten and Michigan Football. Lloyd Carr would never let his players forget what an honor it was to simply attend class and walk away with a degree from such a prestigious academic institution. The Big Ten has all about winning with class as well as developing players into men and future leaders. I don't care if the Big Ten does not see it's dominance again and stays second to the SEC in football prowess so long as we continue to run classy programs that don't just coach athletes but also develop them into fine young men (perhaps the biggest reason Texas is considering joining the Big Ten is academic prestige). People like Bielema, JoePa, Tressel, Ferentz, and Pat Fitzgerald know this as well. Dantonio suspended his players even before the convictions came down on them, and this most likely cost him a bowl win. Would Urban Meyer have done this? No. Les Miles? Maybe, but then again he was a Michigan Man. I'm not sure if Rich Rodriguez gets what it means to be a Big Ten coach yet. I hope Michigan can turn their program around soon. The rivalry needs it. I don't like for College Gameday to be down at some SEC school on the day of The Game.
Blue Marker
Mon, Feb 15, 2010 : 3:16 p.m.
It would be hard as a Michigan fan not to have love for Lloyd. However, he was at the wheel for the lost that still hurts me the most. The 2001 OSU game. Tressel calls him out a year in advance and Lloyd's got the game at home. In one of the poorest performances I've ever seen Michigan loses to an unranked OSU team lead by my least favorite Wolverine of all time John Navvare. How do you let your arch rival do that to you in your home field?
NoBowl4Blue
Mon, Feb 15, 2010 : 2:25 p.m.
Lloyd is a class act, good coach and has been made a scapegoat for the pathetic performance of his successor. The so called King who has yet to see a winning season or a bowl game could learn much from him.
GoBlue2009
Mon, Feb 15, 2010 : 12:42 p.m.
So our National Championship in 1997 is somehow invalid because Nebraska played one more game than us? C'mon. This would've been decided had the BCS been in place, as much as I hate the BCS.
ChelseaBob
Mon, Feb 15, 2010 : 9:53 a.m.
I was always proud of Lloyd and his teams, even in defeat. They always showed class, which is rare these days. When the "game has passed him by" crowd were demanding Lloyd retire, I was afraid we'd all regret it. I was right. Miss him yet? I sure do.
Craig Lounsbury
Sun, Feb 14, 2010 : 9:52 p.m.
My argument is simply that Division 1 football needs a playoff system or they need to stop "crowning" mythical champions. When multiple teams finish a season undefeated declaring a champion has nothing to do with the field of play. And with that I'll bow out of the discussion as I am just repeating myself.
Macabre Sunset
Sun, Feb 14, 2010 : 5:19 p.m.
I wouldn't use the term delusion or make it personal between you and I. The problem is that even with the BCS, there is no playoff in college football. I don't think the problem is any different today than it was before the BCS. Michigan might have beaten the number-three team by 25. We don't know because they didn't play. And we have no idea if the number-three team is any better than the number-eight team. Leaf was a great quarterback in college. For me, 12-0 is better than 12-1 with an assist from the officials and from the most powerful entity in sports. ESPN campaigned so hard for Nebraska, right down to how the Rose Bowl victory over Washington State was shown in replays, and it convinced a lot of people. There are so many inequities in college football. How do you decide? The Rose Bowl is always a road game for the Big Ten. So a win there is doubly impressive. I don't consider it delusional in the slightest to claim Michigan was the most impressive team in college football in 1997.
Craig Lounsbury
Sun, Feb 14, 2010 : 4:36 p.m.
"So, yeah, Michigan was 1997 National Champion. Nebraska was second, as far as I'm concerned." you can spin it any way you want to try and justify a 13-0 team finishing 2nd to a 12-0 team. And the Oscar for sports delusion goes to... I could play a "ya but" game with you and say Nebraska beat a #3 team 42-17 while Michigan only beat a #8 team 21-16 but I don't need to. All I need to say is Nebraska ran their table and finished 13-0. In sports that means your not in second place, except in the fantasy world of division 1 college football. Not even pop warner football would dare pull that B.S.
saginaw
Sun, Feb 14, 2010 : 3:18 p.m.
It is too bad that there was no BCS in 1997. It would be wonderful to know who really was best.
Macabre Sunset
Sun, Feb 14, 2010 : 3:13 p.m.
I'll always consider that a national championship for the following reasons: 1) Overtime was new, and Nebraska needed overtime to beat Missouri. Michigan was the only team to win all its games in regulation. 2) In the Missouri game, Nebraska reached overtime on a play that, if there were replay, would have been overturned. The Nebraska played kicked a ball illegally, deflecting it to a teammate in the end zone. 3) Nebraska coach Tom Osborne shamelessly begged for votes, as this was his last season. Nebraska was number two headed into the bowl games in both major polls. 4) Michigan's win over Washington State and Ryan Leaf was considered tainted because Leaf ran out of time before being able to run a final play from Michigan territory. However, that play would never have been possible without a 50-yard pass two plays earlier that included perhaps the most blatant uncalled offensive pass interference penalty in recent memory. The Cougar player just about pushed the Michigan defender into the front row of seats. 5) ESPN, which tallied the votes for the poll that switched, joined the Osborne campaign. When the results of the polls were announced late that night, you could hear celebrating in the ESPN studio. Loud, extensive celebrating. I've always wondered how Nebraska was able to make up so much ground in that final ESPN poll - but not in the other poll. So, yeah, Michigan was 1997 National Champion. Nebraska was second, as far as I'm concerned.
Craig Lounsbury
Sun, Feb 14, 2010 : 2:29 p.m.
"When Carr led Michigan to the national championship in 1997..." actually it was either a "co mythical championship" or one of two separate "mythical championships" take your pick. What it was NOT was THE national championship in 1997. The way sports works in the real world if you win all your events/games, if nobody beats you on the field or court your the best, your the champion. What Michigan and Nebraska shared in 1997 wasn't a "championship". That can only be won on the field. It was more like an Oscar for Outstanding performance on a football field.
university brat
Sun, Feb 14, 2010 : 1:15 p.m.
Coach Carr, I hope not the last of Michigan football coaches with integrity and class. As for the current coach: "Time reveals all truths".
Macabre Sunset
Sun, Feb 14, 2010 : 1:06 p.m.
Theo, Carr's teams consistently had that shot at the conference championship. I know it's only been two years, but your guy Rich (8-16) has taken this program down so thoroughly and so quickly that we forget. Carr was 122-40 overall, 81-23 in the conference. In 13 seasons, he won two conference titles outright and shared three others. Michigan finished lower than third once. Just once. The year before winning the national title. He was fired because he had his two worst seasons in 2005 and 2007 (I know, he stepped down voluntarily, but it was inevitable after the Appalachian State debacle) and he lost his last four games to Ohio State (he had been 6-3 against them prior to that). Those were the only two times he lost more than three games during the regular season (he lost four both times). You exaggerate his record. He did put the team in position to contend for the national title every single year. The Wolverines were consistently in the top ten out of 120 Division I-A schools. Meanwhile, your guy, Rich, has lost as many games in two years as Carr did in his first six seasons. He has, in two years, lost more than half as many Big Ten games as Carr did in his career. Rich dismantled and destroyed a great program, one that took a special coach to maintain. Carr, Moeller and Schembechler were special coaches. Rodriguez is just a hack with a gimmick, and a reminder of how important these choices are.
dollarstoresparty
Sun, Feb 14, 2010 : 12:39 p.m.
nice story from james. i loved the way lloyd used to handle his press conferences. carr deserves the rest.
TruBlue
Sun, Feb 14, 2010 : 10:44 a.m.
You didn't ask him about what he thought of the circus act of a team we have now. Coach Carr was always a class act. He always coached conservatively and with the numbers. He knew more often that not you will win the games with equal or better talent. This is no different than how Tressel calls a game.
James Dickson
Sun, Feb 14, 2010 : 9:59 a.m.
Theo212: I'd say that Carr's legacy already does surpass Bo's. When Carr led Michigan to the national championship in 1997, it was the ultimate validation of the Schembechler philosophy, that winning wasn't incompatible with playing and recruiting "the right way."
bluesteel
Sun, Feb 14, 2010 : 9:03 a.m.
His legacy will grow to Bo status eventually. A good coach and a wonderful human being. Go Blue!