I have been a University of Michigan football fan for well over 30 years now.  My first memories of college football were at the Big House in 1976.  A couple of years later I was fortunate to witness one of the greatest games at Michigan Stadium when John Wangler hit Anthony Carter for the game winning touchdown with no time left on the clock to beat Indiana 27-21.  Those were the Bo Schembechler years.  Proud years for Michigan football and how the program represented the university.  Fast forward to 1989 and to Bo's retirement and the beginning of the short era of Gary Moeller.  Moeller and Carr were both assistants under Bo, but Moeller was chosen to take over for Bo.  Moeller won 3 conference championships in his 5 years at Michigan, but embarrassed the program with a drunken outburst following his arrest for disorderly conduct.  After his resignation, Carr was tapped to take over the program.  From this fan, I want to extend my thanks to Coach Carr for the next 13 years.

Lloyd Carr took over a program that had lacked good mature leadership from its coach and Carr prevented it from regressing into a program that the university would be embarrassed by.  The 2007 season is a great microcosm of what Carr has accomplished over his tenure.  The season started with two embarrassing defeats then 8 impressive wins followed by two losses to rival schools within the conference.  The perfect ending would now be to win the bowl game.  But it is not the wins and losses that tell the tale.  It is how the team has handled itself.  The seniors on the team would not let the season fall into the abyss as it so easily could have.  Jake Long, Chad Henne and Mike Hart all rose to the occasion and willed the team to 8 straight wins.  These kids are examples of the type of student athlete that Carr has recruited to Michigan.  Long, a consensus first round draft pick in last year's draft elected to stay for his senior season.  Henne and Hart both fought through injuries all year long and led by example.  They were the heart (pardon the never-ending pun) and soul of this year's team.  As fans, we should appreciate that these are the kinds of young men that Carr attracted to the program and developed within the program over his 13 years.

Carr's record stands alone as one of the most impressive for any coach to lead the Maize and Blue.  Highlights would be the 1997 National Championship and his 5 Big Ten Championships and the "Bear" Bryant National Coach of the Year award.  He leaves the profession 3rd on Michigan's all time wins list behind legendary coaches Fielding H. Yost (165) and Bo Schembechler (194).  He also coached a Heisman Trophy winner (Charles Woodson) and several other players that won national awards for their respective positions.  Though he did not post a winning record against Ohio State, finishing 6-7, he did dominate other important rivalries going 10-3 against Michigan State and 9-2 versus Penn State.  His record, with the bowl game left, 121-40.  Carr has taken heat from alumni and fans in recent years, in particular for his inability to beat Jim Tressel's Ohio State teams (and his lack of success vs. mobile quarterbacks).  Some criticism is probably deserved.  However, it has become evident exactly how hard it has become to sustain excellence in NCAA Football.  Schools like Notre Dame, Florida State and Miami have all experienced what it is like to see their programs fall from national prominence.  The same cannot be said for Michigan during Carr's tenure.  It is this fan's belief that former U of M coaches like Yost, 'Bump' Elliott, Bennie Oosterbaan and Schembechler look down on Michigan Stadium and are proud of what they see.

Finally, it should be said that, by all reports, Carr is a good man.  That means everything.  It would be easy to point out his many charitable activities and his great support for women's athletics, or that he insisted on new 2 year contracts for all of his assistants when he renegotiated his contract this past year (for 1 year), but one anecdote may sum it up best.  I was talking Michigan football with a new acquaintance of mine recently and he relayed the following story.  He had an opportunity a few years ago to meet Coach Carr.  When they were introduced, Carr asked him if a certain person with the same last name was his father, which he was.  As it turns out my friend's father was heavily involved in high school football in Michigan and would occasionally send Carr scouting reports on some players he thought Michigan should recruit.  Carr turned to my friend and said to please tell his dad to keep sending those scouting reports and that he appreciated them very much.  It is incredible that Carr would remember and identify the name from some random clippings sent by a fan, but to also think to thank him for his help is just amazing.  That is the type of man that will be stepping down at Michigan and, outside of his accomplishments on the field, he will be missed.

And I will really miss his halftime interviews with whichever sideline reporter is sent out by the network to get absolutely . . . nothing.