Given how the season started, with back-to-back losses to Appalachian State and Oregon, and how it ended, with yet another loss to Ohio State it’s not at all surprising to hear that the Wolverines’ Head Coach is retiring:
ANN ARBOR, Mich. –Lloyd Carr announced his retirement as the head coach of Michigan Monday, ending a 13-year run that included a national championship and five Big Ten titles.
Carr’s voice cracked as he expressed to a crowd of media, friends and family how grateful he was for the opportunity to coach at the University of Michigan.
“For the last 28 years, I have spent my life in the greatest of places, the University of Michigan,” Carr said at a half-hour press conference. “For the last 28 years, I’ve had the greatest of jobs – Michigan football.”
Carr said that he knew going into the season that this would be his last. “I know what this job entails,” Carr said. “I know what it takes and it was the time. It was the right time. It was the right time for Michigan and it was the right time for me.”
The actual announcement, though, was quite difficult for Carr.
“Yesterday was one of the most emotional days of my life,” he said. “I’ve cried more tears than I knew I had. I’ve never laughed so hard in my life. There’s so many memories. It was a wonderful day, I’d tell you that.”
Now, the Wolverines begin the hunt for a new coach, and to start to rebuild a program that has fallen from it’s glory days.
Lloyd did NOT retire because of the losses this season. It has come out now that he even talked to Bo about this before he passed. Lloyd extended the contracts of his assistants last year for their security.
He was a classy guy that Michigan will miss. It will be interesting to see who the next coach is.
My top 5
Les Miles
Brian Kelly
Mike Trgovac
Kirk Ferentz
Ron English