lloyd carr press conference

A crowd of media is setting up their cameras, laptops and microphones in anticipation of Michigan football coach Lloyd Carr's retirement press conference.

More than 20 television cameras are set up in a long line in back of several rows of chairs.

Most of the media is milling about, eating bagels, doughnuts and rolls while waiting the 10 a.m. start. Photographers are testing their equipment.

Carr will formally announce his retirement at the conference. It's unclear who will be talking.

Besides the media, the press conference has brought a large contingent of former players and other folks with ties to the University of Michigan football program. Stan Edwards, Carr's son Jason and Carr's entire staff already are here, as is athletic director Bill Martin.

Inside the room set aside for the press conference, large flat-screen televisions are showing a variety of photographs of Carr in action.

As soon as the press conference starts, we'll let you know what's going on.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. –Lloyd Carr announced his retirement as head coach of Michigan today, ending a 13-year run that included a national championship and five Big Ten titles.

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Carr to Retire From Michigan (November 19, 2007)


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Div. I-AA | Div. II | Div. IIICarr'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."

He said that he gave the Athletic Director Bill Martin notice during the season of his intention to step down so Martin could begin the process of looking for a new coach.

At the news conference, Carr went out of his way to down play speculation that the timing of his announcement was a move to filibuster the Louisiana State Coach Les Miles, who is considered the leading candidate to replace Carr. Miles is coaching No. 1 L.S.U. and could well be coaching until Jan. 7, the date of the Bowl Championship Series national title game., if the Tigers beat Arkansas on Friday, then win the Southeastern Conference championship game Dec. 1.

"My timing is based on one thing," Carr said. "What's best for Michigan, what's best for Michigan football. This announcement is made at a time when the recruiting process can be handled in a way that this program can go forward."

When asked specifically about Miles, Carr hinted that there was some tension with Tigers coach, but he is at peace with the decision if the Miles, a Michigan graduate, becomes the next Wolverines' coach.

"There's a lot of things that happen along the recruiting trail," Carr said in an answer to a question about Miles. "It's a very competitive business. Those are things that you put to rest."

Carr's Michigan teams played in a way that matched his bulldog grimace and no-nonsense demeanor, defining Michigan football for over a decade. While he never did match the daunting win total of his mentor, Bo Schembechler, he leaves his own strong legacy.

"He's Michigan, man," said the Jets rookie linebacker David Harris, who played at Michigan. "That's the legacy he'll leave. He is Michigan."

The Michigan offensive coordinator Mike DeBord got misty eyed when reflecting on Carr's career. He said that when he coached at Central Michigan that he and the Ball State Coach Brady Hoke used to talk about how much they missed working for Carr.

"I don't know if there's ever been a man that could get after you one second and turn around and hug you and make you laugh the next second," DeBord said. "He's got a special deal about him."

"If you look at the overall winning percentage of Michigan, you'll see that he's improved it over his 13 years," said Bill Martin, the school's athletic director. "And this is the best program in the country."

Carr' final appearance on the sideline will be in Michigan's bowl game and would give him a chance to end the school's four-game bowl losing streak and improve on his 5-7 bowl record.

He has a career record of 121-40 and is 81-23 in conference play. Along the way he coached 45 N.F.L. draft picks, 23 All-Americans and one Heisman Trophy winner – the cornerback Charles Woodson.

If Michigan does decide to pursue Miles, it would have to wait about seven weeks to name a new coach or Miles would have to announce he is leaving before his team played its postseason game. Either way, the uncertainty will affect both programs' recruiting.

Miles is a graduate of Michigan, he met his wife there and he is such an admirer of Schembechler that he keeps a special section of the Ann Arbor News dedicated to the legendary Wolverines coach behind his desk in his L.S.U. office.

Miles has a $1.25 million buy out in his contract for Michigan. (The amount is $500,000 for any other program.) If he does not get the Michigan job, the pool of candidates could include Stanford's Jim Harbaugh; Wisconsin's Bret Bielema; Cincinnati's Brian Kelly; the Carolina Panthers' defensive coordinator, Mike Trgovac, a former Michigan player; and the Wolverines' defensive coordinator, Ron English.

Typically understated, Carr injected a bit of humor into how he told the team of his pending retirement. He called a players only meeting for 4 p.m. on Sunday and the coach was greeted by silence.

"I'm going to walk and come back in and want you guys to act like you have a heartbeat," the sophomore lineman Steve Schilling recalled Carr saying. "Nobody died."

The players then greeted him with an ovation and lined up to give him hugs of support when he concluded his remarks.

"It's sad," Schilling said. "He's a good coach and we're definitely going to miss him. But he's still going to be around. He told us he enjoyed his time here and that he had a lot of great memories."

Carr is expected to take a position within the athletic department of the university where he has spent the past 28 years. What exactly he's going to do is not settled, but Carr is likely to spend time exploring interests he's neglected due to the constant demands of coaching.

Though he lost to archrival Ohio State six of the past seven seasons, Carr's reputation as a leader and a pillar in the community will not be stained.

The Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said that Carr's final, tumultuous season may be viewed as one of his finest. The Wolverines finished 8-4, the season book ended by a humiliating loss to Appalachian State and a brutal loss to Ohio State. Still, the Wolverines survived a spate of injuries to have a chance to win the league title on the final day of their season.

"This year, he never lost faith," Delany said. "He kept his team focused through everything. This may be as gritty a coaching job as I've seen in a while. It speaks to his resoluteness, toughness and leadership."
Live notes from Carr's press conference
by David Jesse | Ann Arbor News
Monday November 19, 2007, 10:24 AM



Lloyd Carr didn't single out any single moment in his career as his best memory. Instead, he said, it's a collection of moments that he'll remember.


"What I'll remember is being in that locker room after some spectacular performances and singing the Victors with those teams. Those are the moments that make everything you do worthwhile.

"It's the players that give meaning to that."

As for his most disappointing moment, he said it's hard to put one loss in front of the other.

"Every time you lose, it's miserable. It is a misery of it's own quality."

*******************************************************************

Lloyd Carr has some simple advice for his successor.

"You've got to be able to take a punch. But those punches are worth it. You get to go down that tunnel and represent this great university."

Carr also said that the job as Michigan's football coach is a job that attracts candidates, not a job that goes seeking candidates.

He said he doesn't want an office in the football building.

"I want to be a guy who supports Michigan football."

Carr is clearly enjoying some of this press conference, including joking with reporters that one possible post-coaching career is as a media critic.

*******************************************************************

Telling his players that he was retiring was hard for Michigan football coach Lloyd Carr to do, he told reporters at a press conference announcing his retirement.

"Yesterday was one of the most emotional days I've my life."

Carr said he cried a lot, but also laughed a lot as he reviewed his time at Michigan.

"I'm very much at peace with the timing."

Carr just declined to comment on possible successors, including LSU coach Les Miles, who many believe is the front-runner for the job.

"I'm not going to talk about candidates, because that's not my job," he said, adding he's not going to name his successor.

He said his replacement doesn't have to be a "Michigan man."


*******************************************************************

Lloyd Carr said he told athletic director Bill Martin early this year that this year would be his final one as Michigan's football coach.

"I know what this job entails," he said during a press conference. "I know what it takes. It was the time. It was the right time.

"It was the right time for Michigan. It was the right time for me.

"I've read I'm tired and all that. I'm not tired. I still have a great passion for the game, for the players, for the competion."

Carr said he did recognize that there were other parts of the job that he didn't have the same passion for.

*******************************************************************

Lloyd Carr said he tried to create an experience for his players that extended beyond the playing field.

I've loved them all," he said. "It's been tough love sometimes. I love them (the players) for the way they love the University of Michigan."

Carr also addressed his thoughts behind the timing of his resignation.

"My timing is based on one thing - what's best for Michigan. What's best for Michigan football. There are no other motives.

"To do it any later, to do it after a bowl game would be ridiculous. I did it for this program.

"This is much to big to be about me or someone who would coach here.

"My role in the upcoming weeks and in the selection of the coach will be defined by Bill Martin.

"As we go forward I have only one wish - that this program continue to abide by the values established by Bo Schembechler ... to win with integrity."


*******************************************************************

Lloyd Carr is spending significant time thanking those who worked with him before talking about his reasons for resigning as the coach of the Michigan football team.

Carr, dressed in a dark suit, is thanking those who supported him including the board of regents, the two presidents he served under and his athletic directors and his staff.

"I've been fortunate to be surrounded by great people."


*******************************************************************

It's official.

Lloyd Carr has resigned.

"The last 39 years, I have spent my life in the greatest of games and loved every moment of it. For the last 28 years, I've had the greatest of jobs."

After 13 seasons as Michigan's head coach, a span that included five Big Ten titles and a national championship in 1997, Carr has decided to step down, effective after Michigan's bowl game.

After Carr coaches his last game at Michigan, in a bowl yet to be determined, he'll accept a job in the athletic department as an associate athletic director. According to his contract, Carr will be paid at the rate of his base annual salary, currently $387,883.58.


*******************************************************************

A crowd of media is setting up their cameras, laptops and microphones in anticipation of Michigan football coach Lloyd Carr's retirement press conference.

There's more than 20 television cameras set up in a long line in back of several rows of chairs.

Most of the media is milling about, eating bagels, doughnuts and rolls while waiting the 10 a.m. start. Photographers are testing their equipment.

Carr will formally announce his retirement at the conference. It's unclear who will be talking.

Besides the media, the press conference has brought a large contingent of former players and other folks with ties to the University of Michigan football program. Stan Edwards, Carr's son Jason and Carr's entire staff already are here, as is athletic director Bill Martin.

Inside the room set aside for the press conference, large flat-screen televisions are showing a variety of photographs of Carr in action.

As soon as the press conference starts, we'll let you know what's going He exited the Schembechler Hall meeting room and entered again, this time receiving thunderous applause from his Michigan players, most of whom understood the announcement that was coming.





A day after Michigan suffered its fourth straight loss to rival Ohio State, Carr informed his players he will retire after 13 years at the helm of a program he guided to a national championship and five Big Ten championships.

Carr confirmed his decision to The Associated Press Sunday, but declined to comment further. A 10 a.m. news conference is scheduled for Monday when Carr will address the media, which learned of the news from players as they left Schembechler Hall on Sunday.

"He's not going to be here any longer," linebacker Chris Graham said, following the 20-minute meeting. "It's a sad thing to hear, but I enjoyed every moment of being here with him. He's a great coach to me, he's like another father figure. Just having him here is the whole reason I came."

The decision to leave, players believe, wasn't an easy one for the 62-year-old Carr.

"He loves this program to the death," wide receiver Adrian Arrington said.

Graham described his teammates reaction as mixed, with some shocked at the news, while younger players didn't know how to digest what they had just heard.

"It was just strange," outside linebacker Shawn Crable said. "He didn't tear up or anything like that -- it was just strange. It was just a weird meeting."

Carr led the Wolverines to the 1997 national championship and five Big Ten titles. He won .779 percent of his conference games, trailing the success rate of just two coaches that were in the Big Ten for at least a decade: Michigan's Bo Schembechler and Fielding Yost. Against top-10 teams, Carr was 17-9.

Michigan has lost its last four bowl games, including three Rose Bowls, the longest postseason skid since Schembechler dropped seven straight in the 1970s.

"He's been a leader," Crable said. "He's been the face of the program, he's taken a lot of heat in situations, he's had some great times in situations, but he's been the leader."

Senior defensive tackle Will Johnson said he saw signs throughout the year that this would be Carr's last season, but that the coach never wanted his status to become a distraction.

"He's a great coach and a great man," Johnson said. "I'm going to miss him being around."

Punter Zoltan Mesko characterized Carr as "a guy who will always have my back" and "as a man I'll always look up to."

When asked what Carr's legacy will be at Michigan, Mesko said Carr, who recorded only one win over Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, will go down as one of Michigan's greats.

"He's up there," Mesko said. "He's done a lot of things and run one of the cleanest programs in the nation -- he always ran everything with integrity and I respect that."

Senior safety Jamar Adams said he would have preferred to see Carr stay at Michigan, but he hopes his coach's future includes some relaxation.

"I hope he goes and chills out somewhere and spends some of that money he's got," Adams said. "But I just want him to have as much fun as he can."



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