Head Coach At Michigan
Carr was named Michigan's interim head coach on May 13, 1995, following the resignation of Gary Moeller nine days earlier due to off-the-field trouble. Though athletic director Joe Roberson initially declared that Carr was not a candidate in the search for Moeller's permanent replacement, Roberson reversed his earlier position and gave Carr the job permanently on November 13, 1995 after Carr posted an 8–2 record through his first ten games as head coach. His very first game as head coach, at home against Virginia in late August 1995, was at the time Michigan's largest ever comeback win, from 17–0 down. Carr has acknowledged that had Michigan lost that game, he might not have been given the permanent coaching job.
In 1997, Carr's team defeated Ohio State, 20–14, making him the third Michigan coach to defeat Ohio State in each of his first three games, following Fielding H. Yost and Fritz Crisler. The Wolverines concluded that season with a win over Washington State in the Rose Bowl, after which Michigan was named national champions by the Associated Press. They were also awarded the MacArthur Trophy by the National Football Foundation and the Grantland Rice Award by the Football Writers Association of America, given annually to the nation's most outstanding football team. For his efforts Carr received the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award and the Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award.
During the 2003 season, Carr joined Yost, Bennie Oosterbaan and Schembechler as the only coaches in school history to serve for more than 100 career games. The Wolverines won consecutive Big Ten Conference championships in 2003 and 2004, earning the school's 18th and 19th appearances in the Rose Bowl. In 2005, Carr recorded his 100th career victory, against Iowa. He ranks third in school history in career victories, behind only Schembechler (194) and Yost (165).
At a Sunday team meeting, on November 18, 2007, after the completion of the 2007 regular season, Carr told his team that he was retiring after Michigan's bowl game, and he made his official public announcement at a press conference on Monday, November 19, 2007. On the eve of his final game versus the defending national champion Florida in the Capital One Bowl, Carr was awarded the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award.
On January 1, 2008, then-unranked Michigan beat ninth-ranked Florida, 41–35, in the Capital One Bowl, allowing Carr to record a win in his final game as Michigan's head coach. The Gators were led by head coach Urban Meyer and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow. In the celebration that followed, Carr was carried off the field by his Michigan players. In the final AP Poll released after the game, Michigan was ranked #18.
Read more about this topic: Lloyd Carr
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