Lloyd Carr - Legacy

Legacy

Carr was among the winningest active football coaches in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A). His teams won five Big Ten titles and the 1997 national championship after beating Washington State in the Rose Bowl. In addition, Michigan was ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 for all but nine of its games under Carr (all occurring in 1998, 2005, and 2007). Only once during his tenure did Michigan end its season unranked (2005). Carr became the first Wolverine coach to win four straight bowl games, beating Auburn, 31–28, in the 2001 Citrus Bowl, after leading Michigan to victories in the 1998 Rose Bowl, 1999 Citrus Bowl, and the 2000 Orange Bowl.

Carr was also lauded for his high ethical standards and avoidance of any substantive NCAA violations during his tenure. His integrity was widely lauded as one of his defining characteristics, and a major part of his legacy.

Carr posted a .500 or better record against two of Michigan's three top rivals, going 5–4 against Notre Dame and 10–3 against Michigan State. Carr also recorded a 9–2 record against Penn State.

However, some will remember the struggles he had at the end of his career, most notably that he lost six of his last seven games to Ohio State. In his final season, #5 Michigan lost its home opener to Football Championship Subdivision member Appalachian State in one of college football's largest upsets. Also, Michigan lost five of its six bowl games between the 2001–2006 seasons. And largely due to an ongoing problem with losing road openers (Carr's Wolverines dropped six in a row at one point), he only had his program in the late-season hunt for the BCS Championship Game once (in 2006) and never reached the game although 11 other college football programs have since its inception in 1998.