Bo’s Successor Hopes to Have a Ball : Wolverines: With Schembechler gone, Moeller sees an open, long-ball game.

The Michigan Wolverines will still wear black shoes and their old-fashioned winged helmets. And the Michigan band will still play “The Victors” after every Wolverine touchdown.

But in many ways, Michigan football will have a new look this season.

Gone after 21 seasons is Bo Schembechler, the tough and temperamental coach who guided the Wolverines to 13 Big Ten championships with a conservative philosophy that stressed ball-control offense and dominating defense.

Taking his place is longtime assistant Gary Moeller, a low-key leader who is planning to open up the offense with a deep passing game.

“We’ve always had the long-ball threat and now we’re going to take it a step farther,” Moeller said. “We’ve got to do some things we haven’t done before.”

One thing Moeller has no desire to change is Michigan’s winning ways.

The Wolverines went 194-48-5 under Schembechler and finished in the Top 20 in 19 of his 21 seasons.

“What’s tough is knowing what you’ve got to live up to,” Moeller said.

Moeller knows Bo as well as anyone. After all, he started his college coaching career as a Schembechler assistant at Miami of Ohio in 1967 and followed Bo to Michigan in 1969. Except for a two-year stint at Illinois in the late 1970s, Moeller has been at Michigan ever since.

“The difference between me and somebody else taking over this program is that I belong here,” said Moeller, whose son Andy played linebacker for the Wolverines. “A lot of the things we do here might be things I had a hand in putting in.”

Still, it’s never easy to replace a legend. Just ask Earle Bruce, who was forced to leave Ohio State despite a .755 winning percentage. His record was good, but not good enough to satisfy Buckeye fans who kept comparing him to the man he replaced, Woody Hayes.

Is Moeller worried that he’ll face a similar fate at Michigan?

“Sure, I’m nervous. But nervousness can be a positive emotion,” Moeller said. “I’m looking forward to the challenge. I’m as anxious as anybody else to see what this team is going to be like.”

When Moeller looks, he is bound to like what he sees.

The Wolverines, who are trying to become the first team to win three straight outright Big Ten titles, have 17 starters back from a team that went 10-2 last season.

Even Elvis is back.

That’s Elvis Grbac, a 6-foot-5 sophomore quarterback who led the Wolverines to four victories last season while filling in for injured starter Michael Taylor. Grbac has a strong arm, and Moeller intends to use it.

“We’re going to try to fit our style to our personnel,” Moeller said. “No matter who the new coach was, he was going to have to change a little bit. Elvis Grbac obviously is not going to run the same type of offense that Michael Taylor did.”

The Wolverines will also have a new look at running back, where they must replace last year’s leading rusher, Tony Boles, and fullback Leroy Hoard. Senior Jarrod Bunch will take over at fullback, while senior Allen Jefferson and sophomore Jon Vaughn will probably share time at tailback.

Whoever carries the ball will have the luxury of running behind a huge, experienced line that includes all-Big Ten guard Dean Dingman.

Experience also will be a plus on defense, where All-American safety Tripp Welborne is one of nine returning starters. Welborne leads a strong secondary that includes cornerback David Key and safety Vada Murray.

The Moeller era officially opens Sept. 15 at Notre Dame. But he knows that Schembechler’s shadow will linger at Michigan for a long time.

There are several photographs of Schembechler in Moeller’s office, and the team’s media guide includes a farewell tribute to Bo.

“I know why everybody’s asking these questions about Bo,” Moeller said. “I imagine it’ll be like this for two or three years. But it’s always going to pop up. . . . They’re still talking about Woody Hayes in Columbus.”