Carr plans to retire today

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr will retire today after 13 seasons, ending an era marked by highs of winning a national championship and five Big Ten titles and lows of losing to Ohio State and Appalachian State.

Carr told the Associated Press of his decision Sunday by phone, saying he wouldn’t comment further until a news conference this morning at the school.

The 62-year-old coach informed his players and staff of his retirement Sunday during a team meeting at Schembechler Hall.

“It’s a hard thing to deal with,” safety Jamar Adams said. “We’re like a family, and when the head of your family is leaving, it’s hard.”

The news comes a day after Michigan lost to Ohio State for the fourth straight year, ending a trying season for Carr and the Wolverines that started with an embarrassing loss to second-tier Appalachian State.

It was a move many expected last winter when he altered his contract, paving the way for this to be his last season, and later made sure the school gave all of his assistants unprecedented, two-year deals.

Carr is 121-40 with a .752 winning percentage, ranking him seventh among active coaches just behind Florida State’s Bobby Bowden and ahead of South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier.

But in a what-have-you-done-lately environment, Carr will be remembered by some for the way his team closed seasons toward the end of his career and how it opened 2007.

The four consecutive losses to Ohio State, matched Michigan’s longest losing streak in the storied series, and Carr became the first coach in school history to lose six times in seven years in the rivalry.

The Jim Tressel-led Buckeyes beat the Wolverines, 14-3, Saturday, dropping Carr to 6-7 overall in the matchup that matters most.

“Lloyd Carr is one of the true gentlemen of college football,” Tressel said Sunday. “His legacy is extraordinary and his leadership in the coaching profession is greatly appreciated. He made a difference in collegiate athletics.”

Carr led the Wolverines to the 1997 national championship and five Big Ten titles. He won 77.9% of his conference games, trailing the success rate of only 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 in a row in the 1970s.

The longtime assistant was elevated to interim coach on May 16, 1995, after Gary Moeller resigned. Michigan dropped the interim tag toward the end of his first season.