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Gary Moeller, who took over Bo Schembechler as a coach at the University of Michigan and later headed the Detroit Lions, died on Monday. He was 81 years old.
The University of Michigan announced his death, and no reason was provided.
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Moller was promoted from an aggressive coordinator and led the Wolverins program in 1990, 44-13-3 in five seasons.
“Gary Moeller was a great family, friend, coach, and a sincere and personal man,” Lloyd Kerr, who took over Moller as a coach at the University of Michigan, said in a statement. “I admired him, respected him, and loved him.”
Two big ten coaches this year won conference championships in each of his first three years and won four bowls, including the Rose Bowl in Washington in 1993. He resigned in May 1995 less than a week after being arrested on suspicion of a drunken explosion at a restaurant outside Detroit.
Desmond Howard, who won the 1991 Heisman Trophy while playing at Moller, lamented that the coach’s resignation was part of his legacy in Michigan.
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“He was forced to resign from the administration and everything was ruined,” Howard said in a telephone interview Monday night. “If Bo was out of town and Bo was in town, it wouldn’t have happened because he was so powerful, and no one would have dismissed him.”
Mueller bounced back in his personal and professional life and became a tight-end coach for the Cincinnati Bengals in the same year. He led the Lions linebackers and became their coach in the middle of the 2000 season when Bobby Roth left.
Moller was 4-3 as a Detroit coach and was probably a kick he missed to continue his work. He was fired after Chicago’s Paul Edinger scored a 54-yard field goal with two seconds left, led the Bears to victory at the finale of the regular season, and knocked out the Lions from the playoffs.
“He also suffered from bad breaks and bad timings in his career,” said former Michigan player and broadcaster Jim Brandstatter. “But I’ve never heard Gary Meller complain or make excuses. He was a class act. He was a good guy.”
Jacksonville Jaguars hired Moller as a defensive coordinator in 2001 and has coached Bears linebackers for the next two seasons.
Originally from Lima, Ohio, Moller played a linebacker and was the captain of Woody Hayes at The Ohio State University. He was Schenbehiller’s assistant in Miami (Ohio) and joined his first staff in Michigan in 1969.
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Moller struggled with his first head coach job and went 6-24-3 in Illinois from 1977 to 1979. He returned to the work of Shenbehiller and later succeeded in transitioning to a coaching offense, becoming an innovative coordinator.
With a relatively open approach and a willingness to throw the ball as head coach, he helped Wolverins win the Heisman Trophy during the stretch that set the Big Ten record by winning 19 consecutive conference games. I did.
“He was one of the giants in modern football history at the University of Michigan,” said Brandstatter.
Michigan is a team led by Heisman Trophy-winning Charles Woodson, who won the national title under the car in 1997. This team helped Moller to be hired in school, just like Howard.
“Director Moller entered the enemy’s territory, Ohio, and robbed the two Heisman Trophy winners in less than a decade,” Howard said. “It’s pretty important and it should be part of his legacy.
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“He couldn’t get his good reason because he was as good a coach as he was, but he played for him and the people around him knew it. I knew he was a wonderful, wonderful man. “
Moller is survived by his wife Anne, daughter Susie, Amy, Molly, and son Andy, a linebacker and captain of the Wolverines and assistant coach of the Cleveland Browns.