MICHIGAN — Gary Moeller, who succeeded Bo Schembechler as Michigan's coach and later led the Detroit Lions as interim coach, died Monday. He was 81.
The University of Michigan announced his death, and no cause was provided.
“Gary Moeller was a great family man, great friend, great coach, and a man of integrity and high character,” Lloyd Carr, who succeeded Moeller as Michigan's coach, said in a statement. “I admired him, I respected him and I loved him.”
Moeller coached the Wolverines from 1990-95. The two-time Big Ten coach of the year won a conference championship in each of his first three years and had four bowl victories, including the 1993 Rose Bowl over Washington. He resign in May 1995.
After he resigned, he moved to the NFL and was an assistant for four teams. He was the interim coach of the Detroit Lions in 2000, going 4-3.
“He also suffered bad breaks, and poor timing in his career,” former Michigan player and broadcaster Jim Brandstatter said. “But, you never heard Gary Moeller complain or make excuses. He was a class act. He was a good man.”
With a relatively wide-open approach and willingness to throw the ball as head coach, he helped Desmond Howard win the Heisman Trophy in 1991 during a stretch in which the Wolverines set a Big Ten record by winning 19 straight conference games.
“He was one of the giants in modern football history at Michigan,” Brandstatter said.
He is survived by his wife, Ann, their daughters, Susan, Amy and Molly, and their son, Andy, who was a linebacker and captain for the Wolverines and an assistant coach for the Cleveland Browns.
