Gary Moeller, who succeeded Bo Schembechler as Michigan's football coach in 1990 and led the team to three Big Ten titles in five seasons, died Monday at the age of 81.
The cause of his death was not given by the school.
Lloyd Carr, who succeeded Moeller as Michigan's head coach in 1995, described him as a man of integrity and high character. I respected him and I loved him.
In five seasons as the UM head coach, he had a record of 44-13-3 and led his teams to a 4-1 record in bowl games. He was a two-time Big Ten coach of the year and his teams set a Big Ten record with 19 straight conference wins.
He worked for Schembechler at Miami (Ohio) in the late 1960's and early 70's and followed him to the University of Michigan in 1969. He was the head coach at Illinois from 1977 to 1977 and went 6-24-3. He became the head coach at the University of Michigan in 1990 after taking over from Schembechler, who had been the head coach for six years.
He was associated with the University of Michigan for 23 years and was one of 11 coaches who worked with the program for more than 20 years.
Less than a week after he was arrested on charges stemming from a drunken rant at a restaurant, Moeller stepped down as Michigan's head coach.
From 1995 to 2003 he served as an assistant coach for the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Detroit Pistons. He was the interim coach for the Lions in 2000 after Bobby Ross stepped down.
I had the pleasure of working with Coach Mo at both UM and Miami. Jon Falk, the equipment manager at the time, said that Gary Moeller was a coach that looked out for everyone that worked with him and for all of the players that played for him. He was a good-hearted man who wanted to make sure his decisions were right for Michigan. Gary is not going to be forgotten. He was a good friend to my family.
His family includes his wife, Anne, daughters Susan, Amy and Molly, as well as his son, Andy.
A private family funeral will be held on the same day as the family's public viewing.
The AP contributed.
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