Re: Lloyd Carr Retiring
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People who defend Carr based solely on his winning percentage are missing out on the big picture.
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Fair enough. You liked Lloyd because he representated the school well and ran a clean program. DVaut had a good post in this thread detailing how Carr was willing to look the other way or give a slap on the wrist to certain players who broke the law or team rules, but we'll leave that aside.
Like you, I think representing the University and running a clean program are extremely important. Ethics and integrity should not be compromised to win games, imo. However, this reminds me of an old Chris Rock routine. Rock told a story about a guy bragging because he had never been to jail. The Rock reply: you shouldn't go to jail. That is to be expected, it is not necessarily something you should be bragging about. I feel a little bit like Rock when talking about Carr on this issue. Yes, he generally has represented the school well and ran a clean program, but that is to be expected, at least at Michigan.
I'm willing to give him a little credit on the matter, but I feel uncomfortable heaping praise on someone for doing what they are expected to do: not break a lot of rules or go on drunken tirades.
I do wish him well in whatever he decides to do next. He's a nice guy (except to sideline reporters trying to do their job), I just don't think he was a top notch football coach. He was a guy probably destined to be a career assistant until fate intervened.
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