Before Bo Schembechler died last year, the legendary University of Michigan football coach urged Lloyd Carr to remain as the team's head coach for two or three more years.
Carr responded that he'd be retiring in the near future, then entered this season knowing it would be his last. In September, Carr told athletic director Bill Martin that he had made up his mind to step down.
He didn't share his decision with his assistant coaches and players until Sunday, a day the coach termed "one of the most emotional" of his life.
"I cried more tears than I knew I had, and I've never laughed so hard in my life, because there are so many memories," Carr said. "It was a wonderful day, I'll tell you that."
Carr spoke publicly Monday for the first time about his decision to walk away from a Michigan coaching career that spanned 28 seasons, including 13 as head coach. For nearly 40 minutes at the podium in the Junge Family Champions Center, he answered questions, told stories and cracked the occasional joke, making it clear all the while how much he cared about the university and its football program.
"For the last 28 years, I spent my life in the greatest of places, the University of Michigan," Carr said. "And for the last 28 years, I've had the greatest of jobs, Michigan football."
More than 200 people, among them media, family members, players, his staff and other Michigan coaches, gathered for the event, which marked the end of an era.
As head coach, Carr won 121 games, five Big Ten titles and a national championship in 1997. But he insisted that he has gained more from his experiences than he gave.
"I've been in a position here to make so many great friends, and I'm thankful for that because it has enriched my life, and really made me one of the most fortunate people in the country," Carr said. "I have a great family, and certainly they are people that I'm proud of, that I love."
Carr, 62, did not offer a detailed explanation of why he decided to retire, but he hinted that there were elements of the position that he no longer enjoyed.
"I know what this job entails, and I know what it takes and it was time," he said. "It was the right time. It was the right time for Michigan, and it was the right time for me."
It seemed that Carr may have lost his appetite for some of the non-stop demands of being the Michigan head coach, which extend to things such as recruiting, fundraising and public speaking appearances, not to mention the nitty-gritty details of managing the organization.
"Every day when you walk into that office, something is going to surprise you, and there's going to be disappointments every day," he said. "Dealing with those is part of the great challenge. You get 100 players on your team, you've got a lot of people in your program, and there's always challenges, there's always issues. I think it's time to let somebody else worry about all those issues."
What wasn't waning, Carr said, was his fondness for everything related to football itself.
"I still have a passion for the game, for the players and for the competition," he said.
Carr's wife Laurie, who watched from the front row as her husband spoke, said afterward that the prevailing emotion she felt was joy.
"I'm just happy, that's all I can say," she said, smiling. "I'm happy for him, I'm happy ... I'm happy."
Laurie Carr said her husband's retirement from coaching will mean more time with family, including the couple's 11 grandchildren. It will also afford them the ability to make dinner reservations with friends less than three months in advance, she added.
Carr's son Jason, who played football at Michigan for his father, joked that he's looking forward to next season, because for the first time it will be OK to criticize the play-calling during games.
"I think it's good," Carr said of his dad's retirement. "I think he's ready, and he's going out the way he wanted to go out. There's not a lot of guys who are gonna be able to do that."
Carr said he decided to retire now, rather than after the bowl game, because it will give the Wolverines a better chance to keep their current recruiting class intact. As it stands, Michigan has received verbal commitments from 16 players and, according to the coach, is pursuing seven or eight more.
By getting off the recruiting trail now, Carr said the next coach will have a stockpile of in-home visits that he can use to help convince recruits to sign with the Wolverines in February.
"My timing is based on one thing, what's best for Michigan," he said. "What's best for Michigan football. There is no other motive."
Wolverines defensive coordinator Ron English acknowledged that the tussle to keep previously committed recruits and land new players for the next recruiting class is far from over.
"Is gonna be hard," he said. "When you go through this it's gonna be hard. I think it's too early to say who's going to stay committed and who's not."
Like Carr, English and the rest of the Michigan football staff are committed to remaining with the team, at least through the bowl game. Martin added that Carr will continue running the program until the next coach is hired.
A second-year coordinator at Michigan, English said after Carr's news conference that he's interested in becoming Michigan's new head coach. "Who wouldn't?," he asked.
For running backs coach Fred Jackson, his future involves one of two choices: Remain at Michigan, where he has been since 1992, or move on to the NFL. He said he wouldn't consider coaching at another college, given his strong feelings for the Wolverines.
Jackson noted that for him, the news of Carr's retirement was bittersweet. He's pleased for the coach, but will miss the daily contact of their relationship.
"He's like a brother," Jackson said. "I hugged him last night. I couldn't cry. I said, 'I love you, man.' He said, 'I love you, Fred.'"
Carr said he's unsure what he'll do next, other than something that's "meaningful." But Michigan athletic director Bill Martin said he has already compiled a task list for Carr to tackle as an associate athletic director, a position that's been contractually promised to the coach.
Carr added that he won't maintain an office in the Schembechler Hall as the football building's namesake did. When it comes to the role he'd like to fill for whomever is hired next, Carr said simply that he'll do whatever may be asked of him.
"I want to be a guy who's there if needed," he said. "That's it. Period."
Until he leaves Schembechler Hall, Carr added that he's determined to coach no differently than he ever did before.
"I made up my mind several years ago that I was going to work as hard as I could to the very last second that I was in this job," he said. "I know I'll be able to do that."
John Heuser can be reached at jheuser@annarbornews.com or 734-994-6816.
2007 Appalachian State vs. Michigan football game on September 1, 2007 may have contributed to the retirement.  
University of Michigan Wolverines head coach Lloyd Carr, who had coached the college football program for thirteen years, announced his retirement from the coaching profession, effective after the Wolverines' bowl game.

"Yesterday was one of the most emotional days of my life," Carr said at his press conference, referring to when he informed his team of his retirement. "I’ve cried more tears than I knew I had. I’ve never laughed so hard in my life. There’s so many memories. It was a wonderful day."

During his tenure at Michigan, Carr won five Big Ten Conference championships and a national championship in 1997. He had a disappointing 1-6 record vs. Jim Tressel's Ohio State Buckeyes, though his overall record vs. Ohio State was 6-7. Carr's last victory over Ohio State came in 2003. He amassed a 121-40 overall record while at Michigan and ranks seventh among active coaches with a 75.2 winning percentage.

There has been a lot of speculation, even before Carr's retirement, regarding who would become the next Michigan head coach. Current Louisiana State University head coach Les Miles is viewed as the top candidate to replace Carr.

Observers see Les Miles as the front-runner despite his recent comments. "I want to stay just where I’m at," Miles said. "I don’t want to think about it. Don’t want to envision it. I want to go forward and prepare."