Lloyd Carr tell critic to stick it where the sun don't shine

Michigan Head Foot ball coach arrived at Big 10 Media day and his press conferenct and basically told all of those that are critical of him that they can kiss his collective backside.
Gene Wojciechowski has an article that explains just that. After coming off of what would be considered a poor season by most schools, and a horrible year by Michigan standards, people were calling for Carr to be fired. Well I applaud Michigan AD Bill Martin for sticking with a proven winner. The program had a bad year, what with them losing over 70 games to injury they were never blown out of any during last season.

This isn't entirely new. Carr has butt burns from previous turns on the hot seat. But another loss to the Buckeyes, or another win total in the mid-single digits, or another year out of the top 25 and Carr will need more than a fireproof wardrobe. It doesn't seem to matter that he's averaged more than nine wins per season, that he's won 75 percent of his games, that his players usually leave Ann Arbor carrying footballs and diplomas.

This is from a man who stepped up after the previous coach cracked under the strain of being the head coach at Michigan. I can only think of one other University that places more pressure on the coach and that is Notre Dame, and look at how that program chews up and spits out some of the toughest SOB's in the coaching fraternity.

"I will say this to you," says Carr in a slow, measured, serious tone, "first of all, I have a choice that I can do what I want to do with my life. So that's where I begin. I'm going to do what I want to do. The hell with anybody else, what they think. So that's where it all begins with me. I love the game. I love the competition. I love the relationship with the players and the ability to have some kind of positive impact as they try to pursue a degree and play this game.
"So, I don't know if that answers your question."
Answer it? In 64 seconds' time -- which is how long it took Carr to choose those words -- the Michigan coach did what any coach worth his rollover contract should do: He made allowances for his critics' doubting, and then he told them to stick it.

Llloyd Carr has a rollover contract and as long as his program continues to graduate the number of students that it does, and continues to produce some of the high character young men that he has produced he will be coaching as long as he wants.

Several days after Carr was named interim coach in May 1996, the legendary Bo Schembechler, who hired Carr as his assistant 16 years earlier, stopped by the football offices.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Schembechler said.
Carr invited him in.
"Look," said the former Michigan coach, "there's going to be times when you doubt yourself. The reason I know that is that I had doubts about myself. What I want to tell you is this: When you have those doubts, just get rid of them. You're prepared. You know what it takes. Just go do it."
The words still resonate with Carr.
"Here's the greatest football coach ever to coach at Michigan, and one of the greatest coaches that ever coached the game -- and he's telling me he had doubts," says Carr.
Carr has had them too. Still does. He's just not going to let you or his team see them.

Nor is Carr going to allow the critics run his program for him. He made some changes this offseason and we will see how the new coaches workout. Michigan always has had the tallent, it is simply a matter of avoiding injuries, and getting that tallent to excell all the time. Besides Carr has won 70% of his games, won a national championship, and coached a Heisman Trophy winner, A Doak Walker award winner, A Belitnakof(sp) award winner and many top NFL players. He must be doing something right...