The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1477128
18 THE WOLVERINE SEPTEMBER 2022 BY JOHN BORTON G ary Moeller's passing left huge, tough men shedding tears. They remember how intensely the former Michi- gan head coach cared about them and returned every ounce of that emotion. Moeller died on July 11, at the age of 81. The former Ohio State football cap- tain became etched into the fabric of his school's chief rival through more than two decades of service in Ann Ar- bor. He worked as Michigan's offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and, ultimately, head coach. His former players remember well Moeller's offensive innovation, along with his defensive aggressiveness. But those traits aren't what stirred deep emotion in their recollections of him. Former U-M tailback Jamie Mor- ris rang up a then-modern Michigan record for rushing yards (4,526) from 1984-87. He burst out of the gate with 573 yards as a true freshman and insists Moeller — then defensive coordinator — became the reason why. Moeller witnessed firsthand Morris scampering past his Michigan defend- ers in practice. And the DC spoke up. "Bo would sit around that table with all those coaches," Morris recalled. "They all watched offense and defense together — all of them. And Bo goes, 'I don't know what we're going to do with that little [player].' "Mo goes, 'Bo, he'll do it in the game.' He stood up for me. Coach [Tirrel] Bur- ton said, 'Every time we give him the ball, he does something, Bo. But it was Mo who stepped up and said something that penetrated into Bo's head. "The next week, before game week against Miami, Mo sent me up from demonstration team, demo, to offense — and I never went back down." Moeller also delivered the tough love message that a wide-eyed rookie didn't wholly understand in the moment. Morris recalled: "He pulled me to the side and told me: 'I'm sending you up there. Do not embarrass me. Don't come back here. I don't want to hear Coach Bo sent you back here.' "He said, 'I believe in you.' I didn't know what that meant. I'm just like, 'Yes, Coach.' And the next thing I know is, Bo goes, 'Coach Moeller sent you up here?' I said, 'Yes, sir.' He said, 'Mo believes in you. Don't embarrass him.' "That's the Gary Moeller story I have in my heart. He gave me my final wind at Michigan, and he did it in a strong fashion." Former All-Big Ten offensive lineman Doug Skene — whose run of five Big Ten championships at Michigan covered the end of the Schembechler era and the beginning of Moeller's — understood that sentiment. "We loved him," Skene said. "Like all of the great coaches that we played for, that we were around, we knew he genuinely cared for us. He wanted what Former U-M offensive lineman Doug Skene on Moeller "We loved him. Like all of the great coaches that we played for, that we were around, we knew he genuinely cared for us. He wanted what was best for us." FIERCE LOYALTY Gary Moeller Was Marked By His Passion For His Players And Michigan During the course of his 23 years in Ann Arbor (1969-76 and 1980-94), Moeller served as the Wolverines' offensive coordinator, defensive coor- dinator and head coach. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN