By Woodrow Carroll
Former University of Illinois head football coach Gary Moeller died last week at the age of 81. Described as the former Illinois coach is not how Moeller would like to be remembered.
Moeller was the Illinois head coach for three seasons, 1977-1979. Those three seasons in Champaign were not successful. The Fighting Illini were 6-24-3 overall with nary a bowl invitation for Moeller and the Illini. There were three ninth-place finishes in the 10-team Big Ten.
Moeller had Big Ten blood in his veins. Born in Lima, Ohio, Moeller played guard at Ohio State in the early-1960s for the legendary Woody Hayes.
After a brief time as a high school coach, Moeller caught on as an assistant at Miami (Ohio) University, under head coach Bo Schembechler. When Schembechler moved to Michigan as the head coach, Moeller went with him.
Moeller’s skill set earned him the head coaching position at Illinois. Interest in Illinois football languished. After three seasons Moeller was out. The firing of Moeller led to a pronounced change in Illinois fortunes.
Mike White was hired as head coach at Illinois. In the eyes of many, White’s eight seasons in Champaign, 1980-1987, reflect the best for the Orange and Blue in the past 60 years.
White made the University of California a formidable foe during his six seasons in Berkeley, Calif., prior to going to Illinois and made the passing game a revelation in Champaign.
Under White, quarterbacks such as Dave Wilson, Tony Eason, and Jack Trudeau, all California products, Illinois football was entertainment.
Perhaps the statistic that stands out is attendance for Illinois games during the Mike White time. The 10 largest crowds to view games in the Illini Memorial Stadium were in the mid-1980s when White was head coach. Eight Illinois victories, a loss to Southern California, and a tie with Michigan is the tally for those 10 games.
Viewed as a valued assistant, Moeller went back to Michigan after his three seasons at Illinois. After 10 seasons in Ann Arbor, Mich. as both a defensive coordinator and later offensive coordinator, Moeller was picked to replace Schembechler as head coach at Michigan.
Moeller’s time in Ann Arbor was a far cry from how he fared at Illinois.
In five seasons with the Maize and Blue, Moeller’s record as head coach was 44-13-3. Best of all, the Wolverines were invited to a bowl game each of his five seasons in Ann Arbor.
Better yet, Michigan won four of those bowl games, including the 1992 team that capped off a 9-0-3 campaign with a Rose Bowl victory over Washington.
In his five seasons as Michigan head coach, Moeller went up against the Illinois on five occasions. Moeller was 3-1-1 in those five games, although they were competitive games. Michigan’s 20-0 victory over Illinois in 1991 the only game not up for grabs in the final seconds.
Sadly for Moeller, a drunken incident in a Southfield, Mich. restaurant in April 1995 went national and it cost Moeller his job. It ended Moeller’s time as a collegiate coach. Moeller did, however, coach in the professional ranks as an assistant.
For a brief period, Moeller was head coach of the Detroit Lions. Moeller acquitted himself well. The Lions did not!
The Lions head coach, Bobby Ross, sudden resignation in 2000 brought in Moeller as the Lions’ head coach. With a 4-3 record the rest of the 2000 season, it looked as though Moeller could be as Lions’ coach for the foreseeable future. Not So!
A new administration in the Lions’ front office brought in Matt Millen as team president. With it, Moeller was out as head coach.
Moeller’s last coaching job was as the linebackers’ coach for the Chicago Bears, 2002-2003.
The book on Gary Moeller is closed and it is an interesting read, for sure!