Gary Oscar Moeller (; January 26, 1941 – July 11, 2022) was an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
coach best known for being head coach at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
from 1990 to 1994. During his five seasons at Michigan, he won 44 games, lost 13 and tied 3 for a winning percentage of .758. In
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
play, his teams won 30 games, lost 8, and tied 2 for a winning percentage of .775, and won or shared conference titles in 1990, 1991 and 1992. He left Michigan in 1995 following a drunken incident. Moeller also coached in professional football and was the head coach of the
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
for part of the 2000 season. He was the father of former
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
offensive line coach
Andy Moeller.
Biography
Moeller graduated from
Lima Senior High School
Lima Senior High School, the only high school in the Lima City Schools District, was established in 1955, in Lima, Ohio. There are approximately 1,500 students currently enrolled at Lima Senior.
Overview
Lima Senior remained in the same building ...
in 1959, and afterwards attended
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
. He saw his first action on the
varsity football team in 1960 as an
offensive guard
Offensive may refer to:
* Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative
* Offensive (military), an attack
* Offensive language
** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...
. He switched to
linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...
in 1961 and was named an honorable mention all-conference selection by
United Press International
United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...
(UPI) and
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
(AP). Moeller served as co-captain in his
senior
Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to:
* Senior (name), a surname ...
year along with
Bob Vogel
Robert Louis Vogel (born September 23, 1941) is a former professional American football offensive lineman for the Baltimore Colts from 1963 to 1972. During that span he appeared in Super Bowl III and Super Bowl V for the Colts and was selected fo ...
.
[ ]
After graduating in 1963, Moeller was drafted by the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
in the 5th round of the
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...
, but did not play for the team. He instead played for the
Grand Rapids Blazers
Grand may refer to:
People with the name
* Grand (surname)
* Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor
* Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist
* Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper
Places
* Grand, Oklahoma
* Grand, Vosges, village and commu ...
of the
United Football League (UFL).
Moeller quit professional football during the 1964 training camp and entered the coaching ranks with
Bellefontaine High School
Bellefontaine High School is a public high school in Bellefontaine, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Bellefontaine City Schools district. They are members of the Central Buckeye Conference and were formerly members of the Western Buckeye Lea ...
in Ohio. He served there as head coach and defensive line coach for several years until joining
Bo Schembechler
Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler Jr. ( ; April 1, 1929 – November 17, 2006) was an American football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the University of ...
at
Miami University
Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...
in 1967. He moved with Schembechler to Michigan in 1969, where he served as defensive ends coach until 1973, when he was promoted to
defensive coordinator
A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...
. Schembechler had also been an assistant coach at Ohio State when Moeller was a player, and both were members of the
FWAA 1961 National Championship team.
Moeller was hired by the
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...
as head football coach in 1977, on a five-year contract. After posting a 6–24–3 record in three seasons with the school, he was fired.
Moeller rejoined Michigan in 1980 as an assistant to head coach Bo Schembechler. He was promoted to defensive coordinator in 1982. He led the Michigan defense from 1982 until his position being changed to
offensive coordinator
An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...
in 1987. When coach Schembechler underwent heart surgery prior to the final game of the season, the
Hall of Fame Bowl
The ReliaQuest Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, usually on New Year's Day. The event has been formerly called the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1995 and the Outback Bowl from 1996 t ...
, and could not coach, Moeller was named interim head coach and led the Wolverines to a 28–24 win over
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
.
After three seasons as offensive coordinator, Moeller was named Schembechler's successor as Michigan head coach in 1990. In his first season as head, Moeller helped the team compile a 8–3 regular season record to win the conference title. The Wolverines were invited to the
Gator Bowl
The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, operated by Gator Bowl Sports. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised natio ...
, where they won 35–3 over the
Ole Miss Rebels
The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford. The first was the football team, which began play in 1893.
Originally known as th ...
. Michigan improved to 10–2 in
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
and repeated as conference champions, but lost 14–34 in the
Rose Bowl to
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
. That year, he helped
Desmond Howard
Desmond Kevin Howard (born May 15, 1970) is an American former football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. He played college football at Michigan, where he won the Heisman Trophy as a senior. Howard w ...
win the
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...
and
Erick Anderson
Erick Scott Anderson (born October 7, 1968) is a former American football player.
Anderson played college football as a linebacker at the University of Michigan from 1988 to 1991. As a senior in 1991, he won the Dick Butkus Award, Butkus Award as ...
win the
Dick Butkus Award
The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football. The award, named in honor of College Football Hall of Fame ...
. In
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
, Moeller led the Wolverines to an undefeated 9–0–3 record, a conference championship, and a
Rose Bowl win over Washington 38–31, finishing fifth in the national rankings. Michigan compiled an 8–4 record in 1993, placing 21st in the national rankings, and another 8–4 record in 1995.
Moeller resigned in May 1995 after tapes were released of his alleged
drunken
Alcohol intoxication, also known as alcohol poisoning, commonly described as drunkenness or inebriation, is the negative behavior and physical effects caused by a recent consumption of alcohol. In addition to the toxicity of ethanol, the main ps ...
outburst following an arrest on a charge of disorderly conduct at the now-defunct Excalibur restaurant in
Southfield, Michigan
Southfield is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the city had a population of 76,618.
As a northern suburb of Detroit, Southfield shares part of its ...
, on April 28. He was succeeded by
Lloyd Carr
Lloyd Henry Carr Jr. (born July 30, 1945) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Michigan from 1995 through the 2007 season. Under Carr, the Michigan Wolverines compiled a record ...
, who had assisted him at both Illinois and Michigan. Both Moeller and Carr served under Schembechler from 1980 to 1989.
After Michigan, Moeller was hired in June 1995 by the
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
as tight ends coach under head coach
David Shula
David Donald Shula (born May 28, 1959) is an American football coach and former player. He is the wide receivers coach at Dartmouth College. Shula served as the head coach for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL) from 19 ...
and spent two seasons there. In 1997, he joined the
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
as the assistant head coach and linebackers coach under new head coach
Bobby Ross
Robert Joseph Ross (born December 23, 1936) is an American former football coach. He served as the head football coach at The Citadel (1973–1977), the University of Maryland, College Park (1982–1986), the Georgia Institute of Technology (1 ...
. In 2000, Moeller was named head coach following Ross's sudden resignation nine games into the season. He was given a contract for the remainder of the season and two additional years by owner
William Clay Ford, Sr.
William Clay Ford Sr. (March 14, 1925 – March 9, 2014) was an American businessman who served on the boards of Ford Motor Company and the Edison Institute. Ford owned the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He was the you ...
, a move that seemingly guaranteed a future with the team. After the team narrowly missed the playoffs (losing their final game on a last-second 54-yard
field goal
A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...
), ownership endorsed Moeller as the Lions head coach for the foreseeable future. However, he was eventually fired by new team president
Matt Millen
Matthew George Millen (born March 12, 1958) is a former American football linebacker and executive. Millen played 12 years in the National Football League for the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders, San Francisco 49ers, and Washington Redskins, ...
in early 2001 and replaced by
Marty Mornhinweg
Marty Mornhinweg (born March 29, 1962) is an American football coach and former player who was a senior offensive consultant for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He was the offensive coordinator for the San Francis ...
. Moeller finished with a 4–3 record as head coach, making him the only Lions head coach since
Joe Schmidt to post a winning record during his tenure (Moeller has since been joined by
Jim Caldwell in this regard).
In 2001, Moeller joined the
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...
as defensive coordinator under head coach
Tom Coughlin
Thomas Richard Coughlin ( ; born August 31, 1946) is a former American football coach and executive. He was the head coach for the New York Giants from 2004 to 2015. He led the Giants to victory in Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI, both time ...
. He voluntarily stepped down from that position after one season, signing a three-year contract with the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
as linebackers coach under head coach
Dick Jauron
Richard Manuel Jauron (born October 7, 1950) is a former American football player and coach. He played eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL), five with the Detroit Lions and three with the Cincinnati Bengals. Jauron served as the he ...
. He served in that role for two seasons, leaving when Jauron was fired after the 2003 season. He did not coach again after that.
Moeller died on July 11, 2022, at the age of 81.
Head coaching record
College
NFL
References
External links
Profile at Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan Athletics History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moeller, Gary
1941 births
2022 deaths
American football centers
American football linebackers
Chicago Bears coaches
Cincinnati Bengals coaches
Detroit Lions coaches
Detroit Lions head coaches
Illinois Fighting Illini football coaches
Jacksonville Jaguars coaches
Ohio State Buckeyes football players
Michigan Wolverines football coaches
National Football League defensive coordinators
Miami RedHawks football coaches
Sportspeople from Lima, Ohio