Gary Moeller, former Michigan and Lions coach, dies at 81

Associated PressJul 12, 2022, 3:12 PM EDT

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Gary Moeller, who succeeded Bo Schembechler as Michigan’s coach and later led the Detroit Lions as interim coach, died. He was 81.

The University of Michigan announced his death, and no cause was provided.

Moeller was promoted from offensive coordinator to lead the Wolverines’ program in 1990 and was 44-13-3 over five seasons.

“Gary Moeller was a great family man, great friend, great coach, and a man of integrity and high character,” Lloyd Carr, who succeeded Moeller as Michigan’s coach, said in a statement. “I admired him, I respected him and I loved him.”

The two-time Big Ten coach of the year won a conference championship in each of his first three years and had four bowl victories, including the 1993 Rose Bowl over Washington. He resigned in May 1995, less than a week after he was arrested on charges stemming from a drunken outburst at a restaurant in suburban Detroit.

Moeller bounced back in his personal and professional life, becoming tight ends coach for the Cincinnati Bengals that same year. He went on to lead the Lions’ linebackers and was their interim coach in 2000 after Bobby Ross quit midway through the season.

Moeller was 4-3 as Detroit’s interim coach and was perhaps a missed kick away from keeping his job. He was fired after Chicago’s Paul Edinger made a 54-yard field goal with 2 seconds left to lift the Bears to victory in the regular-season finale, knocking the Lions out of playoff contention.

“He also suffered bad breaks, and poor timing in his career,” former Michigan player and broadcaster Jim Brandstatter said. “But, you never heard Gary Moeller complain or make excuses. He was a class act. He was a good man.”

The Jacksonville Jaguars hired Moeller to be their defensive coordinator in 2001 and he later coached the Bears’ linebackers for two seasons.

Moeller, who was from Lima, Ohio, played linebacker and was a captain for Woody Hayes at Ohio State. He was an assistant for Schembechler at Miami (Ohio) and joined him on his first staff at Michigan in 1969.

Moeller struggled in his first head coaching job, going 6-24-3 from 1977 to 1979 at Illinois. He returned to work for Schembechler and later made a successful transition to coaching offense and became an innovative coordinator.

With a relatively wide-open approach and willingness to throw the ball as head coach, he helped Desmond Howard win the Heisman Trophy in 1991 during a stretch in which the Wolverines set a Big Ten record by winning 19 straight conference games.

“He was one of the giants in modern football history at Michigan,” Brandstatter said.

He is survived by his wife, Ann, their daughters, Susan, Amy and Molly, and their son, Andy, who was a linebacker and captain for the Wolverines and an assistant coach for the Cleveland Browns.

Alabama suspends freshman defensive back after drug arrest

Associated PressMar 20, 2023, 10:32 PM EDT

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama freshman defensive back Tony Mitchell has been suspended from the team following his arrest on a drug charge.

Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said Monday after the first practice of spring that Mitchell was suspended from the team “and all team activities until we gather more information about the situation and what his legal circumstance is.”

The Holmes County Sheriff’s Office arrested Mitchell and another man, Christophere Lewis, last week on a charge of possession of marijuana with the intent to sell or deliver, according to a post on the department’s Facebook page. Lewis also was charged with carrying a concealed gun without a permit.

“Everybody’s got an opportunity to make choices and decisions,” Saban said. “There’s no such thing as being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You’ve gotta be responsible for who you’re with, who you’re around and what you do, who you associate yourself with and the situations that you put yourself in. It is what it is, but there is cause and effect when you make choices and decisions that put you in bad situations.”

Mitchell, who is from Alabaster, Alabama, was a five-star prospect rated the 34th-best player and No. 3 safety in the 247Composite rankings.

Mitchell was driving the vehicle during a traffic stop. After deputies smelled marijuana, Mitchell picked up a baggie of marijuana from the passenger floorboard, according to the department’s Facebook post.

Sheriff’s deputies found “an additional significant amount of marijuana, a set of scales, a loaded handgun between the passenger seat and center console, and a large amount of cash,” according to the department’s Facebook post.

Missouri linebacker Chad Bailey suspended after arrest

Associated PressMar 20, 2023, 12:05 PM EDT

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COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri linebacker Chad Bailey was suspended from the team after he was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, the team said.

The 23-year-old, who was a team captain last season, was booked at about 2:45 a.m. and released after posting $500 bond, according to online records from the Boone County Sheriff’s Office.

“We are aware of the situation involving Chad Bailey,” Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said in a statement to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “He’s been suspended according to Department of Athletics policy. We have high expectations for all of our student-athletes, on and off the field, and we will follow all departmental and campus policies.”

Bailey was Mizzou’s third-leading tackler with 57 stops last season. He started all 11 games he played, missing two with an injury. He’ll be a sixth-year senior this fall after opting to return for his final year of eligibility, the Post-Dispatch reported.

The Missouri student-athlete handbook says any athlete who is arrested must serve a minimum one-week suspension.

Bailey was pulled over at about 1 a.m. not far from the Columbia campus for an expired license plate and lane violation, a police statement said. Bailey told the officer he had consumed alcohol and then performed poorly on a field sobriety test, the Post-Dispatch reported.