The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - September 29, 1997 - 3B

MOel er
Ex-Michigan football coach talks about Lions, his past

:or the consummate Michigan football fan, Gary
Moe/kr may be remembered as a head coach who led
rte Wolverines to a .758 winning percentage and three
1ig Ten titles in only five seasons. Or maybe he could
remembered as the coach whowon the 1992 Rose
1, beating the Washington Huskies 38-31 - the
saze team that smoked the Wolverines by 20 points the
yer before at Pasadena.
side from the above highlights, there are many
other ways in which Moeller could be remembered for
his 21 years of coaching in Ann Arbor However; most
fans tend to remember him not for what he did on the
sidelines, but rather for his actions off the field. Fair or
unfair Moellers name will always carry with it the
story and rumors about a night at the Excalibur restau-
rnt in 1994, in which he had a little too much to drink,
*ch eventually led to his resignation from the football
team.
Moeller has moved on with his ife and would prefer
not to think back to the incident nearly
three years ago. After two seasons with
the Cincinnati Bengals, Moeller is now r
a linebackers coach with the Detroit
Lions, and he is both happy with his
current job and to be back in the metro-
poltan Detroit area."
e Daily Jordan Field recentlyY
ke with Moeller about his days at
Mfchigan, adjusting to coaching at the
professional level and the University s
new athletic director, Tom Goss.
vDaily: You spent so many years in:
college football, and after two seasons
with the Cincinnati Bengals, now you
are the linebackers coach for the Detroit
Lions. How is your new job and what
was-your reaction to returning to the
metro Detroit area?
0Ioeller: I'm very happy with how
tngs are now. I was very excited about z
theidea of hooking up with (Detroit
Lions head) Coach (Bobby) Ross, and
althbugh I really enjoyed things in
Cincinnati, I just thought I had a better
opportunity to grow being with a coach Y
like Ross. It wasn't a matter of where I
was going, had it been Cincinnati or
Atlanta, New Orleans - those places
really didn't have a bearing on it. I was
*stly interested in working with Ross.
IWasn't jumping up and down to get back to Michigan,
hot that I'm opposed to coming back or anything like
that, but had something else come up, I would have had
to cnsider that. Now that I am back, I have enjoyed it
with the Lions because it's a classy organization and the
one thing about Detroit is that people treat you well and
I think this is a very well-run organization.
0: From a coaching aspect, what are the biggest dif-
ferences between college and professional football?
M: The first thing that I thought about when I got the
in Cincinnati was that it was going to be hard to
ch these guys because they make so much money.
That was the first thing I was worried about. But that
really isn't the case at all. I've found that most of these
guys are very easy to coach because they think you
know what you are talking about and they really listen
to you. The intensity to learn is much higher at this level
than it ever was in college.
No. 1: they have the time to put into it at this level,
and in some cases it's like they are fighting for their job
and they are taking on the responsibility to learn. They
constantly taking notes at meetings. So the intensi-
ty level is a big difference, and this way is fun. I have
found that these kids really do want to win. You know
that sure they want the money, but they also really enjoy
to play the game and to play it well. In some cases, it
may be to play well just for personal satisfaction and the
pride of playing. But just because they like what they do


for a living and because they are paid well for it, that
doesn't mean they don't want to win. There is always
competition, and for me, it has probably been more fun
than I thought coming in.
D: Do you have a preference between working with
college athletes or professionals?
M: No, not really. I always thought I'd lean toward
college kids, but although I've enjoyed my experience
with college kids. I certainly have enjoyed my time with
the pros as well. Because all the pros are grown up col-
lege kids. Sure, sometimes I get a guy who is a 12 to 13-
year veteran, but he is a good person to be around and
you have to treat him with a little more freedom. But for
the most part these kids aren't too far removed from
college.
D: Do you see yourself ever going back to college, or
taking a head coaching job at either level?
M: I don't know where the future will lead. I've just
enjoyed my experience with this and it kind of intrigues

years. What did you learn from him?
M: I think he stressed the little things in football.
Doing the basic fundamentals the right way are still the
most important things in the game. Honestly, even at
this level those basic things are still so important. These
guys still need to block and tackle and do the basic
sound drills. They have to keep the ball from being
turned over and all those things. Because those are the
things that win games, and they always will be. I
learned that as a player under Woody Hayes at Ohio
State and obviously again coaching with Bo.
D: In 1991, when Michigan faced Notre Dame, you
made what must have been an incredibly hard coaching
call with the game on the line to throw towards the end
zone on fourth and one. When Elvis (Gbac) released
the ball, what was going through your mind?
M: I was thinking 'Oh God, please catch the darn
ball!' I was probably thinking the same thing everyone
else in the stadium was thinking. Realistically, I didn't
think it was going to happen exactly
like that because the play was called,
but with their coverage, that pass was
the best outlet. I was a little nervous
throwing the fade in the corner with
fourth down. But (Desmond Howard)
did make a sensational catch and Elvis
put it up in a position where he could
catch it. That is just one of the those
great plays someone will always
remember about Michigan.
D: Along with Howard's catch, what
are your best memories from your days
at Michigan?
M: Well of course that catch, and in
1969 when we beat Ohio State. I have
great memories from that victory. I
remember once in the 70s, as
Michigan's defensive coordinator, we
shut out Ohio State in Columbus when
Ohio State hadn't been shut out in
something like 300 straight games.
Obviously, winning the two Big Tens
when I was the head coach, and then
going on the to win the Rose Bowl the
second time there after losing the year
before to the same Washington team.
Plus, I'll never forget the game in
Tampa when I took over for Bo, and
Jamie Morris had all those yards and
then hit (John) Colesar in the end zone
to win the game. Even great defensive plays I'll never
forget. Like keeping the great Auburn team in the Sugar
Bowl to only four field goals. Those are some of the
best memories, and who can forget the Kordell Stewart
Hail Mary pass. It goes on and on, so many great times
and even those big losses too stick out in my mind as
well.
D: Have you had time to follow any of Michigan
football after '94?
M: I've followed it to some degree, but to be honest
when you switch from college to the pros you really
change modes. Now when scores flash up on the board,
I always want to see the pro scores and who is winning
and what players are playing well. So your attention
changes much quicker than expected. It's like taking a
new job with a new company and now you are produc-
ing a new product, so your interest switches directly
over to that new product. I did hear a little of (this
year's) Michigan-Colorado game on the radio, but we
were traveling to Chicago for our game on Sunday, and
to be honest that's were my interest was - on Sunday.
D: What are your feelings on Michigan's new athlet-
ic director, Tom Goss?
M: I think Tom Goss is a great individual who will
do a fine job at Michigan. He is not only a very good
businessman, but he is very sincere and talented and
through his honesty he has a lot to offer to the
University. I think he is a wonderful choice.

JOHN
LEROI
Out of Bounds
Golf course pollfy leaves
7
stuent s out m zfthe cold
B ob Chaddock is caught between a bunker and a hard place. The
University's golf course is too darn good. Everyone wants to play.
Sounds like a nice problem to have? Sometimes, Chaddock says,
but other times, it can be a downright nasty situation. The course is packed
nearly every day, and it isn't even open to the public.
That makes getting a desirable tee time in the few waning warm fall
weekends almost impossible. And the biggest losers are the students.
Undergraduates' largest complaints revolve around special privileges
granted to something called the MacKenzie Club, a group of prominent and
wealthy alumni and members of the community who get priority tee-time
privileges and complimentary greens fees.
So students who have tried to make a Friday afternoon tee time this
semester have discovered that members of the MacKenzie Club have
already gobbled them up.
"Especially on these fall football weekends," said Chaddock, the manager
of the Michigan golf course, "we've been pretty busy. It's been harder to
get tee times."
MacKenzie club members are allowed to make tee times 30 days in
advance. The rest of us have to wait until seven days prior to schedule a
time. That makes it awfully difficult for students, faculty and staff to find a
convenient time.
Unfair?
Maybe, but MacKenzie Club members weren't just handed these privi-
leges on a silver platter. All club members have donated at least $10,000 to
the golf course restoration project, which Chaddock estimates has made it
one of the 10 best courses in the state.
The restoration was much needed. The course was built and designed by
the legendary Dr. Alister MacKenzie, for whom the club is named, in 1931.
MacKenzie, who was voted Golf Course Architect of the Century, also
designed Augusta National in Georgia, the site of the Masters.
By all accounts, MacKenzie had built a masterpiece, featuring undulating
terrain, rolling multi-level greens, complex bunkers and majestic views.
Although it was well maintained, the course received no upgrades until
this giant project in the 1993. The greens were always masterfully kept, but
60 years of golf took a toll on the rest of the course. The irrigation system
was ancient, the tee boxes needed to be rebuilt and MacKenzie's signature
bunkers were deteriorating.
TheAthletic Department couldn't commit such a large sum of money to
the project, and the MacKenzie Club was born.
And for $1,000 a year for 10 years, club members get the royal treat-
ment.
Students are peeved because it has become increasingly difficult for them
to get on the course. Many students have no classes on Friday and would
love to hit the links, but, not surprisingly, that's the biggest day for
MacKenzie Club members in for football weekends.
And that leaves Chaddock, manager of a golf course at a public
University, in somewhat of a bind.
"Hey, I didn't invent the MacKenzie Club," he said. "I understand the
students' dilemma and I really try to work with them. If they have extenuat-
ing circumstances, like parents in from out of town, we make exceptions. 1
know they want to get on the course."
And Chaddock is doing everything in his power to do just that. He tries
to help students out any way he can. He'd love to accommodate everybody.
but the truth is, the Michigan Golf Course is just too good.
And students enjoy a benefit that not even MacKenzie Club members
have. A round of 18 holes costs students just $18- a ridiculously low
price for a top-10 golf course. Faculty, staff and even MacKenzie club
guests have to fork over $61 to play.
And while there need be only one MacKenzie Club member per foursome
to schedule tee-times a month in advance, Chaddock points out that there
are only 339 club members with such privileges.
The explosion of the sport itself and the exceptional course are much
larger reasons that the course is so packed. Students play the course more
than any other group - 22 percent of those who tee off are students, and
that number is up five percent from a year ago.
Chaddock suggests having a flexible schedule when calling for tee times
and he assures students that in the spring, with the absence of football
weekends, traffic will be lighter on the course.
Meanwhile, MacKenzie Club members have booked almost every Friday
tee time between now and November, when the weather starts to get too
chilly to enjoy golf.M
And that is leaving students out in the cold.
- John Leroi can be reached over e-mail at jrleroi@umich.edu:
READ FOOTBALL SATURDAY.
-8

me to think what it would be like to coach at this level
as a coordinator at this level. Not that I wouldn't want
to be a head coach, because I would enjoy that if it was
in the right circumstance, but again, I think my main
thing is looking at maybe being a coordinator in this
league.
D: How are your relationships with players that you
have coached in college. Who do you now see at the
professional level?
M: I still talk to those kids, and of course in the NFL.
You see them all the time. We'll play Buffalo later in the
season and I'll see Todd (Collins) and Jay (Riemersma),
or I'll see Mercury Hayes in New Orleans. So I get to
see some of those kids and bump into them now and
again. However, they're busy and they have things to do
too, so you don't have time for too much conversation,
But we talk and I'll leave them a note. It's always fun to
communicate with them.
D: I know that you had played your college ball at
Ohio State. How did you end up coaching at Michigan
of all places back in 1969?
M: Well, Bo Schembechler was my coach at Ohio
State and so when I was done playing there, I joined his
staff at Miami (Ohio) and when he moved up here I just
moved with him. It sure was an unusual twist, but that
was how I got connected. It ended up that I was in
Michigan much longer than I was ever at Ohio State.
D: You worked with Coach Schembechler for many

Blain puts on heroic preformance after
injury, returns to spark doubles victory

By Uma Subramanlan
For the Daily
-What makes a hero?
-The traditional definition of a hero
conjures up images of Patton leading
troops and Pete Sampras over-
Mining sickness to win the 1996
U.S. Open.
-,On Thursday, Brook Blain
attempted to model himself after
some of those heroes.
This past week the duo of Arvid
Swan and Blain played a heroic
match at the T. Rowe Price National
Clay Courts in Baltimore.
On Wednesday, they faced a team
f "m Nebraska.
Fhey had won the first set, and
were into the second, when Blain
suffered a knee injury.
,I was reaching for a long ball and
my foot got caught in some grass
next to the court," Blain said. "My
knee twisted and my knee cap dislo-
cated.
"It's been happening on and off for
two years since I originally dislocat-
hough Blain initially felt that he

would not be able to finish out the
match, after a few minutes he
returned.1
"Even though I was injured we1
came back. We lost the second set,
but we ended up winning in the+
third," Blain said. "I actually don't
know how we did it. Arvid stepped it
up and played well."
Even Michigan men's tennis3
coach, Brian Eisner was positive
about the effort.I
"It was great they were able to stay
in it," Eisner said. "They took away1
some real positives."+
The duo won the match, 6-4, 4-6,
6-4. This match capped off a pair of
victories in the qualifying doubles
rounds.
The day before they defeated a+
pair from Mississippi, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3.+
After winning the two qualifiers,
they qualified for the main tourna-
ment draw.
On Thursday, they played their
only match of the main draw against
the No. 2 seed: Georgia's John
Roddick and Steven Baldas.
"The match was very close," Blain
,on, i

said. "Nobody gave away anything
and we had to earn every point. And
that's what it came down to, a few
points.
"We just didn't capitalize on the
opportunities we had in the third set
and they beat us in the end."
The Wolverines played well in the
match and they gave the Bulldogs a
run for their money.
Even though Blain was injured, the
match was very close, with Georgia
winning, 6-7 (7-2), 2-6, 7-5. Blain
believes the injury didn't affect the
outcome of the match.
"I wasn't 100 percent, but I played
well," Blain said. "It probably ham-
pered me a little, but it made me
more focused. What's important is
even though we lost, we gained a lot
of confidence.
"We realized we could compete

with anybody in the country and we
have the potential to be a really good
team."
The doubles tournament proved to
be more competitive than the singles
tournament.
Though the Wolverines do not
have much experience on clay they
were able to perform well against
their opponents.
"We were playing at such a high
level and making incredible shots,"
Blain said. "It was world class ten-
nis."
The competitiveness of the miracle
match - along with the other match-
es -- gave the two Wolverines
important national experience. For
Blain, it was gratifying.
"I gained a brighter outlook for the
upcoming season," said Blain. "Now
I know we can compete."


UI


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