Is Saturday Lloyd Carr's Final Home Game?

This Saturday against Ohio State we will see a select group of players take the Michigan Stadium field one last time. That group includes Chad Henne, Mike Hart, Shawn Crable, and Jamar Adams among others. Obviously, I am talking about this year's seniors, who will go on to the NFL or other things in life following this football season. We know for sure that none of the seniors will be back on the Big House field as players after Saturday, so the question of who else will never be back certainly comes up.

The first person that may be playing in his final home game as a Wolverine is Mario Manningham. Super Mario certainly has proven himself as a great wide receiver, and because of that, the NFL may be in his future a year earlier than scheduled. Even though I've felt like Mario would go pro after this season for a while now, seeing what happened on Saturday pretty much confirmed it in an indirect way.

After Ryan Mallett came into the game and struggled, the cameras showed Mario Manningham arguing with the young quarterback on the sidelines. That was probably due to the fact that Mario hadn't had a single ball thrown his way, and although I can see why he was mad, there was no reason to go after Mallett. Mario should know by now that encouragement for the young QB would do more good than simply yelling at him. I really think that some of the throws that appeared to be forced into a tight space by Mallett were a direct result of Mario basically calling for Mallett to get him the ball. A lot of times Mallett threw in his direction when others would've had a better chance to make a catch.

How exactly does what I just wrote above mean that Mario Manningham is going pro? Well, I imagine that Mario will want to cash in while his stock is high. I'm not saying that Mario wouldn't have another great season next year, but I just have a feeling that he wouldn't want to tempt another go around with a quarterback that will have so many question marks around him. The offense in general is going to have quite a few new faces, so sticking around could hurt his draft stock if the offense falters big time next season.

In the end, I would say Mario Manningham coming back for his senior season would be a pleasant surprise. I obviously am hoping that he decides to return to Ann Arbor for one more season, but I just don't see it happening. At the same time, Adrian Arrington could be in a similar situation as Manningham, but for him the surprise would be if he didn't come back for another season. Hopefully we see both receivers back in Michigan Stadium in 2008, but I'd say the chances of Manningham and Arrington coming back are not very good.

The other person that could be in his final game at Michigan Stadium isn't a player. Instead, it is head coach Lloyd Carr. This wouldn't be shocking at all if it were Carr's final home game as head coach considering rumors have had him set to retire for years, but it is still hard to think about. No one really knows what Carr is going to do after this season, but if there were ever a time for him to retire, it would be now.

The timing isn't the only reason as what happens in the next two games will also probably play a big role in Carr's decision. Should Michigan win both of its remaining games, then Carr could go out on top. At the same time, losses in Michigan's final two games could cause Carr to retire as the pressure to force him out of the job would definitely be louder than ever. Going 8-5 with the talent on this team would not be acceptable for most fans/alumni/boosters, so calling for his head could be stopped by him retiring.

I understand that there are a lot of "what ifs" coming into play here, but one thing I will say is that rumors of Lloyd Carr retiring are probably just the tip of the iceberg. We all could be in for one hell of an offseason depending on what Carr does decide to do. If he comes back then there will be a constant outcry against him should Michigan lose to Ohio State and in a bowl game. Once again, on the flip side, should he decide to retire, we'll go through a coaching search that is a million times as big as the basketball one was. For Bill Martin, hiring John Beilein won't define his career, renovating Michigan Stadium won't define his career, but instead, the hiring of a new football coach will define his career.

I don't even want to start throwing out names as I will save that for when the time comes, but I do think we need to realize that the end of an era may be upon us. That era isn't even just for Lloyd Carr. I'm talking about the era of Bo Schembechler, which is continued presently with Carr as head coach. Should he retire, then the era of Bo will be over for good unless a certain coach of the #1 team in the nation is hired. Again, discussion of that should only be meant for when the time comes, but it certainly is interesting to think about.