Now that Carr is retiring after 13 years as head coach of the Wolverines, Harbaugh's son, Jim, said he's not interested in being Carr's replacement.

Jim Harbaugh, a former star quarterback for Michigan who is now the coach at Stanford, said yesterday that he would not be a candidate for the now vacant Wolverines job.

"As far as the opening they have, the Michigan people will do a great job in selecting someone to carry on that tradition," Harbaugh said. "It's not going to be me. I am happy where I am."

Harbaugh would not likely have been a candidate anyway, considering he is 3-7 in his only season coaching major college football and that he irked Carr and other members of the Michigan athletic department earlier this year when he criticized the school's academic standards for athletes.

But yesterday, Harbaugh had only praise for Carr and Michigan. He recalled how Carr replaced his father in 1980 when Jack Harbaugh left for an assistant's job at Stanford. Harbaugh also played for the Wolverines when Carr was an assistant.

Harbaugh praised Carr for the success he had as coach, winning five Big Ten titles, 121 games and a share of the 1997 national championship.