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Michigan could have justified a search for an elite replacement for Jim Harbaugh, but fans declared their support for Sherrone Moore. Less than two years later, he was fired. | Courtesy of Bryan Fuller
In January 2024, there may have been no more popular man on Michigan’s campus than Sherrone Moore.
The assistant football coach, who joined the team in 2018 to coach tight ends, stepped in four times during the 2023 season to replace head coach Jim Harbaugh as he served suspensions ordered by the NCAA. Moore led the players to a quartet of wins, including a victory over archrival Ohio State. The wins were key to Michigan’s 15–0 season and the national college football championship at the Rose Bowl, still commemorated in sprawling signs on the Big House.
Days after taking the crown, Harbaugh left the team on January 24 for a long-sought leap to the NFL. Although Michigan could have justified a search for an elite replacement, fans declared support for Moore across Twitter, Facebook, and college football blogs. Athletic Director Warde Manuel interviewed Moore on January 26 and offered him the job the next day.
Related: Starting Over, Aug. 2024
Less than two years later, on December 10, Moore was fired by Manuel for conducting an “inappropriate relationship” with a subordinate, according to a university statement, and was subsequently arrested and detained in Washtenaw County Jail.
According to a police report from the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office, he allegedly harassed the staffer with whom he had been having an affair. (Her name has not been revealed by officials, although it has circulated widely on the internet.)
As the police report revealed, Moore headed to an apartment complex off Ann Arbor–Saline Rd., and walked in the staffer’s door, where he told her, “I’m going to kill myself. I’m going to make you watch. My blood is on your hands. You ruined my life.”
In contrast to the smart blue suit, crisp dress shirt, and maize-and-blue striped tie he wore when he was named head coach, Moore was next seen in white jail coveralls.
He faced three charges, according to the Washtenaw County District Court complaint: home invasion, a felony punishable by up to five years in jail and a $2,000 fine; stalking, a misdemeanor carrying a $1,000 fine and possible one-year sentence; and breaking and entering, which could mean a $500 fine and ninety days in jail. At his arraignment, held on video, Magistrate Odetalla Odetalla set a $25,000 cash bond, and told Moore he was not to use alcohol or any drugs not prescribed for him, could not leave the state without permission, and was required to wear a GPS tether.
According to Moore’s termination letter, the firing was based on two violations of Michigan’s policies: his relationship with a subordinate, and lying during interviews about the relationship. (Since he was let go “for cause,” Michigan does not need to buy Moore out of his contract, which paid total compensation of around $5.6 million annually.) Moore, who was replaced on December 26 by former Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham, faced a court date on January 22.
Sarah Hubbard, a Republican member of the Board of Regents from Okemos, tells the Observer she began hearing rumors about Moore’s behavior in late 2024, but they were not solid enough to act.
“I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt,” she says.
Prior to Moore’s firing, Michigan had hired the Chicago-based law firm Jenner & Block to investigate the rumors of his alleged relationship—the same firm that investigated former university president Mark Schlissel in 2022 for similar allegations.
“We are continuing the investigation of Coach Moore’s actions to uncover any additional germane and material information and to assess whether there may be related misconduct by others,” said acting president Domenico Grasso in a mid-December announcement. “We have expanded the Jenner and Block assignment to include an independent evaluation of culture, conduct, and procedures throughout our athletics department.”
Hubbard says the latest investigation must find out whether football’s culture is flawed. “Do we have a problem, or not?” she asks. The football program is “such a huge part of our reputation and it’s important that the board has oversight and engagement with it.”
There’s plenty to back up her concern. Moore’s dramatic ouster was only the latest scandal to envelop the team during the past three years. In 2023, Matt Weiss, who shared duties as an offensive coordinator and coached quarterbacks, was arrested and charged with unauthorized access to computers and aggravated identity theft. Over eight years, he reportedly downloaded personal information for 150,000 student athletes, most of them women, using that information to hack into social media and other accounts for 3,300 people and download thousands of intimate photographs.
2023 also revealed the sign-stealing scandal involving assistant coach Connor Stalions. In November, Manuel said the fines were likely to be around $30 million, one of the largest financial penalties in NCAA history. Meanwhile, Harbaugh began the 2023 season with a three-game suspension from the Big Ten conference over recruiting violations during the Covid pandemic.
Related: Flag on the Play, Sept. 2025
“It has been five years of, let’s just call it what it is, a malfunctioning organization,” said Biff Poggi, the veteran assistant who stepped in for Moore as acting head coach, in a Citrus Bowl press conference.
Along with being Michigan’s face to the world, the football program carries enormous financial weight. Ticket revenue and other income, such as broadcast rights and merchandise sales, are a large contributor to the Athletic Department’s projected $266.3 million budget for 2026.
Beyond rooting out any cultural causes for the scandals, the football program faces two immediate issues: who’ll be in uniform, and who Whittingham’s boss will be.
According to 24/7 Sports, in the first half of January, more than two dozen players entered the transfer portal, allowing them to switch schools. The group included familiar names like backup quarterback Davis Warren, who committed to Stanford, and running back Justice Haynes, who is joining Georgia Tech. But Michigan picked up seventeen players—including five from Utah.
Whether there also will be a new athletic director once the next football season begins is a hot topic among media, fans, and university staff. Manuel’s contract, which pays him roughly $2.4 million a year, runs through 2030.
But the findings of the Jenner & Block review could determine his future. Said Grasso: “If the University learns of information through this investigation or otherwise that warrants a termination of any employee, we will act swiftly, just as we did in the case of Coach Moore.”
Calls & Letters March 2026: Omitting Robert Anderson
In our February article “After the Fall,” about Sherrone Moore’s firing, we detailed several other U-M scandals both within and outside the Athletic Department. We chose not to include Dr. Robert Anderson, who victimized more than 1,000 athletes between 1966 and 2003, because we felt it was inaccurate to compare an affair between consenting adults to sexual abuse. Leaving out this detail upset at least one reader. We apologize to anyone who felt the omission was disrespectful.