The college football world was turned upside down again by Michigan on Wednesday, with the abrupt firing of head coach Sherrone Moore.
Moore, school officials found, engaged in an “inappropriate relationship with a staff member” that ended his nearly two-year tenure as the top guy. Nowhere in athletic director Warde Manuel’s statement did he reference the Wolverines’ play on the field. This move was made purely for reasons off of it.
Which begs the question: Where does a school that tapped Moore as its heir apparent to Jim Harbaugh, a coach considered to be an up-and-coming star in the college football world, go from here?
UPDATE: Moore has been detained by police
Typically, firings like these can be seen coming well in advance. Assistants and staffers have time to figure out their next move, or least come to terms with reality. This situation, is different. Many of Moore’s assistant coaches still have a year left on their contract with the school, with an option to terminate it in the case of a for-cause firing. Many likely will, hoping to find a life raft elsewhere.
It also puts Manuel in a bind, having to search and identify Michigan’s next head coach in mid-December. The college football coaching carousel is well underway, with many of the big-name free agents already claimed and in place. The Michigan athletic director will have to decide between finding a short-term solution to serve as the bridge to 2026 or take an expensive swing at a high-priced coach.
Michigan Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore on the field after Michigan football defeated Purdue at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. Jacob Hamilton | MLive.com
Michigan hasn’t been in this situation in over a decade. It was December 2014 when school officials made the call to move on from Brady Hoke and bring in Harbaugh, who won games early on and brought home the hardware toward the end, amid dueling NCAA investigations of impropriety and rule violations. But instead of cutting ties with the Harbaugh era, the Wolverines elected to ride it out with Moore, a first-time head coach.
There are also questions about the roster. Revised NCAA rules require players to wait until after a new head coach is in place to enter the transfer portal, but you can expect a long list to hit it come Jan. 2. It’s just part of the game nowadays. But what happens to quarterback Bryce Underwood? Will running back Justice Haynes still consider a return?
Michigan also just welcomed the 11th-ranked recruiting class in the country to Ann Arbor. There’s risk here of things blowing up, just as some of the foundational pieces were beginning to bloom.
All the while, the Wolverines must somehow shift their attention to the Citrus Bowl matchup against Texas on Dec. 31. Staffer Biff Poggi, who coached two games for the suspended Moore this year, has been tapped as the interim. He surely won’t be the answer long term.
Who will? A pivotal decision from Manuel awaits.