ANN ARBOR – Players inside the Michigan Wolverines football program broke their 9-day silence on Friday as the doors were opened to Schembechler Hall against the backdrop of a coaching change.

Head coach Sherrone Moore was dismissed from the program on Dec. 10 after a discovery of an inappropriate relationship with a staffer, and 48 hours he was in a white jumpsuit appearing on video in court after he entered the staffer’s home and threatened to harm himself.

Interim head coach Biff Poggi has been keeping the players together the best he can as Michigan prepares for the Citrus Bowl on Dec. 31 against Texas, but this is a tumultuous situation to navigate.

“I think it’s been a difficult time, as everybody knows,” senior tight end and captain Marlin Klein said Friday. “I think the most important thing for us is staying together, sticking together, and really keeping the locker room clean. Just all sticking together and making sure that everybody’s doing good mentally.

“And we’ve done a really good job with that.”

Klein and several of his peers have been through a lot of noise and scandal over the last several seasons, but he is choosing to focus on the good that has come with it and what his time at Michigan has meant.

“I’m not a guy that’s going to focus on the bad part,” Klein said. “I’ve got a bunch of rings sitting in my room. Those are the things that I’m proud of — beating our rivals, winning the big games, winning the national championship, and multiple Big Ten championships.

“When I leave this place, I’m not just going to focus on the bad things that have happened here. Obviously, while you’re here, you’re going to have to deal with that and overcome it. I think we have the best people in the building to help us overcome it, and we wouldn’t be able to do it without our brothers in the locker room.”

Michigan players are, unfortunately, used to distractions from the adults in the program of late, but nothing could have prepared them for the events of Dec. 10.

“It was a little bit of a shocking experience,” senior linebacker Jimmy Rolder said. “It happened, and you just have to move on from it. The whole program has to move on from it. It’s in the past now.

“[We were] just shocked. I didn’t see it coming. It blindsided us.”

Poggi said earlier this week that there was a sense of betrayal within the program for what the former head coach has put them through. Senior defensive back Zeke Berry said, for him, that word sums it up.

“I guess you could say that, yeah,” Berry said. “It’s probably different for different people, but I feel like that’s a good way to describe it for most people.”

He later said, “Just felt let down by the decisions that were made.”

Klein is grateful for the opportunities that Moore presented to him, but the focus now is being there for his teammates as a senior leader.

“Coach Moore was the person who gave me the chance to change my life forever and change my family’s life,” Klein said. “He offered me in 10th grade, and then he ended up being the head coach here. A lot of guys on this team were recruited by him, and it’s been a hard time seeing someone like that go through something like this. You feel for him and you pray for him and his family.

“For me right now, I’m not focused on what’s going on with Coach Moore outside of this building. I’m focused on helping my brothers and making sure they’re all good.

Michigan players focused on the response

The Wolverines have a game to play in a little less than two weeks, and getting back focused for the showdown with Texas is at the top of their to-do list. At this point, they have to press on despite what Moore has done to the program’s image.

“I feel like it has definitely changed a lot of the players’ focus,” Berry said. “When everything happened, a lot of players were down. Something that was said was, ‘Don’t let someone else’s decisions affect your emotions.’ That stuck with me, and I’ve been thinking about it every day and trying to keep pressing on.”

Rolder said that the team has rallied around each other and what Poggi has been preaching in a time of crisis.

“Everyone’s really been rallying together,” Rolder said. “You can feel the brotherhood coming together and building. Everyone’s got each other’s backs. If anyone needs to talk, it’s an open environment. Everyone’s there for each other.”

At the end of the day, the saga has been another black eye for Michigan, and what happens next is anyone’s guess.

“Something does need to change, but I feel like we’ve already been doing that,” Berry said of the response.