ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Sherrone Moore’s rise was stirring, a rugged lineman at Oklahoma who climbed the ranks to lead Michigan, the winningest program in college football, and a rare Black head coach at the top of the sport.
“If you work your tail off, dreams can come true,” Moore said when he was hired nearly two years ago.
His downfall has been stunning.
The 39-year-old Moore was fired and arrested in a matter of hours Wednesday, and remained jailed a day ahead of an expected arraignment Friday as police investigate an alleged assault. His firing was related to what the school called an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.
Moore has been through a lot in his career, especially with the Wolverines. From being a late-bloomer on the field to a top coach in the sport, Moore’s journey has been at times inspiring while peppered with scandal.
More on Moore
Moore is married with three young daughters. He is from Derby, Kansas, and didn’t start playing football until his junior year of high school. Moore played for Butler County Community College in Kansas and was an offensive lineman for coach Bob Stoops at Oklahoma during the 2006 and 2007 seasons.
Climbing the ladder
Moore’s coaching career began as a graduate assistant at Louisville in 2009 before moving on in 2014 to Central Michigan, where he caught then-Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh’s attention. Harbaugh hired him in 2018 as tight ends coach for the Wolverines.
Moore was promoted to offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator in 2021, when the Wolverines bounced back from a 2-4, pandemic-shortened season and began a three-year run of excellence that culminated in the school’s first national title in 26 years.
He was well-liked by players, who appreciated how often he smiled and engaged them in conversations about football and life.
“He is a dynamic, fierce and competitive individual who gets the best out of the players he mentors,” athletic director Warde Manuel said when he hired Moore. “The players love playing for him and being with him in the building every day.”
Big break
Moore made the most of his first opportunity to lead the Wolverines, going 4-0, including a win over rival Ohio State, during the 2023 national championship season while Harbaugh served two suspensions for rules violations.
That helped to put him in a position to be promoted when Harbaugh returned to the NFL to lead the Los Angeles Chargers in January 2024.
“The only person I would want to do the job,” Harbaugh wrote in a text message that month. “I have 100% conviction that he will make us all very proud!!!”
Players on the team at the time, including former running back Donovan Edwards, privately lobbied Manuel to hire Moore.
“If anybody deserves it, it’s him,” Edwards said then.
Previous trouble
Moore was punished twice by the NCAA for rules violations. He was suspended for two games this year as part of self-imposed sanctions for NCAA violations related to the school’s high-profile sign-stealing scandal. The NCAA added a third game to the suspension, which would have kept Moore off the sideline for next season’s opener against Western Michigan.
Moore previously deleted an entire 52-message text thread with former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions, who was at the center of the team’s sign-stealing operation. The texts were later recovered and shared with the NCAA.
Moore also served a one-game suspension in 2023 due to recruiting infractions.
Short stint
His debut season in 2024 got off to a rough start before rallying to win the last three games, including against the second-ranked Buckeyes and 11th-ranked Alabama in a bowl, to finish 8-5 overall and 5-4 in conference. His biggest win might have been landing heralded quarterback Bryce Underwood, one of the top recruits in the country.
Moore led the Wolverines to a 9-3 record this year, including a 7-2 mark in the Big Ten. They finished the regular season ranked No. 18 in the AP Top 25 with a Citrus Bowl bid against No. 14 Texas on Dec. 31. The program’s four-game winning streak against archival and defending national champion Ohio State came to an end.
Lost wages
Moore signed a five-year contract with a starting base salary of $5.5 million last year. According to the terms of his deal, the university will not have to buy out the remaining years of his contract because he was fired for cause.
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