Michigan fired Sherrone Moore on Wednesday – the latest scandal for a program that has been in the headlines mostly for the wrong reasons since 2023.
Michigan found "credible evidence" that Moore engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member, and he was terminated with cause. That will do even more damage to a program that was the subject of multiple NCAA investigations during the Jim Harbaugh era — one involving impermissible contact with recruits and the other an in-person scouting and sign-stealing scheme tied to former staffer Connor Stalions.
According to ESPN, Moore was detained by police in Saline, Mich., on Wednesday and jailed while awaiting potential charges.
This should be a clear message to the program that might have escaped judgment on the field for the Stalions investigation in August but will not be able to escape the smear on its reputation that reached its lowest point Wednesday. Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel is now on the hot seat.
Here are four questions that will be asked in its aftermath.
MORE: Latest news on Sherrone Moore's firing and arrest
How damaging is Sherrone Moore's firing to Michigan?
The details of Moore’s inappropriate relationship and subsequent police detainment are likely to be tabloid fodder for the next several weeks. We won’t speculate on any specifics until they are confirmed.
Moore’s hiring, however, showed that Michigan may have erred in bringing back a former Harbaugh assistant after the 2023 national championship run. He compiled a 16-8 record, served two separate suspensions — including a two-game suspension this season — and was at the center of the Stalions investigation for deleting texts from the former staffer.
The impact again falls on the program’s reputation. On the field, the Wolverines went 8-5 in his first season, a record buoyed by a 13-10 upset of No. 2 Ohio State and a 19-13 victory against No. 11 Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl. Michigan finished 9-3 this season, with losses to No. 18 Oklahoma, USC, and No. 1 Ohio State.
That's all secondary, however. Moore's firing will draw comparisons to 1995, when former Michigan coach Gary Moeller was fired after being arrested on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and assault and battery after an incident at a restaurant.
Moore's termination, however, is unfolding in the social media era. It is much more embarrassing for the Wolverines, and that is going to fall on Manuel next.
MORE: What to know about scandal that cost Sherrone Moore his job
How does this reflect on the Jim Harbaugh era?
Poorly. Michigan won the national championship in 2023 with a 15-0 season, and the Wolverines will not have to vacate that title.
The stain, however, from the double-barrel NCAA investigations, the Stalions sign-stealing probe, and now Moore’s firing will leave a permanent mark on that national title. Harbaugh escaped punishment by taking a job with the Los Angeles Chargers, but he faces a 10-year show-cause order from the NCAA after his four-year penalty ends in 2028.
It’s not an asterisk. This is like the montage at the end of a documentary that shows where it all went wrong for a program — a far-less glamorous version of the ESPN 30-for-30 documentary The U.
Forget the reputation Michigan built with the “Leaders and Best” mantra, which followed a program that prided itself on doing things “the right way.” Other programs have done the same, but that’s not an excuse. How Michigan handles the present and plans for the future to rebuild that reputation is the question now.
MORE: Michigan's best replacement candidates for Sherrone Moore
Who should Michigan hire to replace Sherrone Moore?
The best candidate took the Penn State job on Dec. 5. Matt Campbell would have been the perfect culture makeover fit – and he had experience as the head coach at Toledo with a record of 35-15 from 2011-15.
It's late in the coaching cycle, but Michigan remains a blue-blood job that should attract some huge names. Jesse Minter – a former defensive coordinator under Harbaugh – would be a good fit, but that means Michigan is willing to prolong the remnants of the Harbaugh era. It's probably not the right move.
Alabama's Kalen DeBoer and Notre Dame's Brian Kelly are the home-run swings. Could Michigan lure DeBoer away from Alabama during a College Football Playoff run? Would Kelly – a former Notre Dame coach – take the ultimate heel turn? UNLV's Dan Mullen, Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham and Washington's Jedd Fisch are more-realistic candidates.
How important is this hire? Michigan hired Lloyd Carr after Moeller was fired, and Carr brought an air of stability to the program that included a national championship in 1997. He retired after the 2007 season – which included a shocking loss to Appalachian State in the opener – and went through a seven-year dark period with Rich Rodriguez (15-22) and Brady Hoke (31-20) that preceded Harbaugh's arrival. Don't think for a second the program cannot sink back to that level if it hires the wrong coach.
MORE MICHIGAN NEWS:
- Revisiting Michigan's sign-stealing scandal
- Jim Harbaugh's timeline of trouble at Michigan
- Explaining NCAA's Jim Harbaugh show-cause penalty
Will Bryce Underwood stay at Michigan?
Underwood — a five-star quarterback with a multi-million-dollar NIL deal — finished with 2,229 yards, nine touchdowns, and six interceptions as a freshman. Not all of that falls on Underwood. The Wolverines dealt with injuries at running back, a patchwork offensive line, and a glaring need for more explosiveness at receiver.
Underwood flipped from LSU to Michigan during the recruiting process, and Lane Kiffin is now the coach in Baton Rouge, La. Would Underwood enter the transfer portal? It’s a real possibility, so Michigan will need to move quickly with its coaching search. If Underwood flips, it would be yet another blow to the program’s reputation.
You don’t hire a coach based on one player, but look at Columbus. The Game showed that Ryan Day knows how to maximize a five-star quarterback and a fleet of NFL-caliber receivers. Michigan’s next coach needs to refurbish the offensive philosophy — which is ironic, because that was the reasoning behind the Rodriguez hire in 2008. It backfired spectacularly.
The same could be said about moving from Harbaugh to Moore now. That puts Michigan in a tough spot heading into 2026, with a decision that could make or break the program.
Maybe the hammer has finally dropped.