Michigan Can Prove Its Leadership by Hiring Sherrone Moore to Replace Jim Harbaugh

The offensive coordinator would be the first Black head coach in school history.

The Michigan Wolverines have a chance to prove they are truly the leaders and best by taking the low-hanging fruit option and hiring Sherrone Moore to replace Jim Harbaugh. Moore was Michigan’s interim head coach four times during the 2023 season while Harbaugh was serving two separate suspensions.

Moore also allows Michigan to stem the tide of the coming portal exits. NCAA rules allow for any player on a team that has lost its coach to enter the transfer portal for 30 days. Moore’s familiarity with the program can help get around that because of his familiarity and relationships with the players on Michigan’s roster. He is largely credited with laying the groundwork for UM’s impressive offensive line infrastructure that became the foundation for which the national title team was built on offense for a team that prides itself on its ability to run the ball. Moore has also shown that he is capable of managing a game from an administrative sense, including making the decision to run the ball until the Penn State Nittany Lions stopped it (they never did) and effective fourth-down aggressiveness in the biggest game of the season vs. the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Moore has familiarity with the Michigan program and has already proved himself as a capable head coach during Harbaugh’s suspension :: Brad Mills/USA TODAY Sports

It is not without risk, as Moore still may get swept up in the NCAA probe into illicit sign-stealing practices when that investigation wraps up either later this year or next, but hiring Moore allows athletic director Warde Manuel to leave a legacy of hiring the first Black head coach in school history, and don’t think that fact is lost on Michigan’s brass for one second. Manuel has even tipped his hand in the statement announcing Harbaugh’s departure.

Watch college football with Fubo. Start your free trial today.

“We are working quickly to hire the next head coach for the program and will do everything possible to keep this current staff and team together,” Manuel’s statement read.

If Michigan passed on him, it would raise very legitimate questions about what exactly a Black coach would have to do to land an elite job in 2024 because few have done more than Moore to earn this job.