CBS Sports: Sherrone Moore among coaches who could win first national championship
Ohio State's Ryan Day joined a short list of college football head coaches who have won a national championship in college football, with Georgia's Kirby Smart and Clemson's Dabo Swinney the only other active coaches to accomplish the feat.
With that in mind, CBS Sports listed seven head coaches who could join Day as a first-time national title-winning head coach in the coming years. Listed among them was Michigan's Sherrone Moore.
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"There are dozens of coaches with more head-coaching experience who have gotten closer to winning a national championship as a head coach, but Moore has Michigan much closer to getting back to the top than some may realize," wrote CBS's Chip Patterson.
"As schools and programs modernize their operation for the NIL era, we have seen a huge boost in recruiting success from some traditional powers that have long had spending power potential but not always directed those funds as explicitly towards player acquisition. Flipping five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood from LSU is the headline that will power the positivity heading into 2025, but I think the roster quality on display at the end of the season that shows a group that really was a decent offense away from remaining in the Big Ten title race."
Moore addressed Michigan's offensive woes immediately this offseason, relieving offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell of his duties, and hiring an experienced replacement in former North Carolina OC Chip Lindsey.
Patterson noted the Wolverines' strong close to the 2024 season, primarily defensively, in wins over Ohio State and Alabama. While Michigan may have to fight tooth-and-nail to retain defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, there's enough roster talent on that side of the ball for the Wolverines' to potentially return to the top of the sport defensively in 2025.
"The Wolverines lost 13 NFL Draft picks off last year's title team and were dealing with injury issues throughout the season, yet the defense still held five of their final six opponents under 21 points, including those 13-10 and 19-13 wins against Ohio State and Alabama, respectively, at the end of the season," Patterson wrote.
CBS Sports' list included six other head coaches, each with more head coaching experience than Moore, including Steve Sarkisian (Texas), James Franklin (Penn State), Marcus Freeman (Notre Dame), Dan Lanning (Oregon), Brian Kelly (LSU) and Kalen DeBoer (Alabama). However, Michigan's recent success and financial commitment to compete with the upper echelon of college football suggests the Wolverines will be a national title contender for years to come.
"What we're saying is there is reason to believe the foundation of this roster is still solid, and the need for an offensive spark may be addressed by the arrival of a quarterback talent who has program-changing potential," Patterson wrote. "That's a team that should not be overlooked for playoff contention in the next couple of years, and a coach who could very well win his first title (as a head coach at least) even before some coaches with more experience on the resume."
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