Wolverine Digest

COLUMN: Even if he lands Bryce Underwood, can Sherrone Moore lead Michigan Football back to success?

Sherrone Moore and his coaches have recruited well, but Michigan's lack of improvement in 2024 breeds doubt in program's direction...

Matt Lounsberry

Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Replacing Jim Harbaugh was always going to be a next-to-impossible task for the University of Michigan.

Harbaugh has won at every coaching stop he's been. He led Stanford to a AP Top 5 finish, the San Francisco 49ers to three straight NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl appearances, and the Wolverines to an average of 10.5 wins per full season, three straight Big Ten titles and a national championship. Harbaugh is one of the very best coaches at any level of football, and you don't just replace a guy like that.

Particularly, with a guy who's never been a head coach before.

Even before Harbaugh ultimately made the decision to return to the NFL, I had serious misgivings over Michigan's perceived plan to promote then-offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore from within the program to replace its star head coach. Fresh off a national championship, the Michigan job should have been one of the most coveted in the country (even with all the NCAA uncertainty surrounding the program). Was a first-time head coach really the best decision?

Michigan Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore
Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Some of those concerns were alleviated when I heard different national college football analysts like Joel Klatt proclaim their belief that Moore was the right fit for Michigan to continue what Harbaugh had built in Ann Arbor. Fast forward 10 games into Moore's tenure as head coach, as the Wolverines' fall to 5-5 with Saturday's 20-15 loss to undefeated Indiana, all of those doubts and then some have returned over Michigan's direction as a football program.

Yes, Michigan lost a ton of outstanding players to the NFL this offseason. Yes, Harbaugh gutted the Wolverines' coaching staff, and his late decision to depart hamstrung Michigan's ability to add talent out of the transfer portal, particularly at quarterback. With that understood, Moore and the staff he hired at Michigan have still underachieved with the talent they do have in Schembechler Hall.

Michigan's defense played inspired in the second half against the No. 8 Hoosiers, shutting down Indiana's high-powered offense with a dominant run defense, a relentless pass rush and strong coverage on the back end. But, that half has been the exception this season.

Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale may be the "O.G." of the defensive system Mike Macdonald and Jesse Minter run to great success in Ann Arbor, but the two young bucks clearly surpassed their mentor (Martindale) in their abilities to stifle opposing offenses. More often than not, Martindale has made head-scratching decisions in how he's used NFL-ready talent like Mason Graham and others. And Martindale has mostly come up short in adjusting to young personnel who aren't ready to execute an NFL-style system.

Michigan Wolverines football defensive coordinator Wink Martindale
Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On the other side of the ball, offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell has been a dreadful play-caller throughout the year for the Wolverines. The quarterbacks coach has routinely stunted Michigan's momentum with the Alex Orji packages, and/or has been inconceivably predictable and unwilling to break tendency while calling a game. Sure, not having a Power 4 level quarterback is limiting for any offensive coordinator, but Campbell has done nothing to make things easier for Davis Warren or Orji out there.

There's one thing Moore and his staff have done very well this season — recruit. Michigan's 2025 recruiting class ranks No. 11 in the country, and is a Top 10 haul based on average prospect rating. Moore has also found a way to unlock more of Michigan's NIL potential, with boosters like Barstool Sports' Dave Portnoy being willing to open their wallets in an attempt to flip five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood, among others.

Here's the concern though: Even if Michigan flips Underwood from LSU, and/or lands a Top 10-caliber class in this cycle, can this staff be trusted to coach and develop that class to the level needed to compete for championships again?

Nothing Michigan's staff has done this season suggests so.

Michigan Wolverines football offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell
Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Defensive backs coach LaMar Morgan is a great example of this duality on U-M's staff. Morgan has landed big win after big win on the recruiting trail since being hired by Moore, but Michigan's secondary has been inconsistent at best, and totally lost at worst, on the field for much of this season.

Michigan has gone from one of the most sure-tackling teams in the country to one that routinely misses tackles, in some of the biggest moments especially. That falls on the entire defensive coaching staff, whether it be the techniques being taught or the way this staff has practiced it throughout the season.

While the Wolverines played hard, battled and had themselves in position to knock off a Top 10 team against Indiana on Saturday, the same coaching shortcomings reared their ugly heads again, and some new ones have emerged as well.

Campbell's playcalling was dreadful, particularly in the red zone. Moore made several questionable decisions, like okaying a run on 3rd-and-7, cutting the down and distance in half, but then choosing to take a delay-of-game and punt rather than going for it in Indiana territory.

How about the decision to not give Kalel Mullings — Michigan's most effective rusher — a carry until the second quarter. Moore told CBS' Jenny Dell at halftime that the Wolverines were "going with the hot hand" in Donovan Edwards and Benjamin Hall, despite the fact that Hall had only seven carries this season prior to today. Was Moore just giving Dell coach-speak to cover up another reason for Mullings absence? One would certainly hope, because not much else about that decision or the reason given makes a whole lot of sense.

Finally, after Michigan's tackling issue reared its ugly head again on Indiana's last possession, Moore looked like a deer in headlights while letting 28 seconds tick off the clock before calling the first of Michigan's three timeouts. Sure, the Wolverines were likely cooked by that point, facing a 2nd-and-2 and needing a stop for any hope of getting one more possession, but Moore's indecision cost Michigan nearly a half-minute.

Throughout this entire season, Moore has looked like a young head coach who's in way over his head leading one of the most prominent programs in college football. In one offseason, this program has regressed back to the spot it was in before Harbaugh led an instant turnaround in Ann Arbor. Moore was hired with the goal of continuity, but this looks far more like Brady Hoke or Rich Rodriguez's Michigan program than it does Harbaugh's.

What the Wolverines' have been able to do on the recruiting trail has brought some excitement and hope for the future under Moore, but the overall downgrade in coaching between the previous regime and this current one undermines much of that optimism.

Look, Michigan isn't going to fire Sherrone Moore after just one season as head coach. While I understand that reality, I also believe it's never too soon to correct a mistake, and I've never felt more strongly that promoting Moore from within after Harbaugh's departure was a mistake. In my opinion, a proven head coach who can bring in a fresh, modern offensive identity is needed badly. There's little indication that a move like that will be made this offseason, but based on what we've seen in 2024, it feels like a change in direction will be necessary in two or three years.

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Matt Lounsberry
MATT LOUNSBERRY

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