Michigan Football: How hot is Sherrone Moore’s seat after 5-5 start?

Trent Knoop | Nov 11, 2024

Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images / Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

It's safe to say things aren't great in Ann Arbor on the football field. Since taking over as the head coach, Sherrone Moore was tasked with bringing in an essentially new staff after many coaches fled with Jim Harbaugh to the NFL. But Moore fielded his staff and since then, the Wolverines are out to a 5-5 start with two games remaining on the 2024 schedule. The one thing going for the Wolverines is that Coach Moore is recruiting excellently for the maize and blue. He went out and landed five-star offensive lineman Andrew Babalola and is in the mix to land the No. 1 recruit in the country -- Bryce Underwood.

CBS Sports polled several writers and predicted which coaches were on the hot seat following disapointing '24 seasons. Michigan's Sherrone Moore was on the list, but the writers all agreed that this is a mulligan year for the first-year head coach.

"This is essentially a mulligan year for Moore. At Michigan, you shouldn't have those, but this is a unique situation. Not only did Jim Harbaugh leave, but he left on Jan. 24, four days after the national championship game and well after every single top QB in the 247Sports transfer portal rankings had enrolled at their new schools.

"It was a bad hand dealt by circumstance, but there was cause for optimism about an offensive identity around returning quarterback Alex Orji, which eventually began to wane during training camp as Orji did not win the starting QB job decisively. Now Michigan looks to the offseason to re-tool and get back to being one of the Big Ten's elite teams. Flipping No. 1 overall recruit Bryce Underwood from LSU would be an era-defining move."

Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Trent's take:

I agree with CBS Sports. It's unlikely Michigan goes in a different direction after one season, especially with what Moore is building from a recruiting standpont. It's the first time Michigan has really dove into the NIL market and a lot has to do with Moore spearheading it.

However, the football games mean more than anything. The wins and losses are what keeps or loses jobs in football. Some believe Moore has three years to fix it or he's gone. I think 2025 is going to be the decision year. Either Moore makes some difficult decisions and re-tools his staff, or he goes into '25 with the same coaches. But if he keeps both Kirk Campbell and Wink Martindale on staff, Michigan better get to 10 wins or the fanbase will be more up in arms than it already is.

You can give Moore a mulligan year this year. But next year will be his prove it year in Ann Arbor.

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