There's No Doubt, Sherrone Moore Was Always The Choice For Michigan

When Jim Harbaugh returned to the NFL, Michigan united around one man...

Michigan acting head coach Sherrone Moore watches a replay during the first half against Ohio State at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Michigan could have conducted a national search, brought in a hiring agency and vetted several candidates as its next head football coach — but it wasn't necessary.

When Jim Harbaugh made the decision to leave Ann Arbor and return to the NFL with the Los Angeles Chargers, the Wolverine players, the fanbase and even Harbaugh himself already knew Sherrone Moore was the right man for the job. Harbaugh and Moore had already discussed his ascension prior to the 2023 season, though neither man knew when the transition would take place.

"It entered my mind when Coach Harbaugh told me, 'You're going to be the next head coach at Michigan.,'" Moore said in a sitdown with Fox Sports' Joel Klatt last month. "This year he told me that. He said, 'I don't know when, I don't know what's going to happen. No man can tell the future.'

"He said, 'You're going to be the next head coach at Michigan.' I was like, 'What?' He said, 'I'm going to put it in my contract that if I ever leave or go somewhere that you're the next head coach at Michigan.' And he told me that at the beginning of the year."

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh is lifted off the ground by offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore after Michigan won the College Football Playoff national championship game against Washington at NRG Stadium in Houston on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. / Melanie Maxwell / USA TODAY NETWORK

That vote of confidence from Harbaugh motivated Moore to work even harder for the head coach he'd grown to love and appreciate during his seven years as an assistant for the Wolverines.

"I just thought about that and I was like, 'This man who is a legendary coach, who's done it all and we have a chance this year to make a special run, is telling me I'm going to be the next head coach here,'" Moore said. "What does that mean? It means I've got to work my tail off for this man. He trusted me and this offense to do everything possible to help him and this team win. So, I just worked as hard as I could this year."

Harbaugh's confidence in Moore was backed by Michigan's players, most of whom stayed put in Ann Arbor even with the transfer portal opening to them and NIL offers came pouring in from other schools looking to raid the Wolverines' roster. It was also backed by U-M's fanbase, who nearly universally rallied around Moore as Harbaugh's heir.

"I felt honored. I felt like all the hard work that I put in with this team and these players really came to fruition...just very humbled to have Wolverine nation — all the people, all the players, coaches, you and some media to say, 'Hey, he should be the head coach at Michigan.'

"When I got here seven years ago, I just wanted to be the best tight ends coach I could be," Moore said. "That's it. At some point I wanted to call plays, I got a chance to do that with our young guys, [but] the opportunity to be the head coach here was really not in my mind."

Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh and co-offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore, right, during the 51-7 win against the Colorado State Rams, Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022. Michigan / Kirthmon F. Dozier / USA TODAY NETWORK

We don't know the legacy Moore will leave at Michigan as the leader of this program. The 38-year-old is the second-youngest head football coach in the Big Ten, just a year older than Oregon's Dan Lanning. It's hard to predict with first-team head coaches. Some thrive, many fail.

But Harbaugh's confidence should give, and has given, confidence to Michigan's fanbase that the program is in good hands. The players' demand that Moore be given the spot, and the way they backed up that demand by staying put in Ann Arbor, speaks to the culture and brotherhood that has been established here.

There may have been other candidates who could have come in and done a good job at Michigan, but there likely wasn't one who could have held things together the way Moore has done in his first six months on the job. It'll take several years to know what kind of decision Michigan made by handing the keys to Moore, but there's every reason to believe the Wolverines will continue to be a national player under his direction.

Dec 4, 2021; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Michigan Wolverines offensive line coach Sherrone Moore (left), head coach Jim Harbaugh (center) and special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big Ten Conference championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

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