Is the Clock Ticking For Spartans' Rival HC Sherrone Moore?
Following a 15-0 run capped off with a national championship, the Michigan Wolverines are 5-5 with head coach Sherrone Moore and in grave danger of falling ending with a 6-6 record. They will likely beat Northwestern this week -- but No. 2-ranked Ohio State in the Horseshoe? Good luck.
Moore's seat might be scalding right now. He took the helm of a program fresh off a national championship with a culture and framework many first-year head coaches, like Michigan State's Jonathan Smith, would die for.
CBS Sports, while acknowledging Moore's poor season, gives him a "mulligan" this year.
"At Michigan, you shouldn't have those, but this is a unique situation," Richard Johnson wrote. "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."
Michigan Wolverines On SI's Trent Knoop wrote that this next year, interestingly enough, would be Moore's "prove it" year.
"I agree with CBS Sports," Knoop wrote. "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."
Michael France is Sports Illustrated's Michigan State recruiting beat writer, covering all things Big Ten recruiting for Spartan Nation. Be sure to follow him on Twitter/X@michaelfrancesi for exclusive Spartans recruiting coverage.
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