It happened fast. One minute, Sherrone Moore is the guy crying on national TV after beating Penn State, the blue-collar hero of a Michigan team that felt like it was against the world. The next? He’s the first permanent Black head coach in Michigan football history. And then, just like that—poof. He's out.
If you followed the Sherrone Moore coaching career, you know it wasn't just about football. It was a whirlwind of massive wins, NCAA investigators, and a sudden, messy ending that nobody saw coming when they were raising the national championship trophy in early 2024.
The Grind: From Derby to the Big House
Sherrone Moore didn't start at the top. Far from it. He was a kid from Derby, Kansas, who didn't even pick up a football until his junior year of high school. He was a late bloomer, basically. He ended up at Butler County Community College before grinding his way to Oklahoma, where he played guard for Bob Stoops.
His coaching life started in the shadows. He spent 2009 to 2013 at Louisville, mostly as a graduate assistant before moving to tight ends. Then came Central Michigan. That’s where he really caught Jim Harbaugh’s eye. Harbaugh loved "trench" guys, and Moore was exactly that.
When Moore got to Ann Arbor in 2018, he was just the tight ends coach. Most people didn't know his name. But he was building a reputation as a "fierce, dynamic" recruiter and a guy who could actually connect with the players.
The Joe Moore Award Years
The real shift in the Sherrone Moore coaching career happened in 2021. Harbaugh shook up his staff, and Moore moved from tight ends to the offensive line and co-offensive coordinator.
Honestly, it was a masterstroke.
Michigan’s O-line became a literal machine. They didn't just win; they bullied people. Under Moore, the Wolverines became the first program ever to win back-to-back Joe Moore Awards in 2021 and 2022. We’re talking about units that paved the way for Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum to just absolutely wreck Big Ten defenses.
"These kids are elite in every way," Moore once tweeted. He was obsessed with the details—the pad level, the communication, the "smash" identity.
By the Numbers: The Moore Era Offense (2021-2023)
- Scoring: Top-15 unit in all three seasons Moore was in charge of the line.
- Rushing: Top-15 rushing offense twice, averaging over 200 yards on the ground in peak years.
- Protection: In 2021, they allowed only 2.43 tackles for loss per game—No. 1 in the country.
The Interim Legend of 2023
Most coaches wait decades for a "signature win." Moore got three of them in a single month while Jim Harbaugh was suspended during the sign-stealing scandal.
He was the "acting" head coach, but he was the guy in the headset making the calls. He beat Penn State on the road without throwing a pass in the second half. Just ran it down their throats. Then he beat Ohio State in "The Game."
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When Harbaugh left for the Chargers in early 2024, there wasn't even a search. The players lobbied for him. Donovan Edwards was vocal about it. Warde Manuel, the AD, gave him a five-year, $27.5 million contract. It felt like the dawn of a new era.
The 2024 and 2025 Rollercoaster
Being the guy after the guy is hard. Moore took over a team that lost a record number of NFL draft picks and most of its defensive staff.
The 2024 season was... complicated. Michigan went 8-5. That doesn't look great on paper for a defending champ, but Moore managed to pull off a massive upset over No. 2 Ohio State in Columbus as a 23-point underdog. He also beat Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl. People thought, "Okay, he can win the big ones, he just needs his own roster."
But the drama wouldn't stop. The NCAA was breathing down his neck. There were allegations about deleted text messages between Moore and Connor Stalions. Moore was suspended for two games at the start of the 2025 season as part of the fallout.
The Sudden End: What Happened?
The end of the Sherrone Moore coaching career at Michigan didn't happen because of a loss on the field—though the 9-3 finish in 2025 wasn't what fans wanted.
In December 2025, Moore was fired with cause. The school cited an "inappropriate relationship with a staff member." It was a total shock. One day he’s celebrating a win over Maryland, the next he’s out of a job and facing legal scrutiny.
It’s a weird legacy to untangle. He’s the guy who kept the ship steady during the 2023 title run. He’s a two-time Joe Moore Award winner. He’s 2-1 against Ohio State—a record most Michigan coaches would give their right arm for. But he also leaves behind a program under a cloud of NCAA investigations and a personal scandal that ended it all in an afternoon.
Lessons from the Moore Era
If you’re a coach or a student of the game, Moore’s rise and fall offers some pretty blunt truths.
- Identity is everything. Moore succeeded because he knew exactly what Michigan football should be: physical, annoying, and heavy in the trenches. He didn't try to be a "guru." He was a "smasher."
- The "Interim" Bump is real, but sustainability is harder. Winning as an interim is about emotion. Winning as the HC is about infrastructure. Moore struggled to rebuild the passing game (ranking 131st in 2024) once the elite talent graduated.
- Recruiting still wins. Even as things were falling apart, Moore landed Bryce Underwood, the No. 1 recruit in the country. That alone shows how much players believed in him.
- Off-field details matter as much as 3rd-and-short. You can't outrun the NCAA or HR.
If you're looking to understand the modern college football landscape, study the Moore timeline. It’s a case study in how quickly a "dream job" can turn into a cautionary tale. To dig deeper into the actual offensive schemes he used to win those Joe Moore Awards, you should look into his "gap-scheme" run concepts—it's the blueprint for how Michigan finally broke their losing streak against the Buckeyes.