Michigan promotes Sherrone Moore to replace Jim Harbaugh: Why he is a great fit

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The moment Sherrone Moore introduced himself to a national television audience came in the immediate aftermath of Michigan’s rugged road win at Penn State in mid-November. Fewer than 24 hours prior, as the team plane descended toward the tarmac at State College Regional Airport, Moore and everyone else associated with the Wolverines learned that head coach Jim Harbaugh was being suspended by the Big Ten. A three-game ban had been doled out by first-year commissioner Tony Petitti after the unearthing of a sign-stealing operation rocked the sport.

The punishment forced Harbaugh, who had traveled with the team to Pennsylvania, to watch the game from a hotel. He elevated Moore to acting coach for the second time that season, the first taking place months earlier in September, during Harbaugh’s other three-game suspension tied to alleged recruiting violations during the COVID-19 dead period. And what Harbaugh saw that overcast afternoon in State College had to make him proud: a gritty 24-15 victory in the most difficult environment the Wolverines would face all year and an heir apparent in Moore proving he was more than ready to become Harbaugh’s successor two months and one national championship later, a move the school announced Friday evening. ESPN reported that it’s a five-year deal starting at $5.5 million per year.

Moore, 37, becomes the 21st head coach in program history and the first African American to ever lead the Wolverines, an important milestone for the school. Hiring Moore ensures much of the framework and infrastructure Harbaugh built during Michigan’s unprecedented three-year run remains in place long after his office is cleared at Schembechler Hall. For athletic director Warde Manuel and university president Santa Ono, both of whom were extremely complimentary of Moore during his extended run as interim coach to complete the regular season, the decision was likely quite simple. Once Harbaugh accepted an offer from the Los Angeles Chargers, they targeted the coach whose philosophy and footballing ethos match those of his former boss. They chose the guy who went 4-0 while leading the team in Harbaugh’s absence. 

That Harbaugh and Moore were kindred spirits was apparent from the time they met, shortly after the 2017 season, when the latter was still coaching tight ends at Central Michigan. Someone had encouraged Harbaugh to consider Moore as a candidate for the Wolverines’ staff. They connected over the phone and then in person the next day. When Harbaugh asked Moore to demonstrate his technique for a zone block and a gap block by a tight end, the youthful Moore leaped to his feet and acted out the teaching progression himself.  

“I was blown away,” Harbaugh said when reflecting on that interaction during the College Football Playoff, knowing full well he would have behaved the same way had the roles been reversed. “Knocked my socks off.” 

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Harbaugh hired Moore to coach tight ends, a role he kept for three seasons from 2018-20, the last of which was a rancid 2-4 campaign that became the catalyst for Michigan’s revitalization. Of all the changes Harbaugh made that winter — from the defensive revolution to the idea of hiring younger assistant coaches, from beefing up the recruiting department to channeling his offensive roots — the promotion of Moore to co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach was, and still is, among the most influential because of what he would accomplish in the trenches. 

During the first meeting with his new position group, Moore immediately addressed what veteran left guard Trevor Keegan described as “the elephant in the room.” Moore made clear his expectation that Michigan’s offensive linemen should be the toughest players on the field and the best leaders on the team. He plainly stated that the Wolverines could only go as far as their offensive line would take them. And with Harbaugh’s choice to ditch the speed-in-space scheme employed by former coordinator Josh Gattis — choosing instead to revert to the run-heavy approach he favored at Stanford — the expectation was that Michigan’s offensive line would take the team pretty far.

Over the next three seasons, Moore transformed his unit into one of the most dominant ensembles in college football, as tailbacks Hassan Haskins (270 carries for 1,327 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2021) and Blake Corum (505 carries for 2,708 yards and 45 touchdowns in 2022 and 2023 combined) reaped the rewards of bulldozing blocks, precision pulls and the cultivation of enough depth to withstand the loss of unanimous first-team All-American Zak Zinter in late November to win the national title anyway. Michigan became the first school to win the Joe Moore Award, given to the nation’s best offensive line, multiple times and did so in consecutive seasons during their first two trips to the College Football Playoff. As many as six of Moore’s former pupils could hear their names called in the 2024 NFL Draft.

“Just seeing his success, I mean, going to O-line coach, going to co-OC and now offensive coordinator and getting head-coaching [consideration] all around the country,” Keegan said during the postseason. “It’s really special.”

For the better part of two years, Harbaugh has been telling anyone who would listen that Moore is “more than ready” to become a head coach. Moore had proven himself as a position coach by developing two tight ends and three offensive linemen into draft picks. He’d flashed his might on the recruiting trail by playing influential roles in the pursuits of five-star safety Daxton Hill, five-star quarterback J.J. McCarthy, blue-chip running back Donovan Edwards and a host of talented offensive linemen both inside and out of the transfer portal. He’d even endeared himself to colleagues on Harbaugh’s staff by bringing cookies to the office every Thursday, according to running backs coach Mike Hart. 

Still, one of the biggest enhancements to Moore’s résumé came when he was promoted to outright offensive coordinator following the unexpected firing of co-coordinator Matt Weiss last winter. That’s when Harbaugh gave him full control of the offense as the Wolverines’ sole playcaller for the 2023 season, a role Moore performed with aplomb. He brutalized the Nittany Lions with 32 consecutive running plays to end the game. He wore down Ohio State’s much-improved defense and produced six scores over the final seven possessions. He tore through Alabama when it mattered most by stringing together his best sequence of the season in the waning minutes of the Rose Bowl: an eight-play, 75-yard sprint that ended with a 4-yard touchdown reception by wide receiver Roman Wilson.

“Never better than he was in that two-minute drive in the Rose Bowl and in overtime,” Harbaugh said. “Knew he had to call the game, the drive of his life, and he did. Saw the same thing when he’s coaching against Ohio State in the Big House. The same thing when he went to Penn State.”

Everything that Michigan’s players and coaches love about Moore was laid bare during his postgame interview after beating the Nittany Lions, his second of four wins as acting coach. Tears streamed down Moore’s face as he thanked God, thanked Harbaugh, thanked the players, thanked Manuel, Ono and the alumni for the unwavering support he’d felt throughout an unquestionably difficult situation. The passion was real enough that Moore dropped an F-bomb on national television, a slipup he later said invited some criticism from his mother. 

But the cursing wouldn’t have bothered any of Michigan’s players who publicly campaigned for Moore on social media over the last few days. Nor would it have bothered Harbaugh as he watched that Penn State game from a nearby hotel.

For the three things Harbaugh prioritizes in life are faith, family and football. Moore had touched on all three.

“Sherrone Moore, shining star,” Harbaugh said during the College Football Playoff. “No doubt about it. It doesn’t even matter what anybody says. It’s what you do. What you do speaks so loudly we can’t even hear what they’re saying.”

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Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on the Big Ten. Follow him on Twitter at @Michael_Cohen13.