SPORTS UPDATE
Michigan fired coach Sherrone Moore for cause at the conclusion of his second season leading the Wolverines football program. Athletic director Warde Manuel said Wednesday the termination came amid an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.
“Sherrone Moore has been terminated, with cause, effective immediately,” Manuel said in a statement. “Following a university investigation, credible evidence was found that Coach Moore engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. This conduct constitutes a clear violation of University policy, and UM maintains zero tolerance for such behavior.”
Associate head coach Biff Poggi has been appointed interim coach, effective immediately.
After becoming aware of the allegations against Moore, prominent Michigan donors cooled on contributing to the program, sources tell CBS Sports.
In recent days as word had begun to spread across college football that Michigan was investigating Moore, Michigan staffers had grown worried about their future.
“It’s hard to ignore,” one staffer told CBS Sports earlier on Wednesday.
Manuel indicated to team staffers that at least part of the Moore investigation, which had become far from a secret internally, had been going on since mid-November, sources said.
Michigan finished 8-5 in Moore’s debut season, improving to 9-3 this year with the Wolverines remaining in the College Football Playoff discussion until the final week of the regular season. The team’s CFP hopes faded with a 27-9 home loss to rival Ohio State, ending a four-game winning streak for the Wolverines in the series.
Michigan is slated to play Texas in the Citrus Bowl on Dec. 31.
SPORTS UPDATE Sherrone Moore firing a full-circle moment for Michigan
Moore ascended to the helm of the Michigan football program in 2024 after serving as offensive coordinator under former coach Jim Harbaugh. Scandals precipitated Moore’s elevation to the head-coaching role, and another brought his tenure to an end.
He served as head coach in four games during the 2023 season while Harbaugh was suspended for recruiting violations and then the program’s sign-stealing saga; the Wolverines went 4-0, though Moore was only credited with one victory on his resume. Moore won an early-season game against Bowling Green and guided the Wolverines to three consecutive triumphs to close the regular season, including a rivalry win over Ohio State to clinch a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game and the College Football Playoff. From there, the Wolverines went on to win the national championship — their first since 1997.
Playing a key role in the national championship run set Moore up to secure the full-time job once Harbaugh departed for the NFL at the end of the campaign. Harbaugh’s exit came late in the coaching carousel cycle, and promoting from within allowed Michigan to maintain as much continuity as possible while also rewarding Moore for his efforts as an assistant. Moore had been on the staff in Ann Arbor since 2018, working his way up from tight ends coach to offensive coordinator.
Moore served a one-game suspension of his own this year for his involvement in the sign-stealing scandal.
