Amid the rumors that Jim Harbaugh is looking to return to the NFL as a head coach, Sherrone Moore has been presented as a strong candidate to take over the national championship-winning Michigan program. Moore took over as interim head coach of the Wolverines amid Harbaugh's three-game suspension from the Big Ten to close out the season amid the sign-stealing scandal. Michigan was able to maintain their undefeated record en route to the College Football Playoffs, with Moore being a catalyst for their late-season success.

So of course, Moore is a strong and likely candidate to take over Michigan. At thirty-seven years old, he'd be one of the youngest head coaches in the country, and his relative youth and relatability is what endear him to the players on the team.

Michigan Offensive lineman Trevor Keegan said of Moore in a quote obtained by The Athletic's Bruce Feldman following the National Championship game, “I was pretty close to leaving. The recruiting process is a dangerous thing. Everybody tells you how good you are. That you’ll start as a freshman. As an 18-year-old kid, I wasn’t the most mature guy. I wasn’t playing. I kinda stopped loving football. Coming into Schembechler Hall was kind of a drag for me.

“Coach Moore came in and changed my whole outlook on life and football. He made me fall in love with football again. I can’t thank him enough. He’s just a guy who puts his head down and works as well. He started here as a tight ends coach and now he’s an OC getting head-coaching offers.”

There's proof that internal hires work when it comes to replacing successful head coaches, as the continuity allows players to feel comfortable staying around and the formula for winning remains unchanged. Marcus Freeman succeeded Brian Kelly after Kelly left the program to coach LSU is a perfect example of this theory in action.

In Kelly's last season at the helm, The Fighting Irish went 11-2. Freeman continued the success of the program, leading them to a 9-4 season in 2022 and 10-3 season in 2023.

Freeman, like Moore, was in his mid-thirties and served in a coordinator position before being appointed as head coach. If Moore has the support of the players and the fan base and boasts an impressive proof of concept for his coaching with the team's wins against Penn State, Maryland, and rival Ohio State, he should be a virtual shoo-in to get the job.

But there's a huge catch that could derail him from getting this opportunity. Looming over his hire and the Michigan program in general is the sign-stealing scandal. The NCAA investigation still rages on about the scandal, and several unanswered questions are still present in the debacle. However, the most important question is which coaches were involved in the sign-stealing?

Should Moore be found to be complicit in the sign-stealing scandal, it could be detrimental to his chances of taking over the program. Moore already was suspended for the Wolverine's season opener against East Carolina earlier in the season for an NCAA Level II recruiting violation.

However, after his one-game suspension, he got his first opportunity to serve as interim head coach in the team's matchup against Bowling Green and wowed the college football world with his ability to steady the team amidst a sloppy first half that resulted in a narrow 14-6 lead at the break. As we wait to see what Harbaugh chooses as his next career move following the team's national-championship win, Sherrone Moore continues to be a favorable option to continue the team's massive success.