Michigan football head coach Sherrone Moore has championship-sized shoes to fill in Ann Arbor. However, nobody believes he's capable of the job more than his predecessor, Jim Harbaugh.
Harbaugh told Moore he'd be the Wolverines' next coach after his departure, via On3's Clayton Sayfie.
“It entered my mind when Coach Harbaugh told me, ‘You’re gonna be the next head coach at Michigan,’” Moore said. “This year, he told me that. He said, ‘I don’t know when. I don’t know what’s gonna happen. No man can say the future, tell the future.’ But that’s how he is — he’s like that all the time. He just said, ‘You’re gonna be the next head coach at Michigan.’ I was like, ‘What?’ He was like, ‘I’m gonna put it in my contract that if I ever leave or go somewhere that you’re gonna be the next head coach at Michigan.’ He told me that at the beginning of the year. And I was just like, ‘What?’”
Moore, who's been with Michigan since 2018, was the offensive coordinator during its championship run last season. Additionally, he led the team to a 24-15 win on November 11th over Penn State as interim head coach. The Big Ten had suspended Harbaugh for the Wolverines' sign-stealing scandal.
It says something that Harbaugh, who's now won championships at both the professional and collegiate levels, had no hesitation in passing the baton to Moore.
“I just thought about that, and I was just like, this man who’s a legendary coach, who’s done it all and we have a chance this year to have a special run, is telling me that I’m going to be the next head coach here,” Moore continued. “What does that mean? It means I’ve gotta work my tail off for this man. He trusted me and this offense to do everything possible to help him and this team win. I just worked as hard as I could this year.”
Harbaugh motivated players and coaches by empowering them, a strategy that Moore can employ now that he sits at the top of the team's totem pole. How will the first year of his tenure go in Ann Arbor?
Moore will have to man a new-look Michigan football team
Although the Wolverines lost several key contributors, including quarterback J.J. McCarthy and running back Blake Corum, they have plenty of new talent coming in. Michigan has the 16th-best recruiting class in the nation, via 247 Sports' composite rankings. This includes 14 four-star players, headlined by offensive tackle Jordan Sprague and quarterback Jadyn Davis.
While it's impossible to predict if the Wolverines will successfully defend their National Title, Moore is grounded and not letting his ego get in the way of gratitude, which will go a long way toward his success in the role.
“Walking in every single day to this beautiful facility, with all these great kids and people, understanding and knowing that everybody looks to us, looks to me as the head coach of this great university, a great tradition,” Moore said about his favorite aspect of the job. “And just the players. Being around the players every day is the best part for me, so I love that.”
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