By: Kurt Svoboda, Chad Shepard, and Dave Ablauf
ANN ARBOR, Michigan Michigan University After serving as an offensive staff member for the Wolverines for six years, Sherrone Moore was hired as the J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Head Football Coach, as announced by Donald R. Shepherd Director of Athletics Warde Manuel on Friday, January 26. Moore takes over as the school’s 21st head football coach and becomes the first African American to be in charge of the most successful college football program in history.
“I want to thank Coach Harbaugh for the faith that he has displayed in me over the past six years and for supporting my growth as a football coach during that time,” Moore stated. “I also like to express my gratitude to President Santa Ono, Athletic Director Warde Manuel, and”I have been preparing my entire coaching career for this opportunity and I can’t think of a better place to be head coach than at the University of Michigan,” stated Moore. “As a TEAM, we will exert every effort every day to uphold the 144-year tradition of championship football played at the University of Michigan. We won’t be lowering our standards. We are going to be a championship-caliber football team that is hard, physical, disciplined, hungry, and plays with love for the game, the winged helmet, and each other. We’ll keep striving for success in the classroom, in our communities, and off the field. Working in this new capacity with our players, coaches, and staff excites me.””I have been preparing my entire coaching career for this opportunity and I can’t think of a better place to be head coach than at the University of Michigan,” said Moore. “To preserve the 144-year history of championship football played at the University of Michigan, we as a TEAM will work tirelessly every day. Our standards are not going to be lowered. We are going to be a football team that plays with love for the game, the winged helmet, and each other. We will be hard, tough, disciplined, and hungry enough to win championships. We’ll continue to aim for achievement off the field, in our communities, and in the classroom. I’m excited to work with our players, coaches, and staff in this new role.”
During the 2023 national championship season, Moore covered four games as the team’s acting head coach. In his debut game as head coach, he guided the squad to a 31-6 victory over Bowling Green on September 16. Moore returned to his role as the Wolverines’ temporary head coach later in the season, and they won the Big Ten East Division Championship by defeating Ohio State in the season finale and two away games against Penn State and Maryland. Two of those late-season triumphs were over top-10 opponents, the second-ranked Buckeyes (30-24) and the ninth-ranked Nittany Lions (24-15).
Moore was a finalist for the 2023 Broyles Award, which honors the top assistant coach in the country each year. As the offensive coordinator at Michigan in 2023, Moore oversaw a team.
