Michigan’s newest head football coach certainly has some big shoes to fill following in the footsteps of Jim Harbaugh, but Sherrone Moore has every intention of doing things his way. During his appearance on the Pat McAfee show on Thursday, Moore shared his vision for the program moving forward.
“The biggest thing people want to know is, how am I going to run the program compared to coach (Harbaugh)? I’m going to run it my way, and we’re still going to be tough, we’re still going to be smart, we’re going to be dependable,” Moore said. “We’re going to be relentless in everything we do, continue the enthusiasm. The energy, for me, is a big piece of it. I want to be someone that the kids can rely on, they can be a vessel for, be very open with them. My philosophy in coaching is that I coach hard, but I love harder – so they’re going to feel that. So the program and how we’ve built it and how we’ve done it, it’s going to be the same. There’s going to be bits and pieces that it’s me. I’m going to be me, I can’t be coach. I don’t want to be coach, coach is his own person – I love him, got mad love for him and always will, and respect him, have learned so much from him. But I’m going to run the program my way.
Sherrone Moore then reflected back on the final three regular season games where he took over as acting head coach while Harbaugh served a suspension, and how that experience impacted his confidence in taking the next step to becoming a full-time head coach.
“During that three-game stretch, my main focus was trying to do everything I could to prepare myself, prepare the players to get ready to win those games,” Moore said. “Wasn’t really thinking about the future, just really thinking about what we could do to win those games. There wasn’t really a time that I thought I could be a head coach at Michigan. I think that’s always the goal in every coaches mind – in most coaches minds – to be a head coach, so there really wasn’t a moment. I can tell you after winning that last one, it was pretty special, and it was something that I dreamed about – being the head coach at Michigan at some point.
Moore than addressed the loss of strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert, as Herbert recently made the decision to join Harbaugh’s staff with the Chargers out in Los Angeles. This was viewed by most as a huge loss for the Wolverines, given how much of an impact Herbert is said to have had on the mental and physical toughness of the team.
“Anytime when you lose somebody that’s been with you…I mean he’s been there since I’ve been there for six years,” Moore said. “So he’s definitely put his footprints and handprints on the program. It’s going to be a loss, but we think the guy that we elevated, Justin Tress, is going to do an unbelievable job. He’s been with him side-by-side this whole time, he’s had stints there, he’s had stints at Alabama. He’s seen really top-notch strength coaches in his time, so we’re really excited about Justin Tress and the opportunity to lead the strength program. Those guys are awesome. That whole group that he has – they all wear black, they all travel together. If you see one of them, you see all five of them. So, we’re excited about the future with those guys.”
As far as how Moore plans to build his team moving forward, he says the blueprint remains the same – looking for blue collar guys who are ready to put in the work.
