It’s safe to say that Michigan fans are eager to see what the football program looks like under head coach Sherrone Moore. Before it became official, fans got a small sample size of Moore as acting head coach while former head coach Jim Harbaugh served two separate suspensions during the 2023 season. In those contests, the Wolverines went 4-0 with Moore leading the way – including wins against Bowling Green, Maryland (win No. 1000), at Penn State, and Ohio State.
“That’s the standard we uphold ourselves and that program and will continue to do so,” Moore said following the win over Ohio State. “We know everything we do and we work for we’re trying to beat them every single day. So it meant everything and that’s the game we work for and was super excited for that moment for our players, for our fans, for the university to continue what we’ve been doing and we look to continue to uphold that standard.”
After six years with the program as part of Jim Harbaugh’s staff, Moore officially became the 21st head coach in Michigan football history on January 26, 2024. But before his time with Michigan, the former offensive lineman at the University of Oklahoma began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Louisville, a path that would ultimately lead him to becoming the head man in Ann Arbor.
Here’s a closer look:
- 2009-11: Graduate Assistant (Offense)
- 2012-13: Tight Ends Coach
He worked as a graduate assistant coach for three seasons (2009-11) before spending the final two years as the Cardinals’ tight end coach (2012-13). During Moore’s two seasons as a full-time assistant coach, Louisville had a 23-3 record with a BCS bowl appearance and a Big East title in 2012. As a graduate assistant, Moore helped the Cardinals to a pair of bowl appearances and helped develop All-BIG EAST first-team offensive guard Mark Wetterer. Moore also earned his master’s degree in sports administration from Louisville.
- 2014-16: Tight Ends Coach
- 2017: Assistant Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator/Tight Ends Coach
He was selected for and participated in the inaugural 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute sponsored by the American Football Coaches Association at their January 2018 convention. Working as an offensive coach throughout his career, Moore has worked with productive tight end groups at several stops, and his knowledge of the trenches has helped him transition into one of the premier offensive line coaches in the nation.
Six tight ends combined for 119 receptions, 1,611 yards, and 13 touchdowns in Moore’s three seasons leading the position group at U-M. Those players had one season with third-team All-Big Ten honors and three seasons with all-conference honorable mention recognition.
Moore mentored the Chippewas tight ends during his four-year stay at CMU (2014-17) and added the duties of assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator during the 2017 season. He produced second-team (Ben McCord) and third-team (Tyler Conklin) All-MAC honorees with Conklin earning an NFL Scouting Combine invitation.
- 2018-20: Tight Ends Coach
- 2021-22: Offensive Line/Co-Offensive Coordinator
- 2023: Offensive Line/Offensive Coordinator
- 2024: Head Coach
Moore spent three years as the tight ends coach (2018-20), and three years as Donald Graham Offensive Line Coach (2021-23). He was also Sanford Robertson Offensive Coordinator in 2023 after two seasons as co-O.C. (2021-22), leading the Wolverines on the offensive side of the ball during an unprecedented run of success that included three consecutive Big Ten Championships (2021-22-23) and the 2023 National Title.
While Moore was coordinating the offense and coaching the line, U-M averaged 38.4 points, 207.5 rushing yards, 3.52 tackles for loss allowed, and 1.18 sacks allowed per game. The offense was a top-15 scoring unit in all three seasons and the rushing offense was top-15 twice while the unit ranked first or second in team rushing touchdowns in all three years. Under Moore, all five of the offensive line starters earned some form of All-Big Ten honors including six different first-team honorees. U-M also became the first program to win back-to-back Joe Moore Awards (2021-22) honoring the top offensive line in college football. U-M was top-five in TFLs allowed twice and top-30 in sacks allowed in all three seasons.
The line blocked for three straight 1,000-yard backs in Hassan Haskins (1,327 yards, 20 rushing touchdowns, 2021), Blake Corum (1,463, 18, 2022), and Corum again (1,245, 27, 2023). In 2021 and 2022, U-M nearly had a second 1,000-yard back in Corum (952 yards) and Donovan Edwards (991 yards). Moore oversaw the running production of the offensive line as Corum set single-season rushing touchdown (27), total touchdown (28) records in 2023 while he was the only player in FBS to score in every game of the season.
Moore produced four NFL draft picks at tight end (Zach Gentry, fifth round) and offensive line (Olusegun Oluwatimi, fifth; Andrew Stueber, seventh; Ryan Hayes, seventh) as a position coach and helped guide Stueber (second team), Oluwatimi, and Zak Zinter (consensus) to All-American honors, including the Rimington Award winner and Michigan’s first Outland Trophy recipient, Oluwatimi (2022).
Although the expectations at the University of Michigan are extremely high for the head football coach, Moore enters this moment feeling fully prepared for the job requirement – and the expectations – in Ann Arbor.
“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,” Moore said in an official statement. “We will do everything each day as a TEAM to continue the legacy of championship football that has been played at Michigan for the past 144 years. Our standards will not change. We will be a smart, tough, dependable, relentless, and enthusiastic championship-level team that loves football and plays with passion for the game, the winged helmet and each other. We will also continue to achieve excellence off the field, in the classroom and in our communities. I am excited to start working in this new role with our players, coaches and staff.”
