Sherrone Moore, Michigan Agree to 5-Year, $27.5M HC Contract After Harbaugh Exit
The Michigan Wolverines have found their next head coach.
The school announced that offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Sherrone Moore has been hired to replace Jim Harbaugh, who left the program in January to take the Los Angeles Chargers’ head coaching job in his highly anticipated return to the NFL.
Moore’s contract is for five years and it starts at $5.5 million, according to Ralph D. Russo of the Associated Press.
Moore will now be tasked with continuing to set the standard at Michigan and will also aim to replicate the level of success Harbaugh found during his nine-year tenure as head coach.
Harbaugh was hired as Michigan’s head coach in December 2014 following a four-year stint as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. He instantly changed the culture of the program following disappointing seasons under former head coaches Rich Rodriguez (2008-2010) and Brady Hoke (2011-2014).
The 60-year-old led the Wolverines to an 89-25 record, a national championship, three Big Ten titles and eight bowl games in his nine seasons at the helm. The only year the program didn’t secure a berth in a bowl game was the 2020 season, which was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Harbaugh emerged as a potential candidate to return to the NFL over the last three seasons, which were some of Michigan’s most successful.
Michigan went 40-3 between 2021 and 2023 and reached the College Football Playoff in each of those seasons. While the Wolverines were eliminated in the CFP semifinals in 2021 and 2022, Harbaugh finally got the team over the hump in 2023 with a 34-13 win over Washington in the national championship game.
The win marked Harbaugh and Michigan’s first-ever College Football Playoff title.
Moore will now be tasked with leading the Wolverines to another championship during his tenure, and it’s no surprise he landed the job.
ESPN’s Chris Low reported Jan. 24 that Michigan had “focused on” Moore as Harbaugh’s replacement and that he was expected to be offered the job “barring an unexpected development.”
Players also expressed their desire for Moore to take over.
Zak Zinter, who was a 2023 unanimous All-American offensive lineman, made it known shortly after the Harbaugh news was announced that he preferred Moore to be the program’s next head coach.
There shouldn’t be too significant of a drop-off from Harbaugh to Moore, who has been with the program since 2018. He got his start with Michigan as a tight ends coach before eventually being promoted to co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach in 2021.
The 37-year-old was the team’s sole offensive coordinator in 2023 and even served as the program’s acting head coach for four games, including the final three games of the regular season while Harbaugh was suspended amid an investigation into the program’s alleged sign-stealing scandal.
Michigan won each of its four games to remain undefeated while Moore was the acting head coach. The Wolverines posted wins over No. 10 Penn State and their rival Ohio State during that stretch to secure a berth in the Big Ten Championship Game for the third straight season.
Moore will inherit an incredibly talented roster in 2024, though it will be hard for the program to replace X-factors in quarterback J.J. McCarthy and running back Blake Corum, who declared for the 2024 NFL draft.
Alex Orji is projected to be the team’s starting quarterback next season, and Donovan Edwards should have no problem continuing to find success out of the backfield in his senior year.
While it will be difficult for Michigan to repeat as national champions next season with the CFP expanding to 12 teams, Moore is expected to continue the winning tradition in Ann Arbor.
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