It’s turning into the most unspoken tradition, perhaps in all of organized sports. For the last three winters, like clockwork, the University of Michigan football program has found a way to become the lead story on every sports and news program in the country.
Sadly, the reasons for such ardent attention have seldom been driven by the success, or lack thereof, of the football team. Sign-stealing scandals, suspensions, NCAA sanctions and the departure of Jim Harbaugh for the NFL are just some of the larger than life tales that have captured the attention of the national media. But, as of December 11, 2025, those ordeals feel paltry compared to the events that transpired Wednesday, which were set in motion by the university’s announcement that Sherrone Moore had been fired as head coach of the Michigan Football program with cause.
Below is the direct statement from U-M Athletic Director, Warde Manuel:
“U-M head football coach Sherrone Moore has been terminated, with cause, effective immediately. Following a University investigation, credible evidence was found that Coach Moore engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. This conduct constitutes a clear violation of University policy, and U-M maintains za zero-tolerance policyfor such behavior. Biff Poggi has been appointed head football coach in an interim capacity, effective immediately.”
The statement, released at 4:43 p.m. ET on Wednesday, December 10, would not be given much breathing room to process before the channels of communication were flooded with an even heavier concern in the minutes that followed. As first reported by ESPN’s Dan Wetzel and Pete Thamel at 7:21 p.m. later that day, Sherrone Moore was taken into custody in Saline, MI, and turned over to Pittsfield Township PD. He was later booked in Washtenaw County Jail at 8:30 p.m. on charges.
A statement from Pittsfield Township PD asserts that police responded to a location at 4:10 pm local time “for the purposes of investigating an alleged assault.”
Moore, a husband and father of three, had three years remaining on his contract at Michigan at an annual rate of $5.61 million, plus a $500k retention bonus each year he stayed with the program. Due to being terminated with cause, Moore’s buyout of $13.89 million is also in jeopardy, as Michigan can assert that the former head coach was in breach of contract and contest its stance to not pay out some, or all, of said monetary funds.
As it pertains to the Wolverines on the football field, the timing of this development is a mixed bag.
The news comes one week after the signing day period in college football, which means Michigan Football has its 2026 class committed for next season. However, those players, as well as the rest of the 2025 Michigan roster, can elect to enter the NCAA transfer portal, with the standard window opening January 2-16. Additionally, the current rules grant players a separate 15-day window that begins five days after the announcement/hiring of a new head coach.
As instrumental as timing may be in the announcement of Michigan’s next head coach to the program’s immediate future, there has perhaps never been a moment in the modern era of college football where getting the right person to steer a ship so embroiled in scandalous reporting could be more consequential to the future of a landmark institution.
While all of this continues to develop, Michigan Football, which faces the Texas Longhorns in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Eve, will be led by interim head coach Biff Poggi.
Poggi, who coached the Wolverines in Weeks 3 and 4 of the 2025 season while Moore served a two-game suspension imposed by the university, went 2-0 in wins against Central Michigan and Nebraska.
