The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1516256
MARCH 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 21 roster — he'd eventually have to replace all his defensive coaches and fill a few of- fensive spots — but he wouldn't change his goals. The players hung on his every word. "Don't wait until the summer," Moore told them. "Don't wait until it's 'your time.' It is your time. Freshmen, sopho- mores, juniors, seniors, walk-ons, start- ers, non-starters — it's your time. And if you don't believe it's your time, this is not the place for you. "If you don't want to be held to a high standard, this is not the place for you. If you don't want to win championships, this is not the place for you. If you don't want to work hard, this is not the place for you." He would know, having put in the work to get on the fast track to coaching suc- cess at Michigan. He started his career as a graduate assistant coach for three seasons (2009-11) at Louisville before spending the final two years as the Car- dinals' tight ends coach, moving on to Central Michigan in 2014. He was tight ends coach for four seasons in Mount Pleasant and added the duties of assis- tant head coach and recruiting coordina- tor during the 2017 campaign. Harbaugh knew early in his first in- terview with Moore he was the guy he wanted, but he still made him earn it. "I've always been taught in interviews, and I've told younger coaches and other coaches, that when you get an interview — especially for a position job — you explain your philosophy, what you do and how you teach," Moore said. "The first thing I did was I took off my jacket, I took a chair out, and I showed how to run block. "Obviously, you guys know Coach [Harbaugh]. He was right there. He got up, he tightened his belt … he wanted me to run block him. He pulled another guy. He's like, 'You go in base, drive him, down-block him.' I said, 'I'm going to knock him out if I do that!'" But it was a "phenomenal" five-hour interview, Moore recalled. He spent the night at Harbaugh's house and got the job the next day. Little did he know he'd have Harbaugh's job six years later. But he earned that right after Har- baugh moved on, having proved him- self after leading the Wolverines to wins versus Bowling Green, at Penn State and Maryland and home against Ohio State after Harbaugh got suspended. With that, he went up another notch on his head coach's respect ladder. "I'm not saying I'm in a position of granting who a Michigan man is or isn't, who a Michigan legend is or is not," Har- baugh said after Moore led a 30-24 win over the Buckeyes. "I'm not the maker of those two lists. But I have nominated people before, and I nominate Sherrone Moore as a Michigan legend. "… It's one of the toughest and most important jobs of a coach — a leader. Maybe the toughest part of the job. Having order and discipline while still having great relationships comes from trust. I trust him because he's one of the most trustworthy guys I know. He's like a brother, and he believes in the players." That's why his players love him, too. Graduating guard Trevor Keegan pointed at him in the postgame locker room fol- lowing the CFP National Championship game and credited him for reigniting his passion for the game and saving his ca- reer, even getting emotional. Others, like senior Zak Zinter, say he wasn't just the right man for the job after Harbaugh left, but the only man. Time will tell how history remembers him, but he's earned his shot. He's got a national championship season under his belt and a strong foundation to build upon, and he seems well prepared to make the most of his incredible opportunity. ❏ "Was the timing of [Jim] Harbaugh's departure ideal for Michigan? No. But it never was going to be. They signed up for it, although I doubt they thought an NCAA mess would be part of it. Now an up-and-coming coach, Sherrone Moore, gets a chance. It won't be easy, but he deserves a shot." — Bob Wojnowski, Detroit News "This was a no-brainer. My first thought overall is that this is exactly what should happen and what was going to happen. … You don't do what he was able to do this year as the acting head coach ... and not get this job, in particular with the culture that they've built. "They built something so special at Michigan as the national champions. We didn't think that was going to happen, did we? And yet it did happen. And so, you want to continue that. Jim Harbaugh has built something that has legs and is sustainable." —Fox Sports Analyst Joel Klatt "The issue is what's going on around him. … The Big Ten is not what it was this year. You've got those four schools coming over from the Pac-12. On top of that, here are the two things that Sherrone Moore will prob - ably have to worry about. Second week of the season, at the Big House? They're playing Texas, which was in the final four as everyone knows. Texas is going to be one of the top two or three teams in the country. At the end of the season? They go to Columbus, and this is not this year's Ohio State team. This Ohio State team has just loaded up, especially in the portal … "Ryan Day will likely be either No. 1 or No. 2 in the preseason. You don't want to lose to Ohio State in your first season at Michigan. Jim Harbaugh knows all about that." — Paul Finebaum, ESPN "A lot of times, you promote the assistant in an effort to try to maintain … and the hard part for the next guy is, how much can you maintain? Because Michigan can't do better than what it just did. Are you going to be Jim Harbaugh? No. That's not an insult. There are only a couple coaches that have ever won a college national championship and also coached in the Super Bowl or won it. Jim Harbaugh is a uniquely talented guy, and you can't be Jim Harbaugh. "But what Sherrone Moore can do — and this is what I think is interesting for Michigan — is Sherrone Moore can modernize the recruiting process for Michigan. And there is growth there." — Dan Wetzel, Yahoo Sports "When Sherrone Moore was named the head football coach at the University of Michigan, he not only achieved a dream he'd sought since graduating from Oklahoma back in 2008, but he became a walking, talking pioneer in Black history, joining one of the most exclusive and decorated groups in sports. … When Michigan, the winningest program in the history of the sport, hires its first Black head coach in January 2024, we see color. And we still have more work to do. There are plenty of programs across the Division I college football landscape that have yet to hire a Black head coach, including some of the biggest, most successful brands in the sport. "But I have faith that they will. And when they do, perhaps it will be another individual like Jim Harbaugh who laid the groundwork for a Black man like Moore at Michigan or David Shaw at Stanford to succeed him in such a manner that he is the best choice for the job." — RJ Young, Fox Sports What They're Saying …