The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1525654
66 THE WOLVERINE ❱ SEPTEMBER 2024 R eplacing coaching legends rarely results in unanim- ity on which direction to go next, no matter the sport. Fans of- ten have different opinions on who should lead their favorite teams. Often, even the decision makers have their own thoughts on who they want, with politics or ulterior motives guiding them. But when Jim Harbaugh left to take the Los Angeles Chargers job in January, it seemed almost ev- eryone was on the same page in agreeing with Harbaugh about who would succeed him. Despite his relative lack of experience, offen- sive coordinator Sherrone Moore seemed the logical choice. The "why" was relatively simple, similar to a minor league baseball credo once mentioned in an '80s movie — "never [mess] with a win- ning streak." Moore is his own man and will put his own stamp on this program, but he made it clear recently it would be an extension of Harbaugh's program, too … and that's exactly what made him the right choice to replace his mentor. "I think the discipline, the relentless- ness, how we play — that's not going to change," Moore insisted at his first fall camp press conference Aug. 13. "The discipline of being great people off the field — that's not going to change. We're going to continue to do that." The only thing that's really different, he said, is they now play music at practice. That's it. "But besides that, nothing's going to change," Moore promised. And why should it? The Wolverines have proved to the world that Har- baugh's way — "manball," some blog- gers and fans of pretty offense and glo- rified track meets on the gridiron used to call it, as though physical, dominant football was a bad thing — can still win and win big. For the last three years, Michigan bullied the best the Big Ten had to of- fer, finally breaking through for its first College Football Playoff national cham- pionship in 2023. The culture is such that the next logical step when Har- baugh moved on was to keep it rolling with his right-hand man. The former coach thought so, too, even suggesting language in a new contract that Moore would be his successor. Like Bo Schembechler to Gary Moeller to Lloyd Carr in the early to mid-1990s, it just makes sense. While national ra- dio pundit Colin Cowherd and others questioned the move, suggesting it was the "easy way" and would only work for a few years before cracks formed in the foundation, it was the logical move. "Back when Coach Schembechler re- tired, we all felt like it was going to be Coach Mo because it was the natural progression, and he had earned the op- portunity," recalled former Michigan All-Big Ten offensive lineman Doug Skene, who was heading into his third season at Michigan when Schembechler retired. "Coach Mo and then Coach Carr were the obvious successors for Michigan football, and rightfully so." Some called it "incestuous," wonder- ing why U-M didn't go outside the program to find "the best coach in the country" or "one worthy of the nation's winningest program." Skene, though, said what many thought when Moore was hired. "When you're winning cham- pionships back to back to back — this program has won three — why on earth would you change it?" he said. "Just to change? Didn't we already go through that with Rich Rodriguez? "Why would you change it when the recipe for success has been proven and already exists in the building? That's Sherrone Moore." There are no guarantees, of course, especially in this era of buying rosters and expanding con- ferences. It's getting harder and harder, one of the reasons many experienced, elite coaches like Ala- bama's Nick Saban (and yes, Har- baugh) have had enough. And as has been proven, when you're elite, everyone is gunning for you, even, it seems, the NCAA. "When you're at the bottom, they don't respect you," Moore surmised. "When you're in the middle, they ig- nore you. When you're at the top, they hate you. So, for us, we're just going to keep rolling. "… I've been lucky that I've been here for seven years. I've seen us evolve, and I've got a good feeling on how the pro- gram has been run. Coach [Harbaugh] has obviously given me a lot of oppor- tunities to see that and feel that and be in meetings with him when he's making decisions, and to help him make deci- sions. "It hasn't been easy by any means, but I think the players have made it easy because the culture is here." And has been proven in Ann Arbor in the past, that can be very — very — tough to beat. ❑ Sherrone Moore (right) was the right choice to be the Wolverines' head coach to continue the momentum and direc- tion that Jim Harbaugh (center) established during his preced- ing nine-year tenure. PHOTO BY DOMINICK SOKOTOFF Chris Balas has been with The Wolverine since 1997. Contact him at cbalas @thewolverine.com and follow him on X (Twitter) @Balas _ Wolverine. INSIDE MICHIGAN ❱ CHRIS BALAS A Natural Progression