The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1542067
66 THE WOLVERINE ❱ JANUARY 2026 A nd … we're off. Again. After decades of sta- bility for Michigan football that made the program the envy of most programs nationally — five coaches in 60 years, from Fritz Crisler to Bo Schem- bechler to Lloyd Carr — U-M is in search of its fifth head coach in 18 years. T h i s o n e , t h o u g h , wh i c h comes with another black eye for the program thanks to Sher- rone Moore's indiscretion and complete lack of leadership, was unexpected, and some would say the timing couldn't be worse. Our response to that — "We'll see." All's well that ends well, and the program has an opportunity for a reset here and to get back on track a year or two earlier than it might have (if we're being honest). There are some outstanding candidates on the short list to replace Moore, and we're encouraged — strongly — by the direction. The goal is to get an outstanding hire, of course, who can compete for national titles. But given what we know now and suspected before, anyone they get is go- ing to be better than what was in place. And no, that's not piling on. That's the sad reality of the fallout from "the most poorly kept secret on campus." "It has been a tumultuous time," in- terim coach Biff Poggi said after head coach Sherrone Moore's firing and sub- sequent arrest. "A lot of ... first disbe- lief, then anger, then really, what we're in right now is the kids, quite frankly, feel very betrayed. We're trying to work through that." So far, he's done a good job keeping the team together. Players are asking questions, but between Poggi, the staff and the collectives, all seem willing to wait to see what's next, even if they're a bit on edge. Understandably, the fan base is antsy, too. Whether it's "They're going to lose the full team and have to start from scratch," or "Will they keep Bryce [Un- derwood]?" (and don't get us started on the recruitniks — "Will we be able to keep the class?"), the hand-wringing is real. We get it. Time is of the essence, es- pecially in this era of the transfer portal and agents always working behind the scenes to poach players. At the same time, the most important thing is to get it right, not panic and fill a position with the next, say, Rich Rodri- guez, a desperation hire made after an obvious lack of preparation in preparing for Lloyd Carr's retirement. That set the program back almost 10 years, and it took a unicorn in Jim Harbaugh to right the ship. We'll say this again about this search, with full confidence — there are plenty of good candidates, and we expect more clarity soon. We don't expect it to drag on too much longer, but there are a lot of great coaches interested. Healing, though, goes beyond just the next football coach, as Michigan play- by-play voice Doug Karsch noted re- cently on his daytime show on 97.1 The Ticket in Detroit. "I have no idea how to run a foot- ball team, coach a football team. Never claimed to," he said. "I have no idea how to run an athletic department … no idea how to run a university. [But] I think I know what lack of leadership might look like, and it might look like what's going on at Michigan right now. They need to get that in order. The self-inflicted wounds have to stop. "For a place with a lot of smart people — the University of Michigan has a lot of smart, well-educated people — there have been some terrible deci- sions made that have accumu- lated. And the brand, the block 'M,' can only carry you so far." The first step, he suggested, might be finding a president to replace interim Domenico Grasso, "then figure out who the athletic director is … then figure out who the football coach is." We're not sure of the order here given the timing, but on the president … stay tuned. It wouldn't surprise, at all, if that coincided with the football coach hire, which could come as soon as Christmas week (but yes, could possibly drag out a bit longer). As one source very close to it told us recently, "There are good candidates who would crawl on glass to get here." As for the athletic director, it certainly seems there was a reason the university brought in the law firm of Jenner and Block to investigate the department's list of issues. At some point, enough is enough. Given what we know, and talking about the program only, cognizant of the fallout for families, etc., affected by Moore's poor judgment, we'd agree with one higher-up at Michigan in say- ing this might have been a "blessing in disguise" for the program, the athletic department and the school. It's time to rebuild the reputation, and we believe they are on the right track. ❏ After 60 years with only five football coaches, Michigan is now search- ing for its fifth head coach in the 18 years since Lloyd Carr retired. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN 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 Getting It Right Is What Matters Most