Michigan fires head coach Sherrone Moore amid program struggles
Michigan parts ways with Sherrone Moore and looks for a leader to rebuild its struggling football program.
Who will be the next Michigan football coach?
Sherrone Moore’s firing and arrest have cast the Wolverines‘ program into disarray. Biff Poggi will serve as interim coach and lead Michigan in the Citrus Bowl against Texas. Who takes over after that (and who gets to make that call) remains unclear.
Nearly all of the coaching vacancies have been filledbut a job as big as Michigan shouldn’t be affected by the calendar — though ideally you’d want a new coach in before the transfer portal opens Jan. 2.
Here’s the latest news and rumored candidates for the job:
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Fisch previously spent two years as Jim Harbaugh’s quarterbacks coach from 2015-16, did an outstanding job rebuilding Arizona over his three seasons and won eight games in his second year with the Huskies.
He’s been a strong candidate from the beginning, Detroit Free Press’ Tony Garcia writesthough his background check through search firm TurnKeyZRG wasn’t spotless, the Free Press has learned.
“We haven’t spent any time focused in on what people are saying in the outside noise regarding me or other coaches on our staff,” Fisch said ahead of Washington’s LA Bowl win. “We know that’s the world we’re in right now. We know our players are being talked about or talked to from other teams, and we really just have to stay focused on the task at hand, which is a great game tomorrow. … It’s not a distraction that I’m talking about (with the team).”
Fisch, a Florida grad, was linked to the Gators job that went to Jon Sumrall, and has stated he’s happy in Seattle.
Former Michigan All-American tight end Jake Butt gave Fisch a ringing endorsementsaying on X he was “one of the best football minds” he has been around.
“He is a QB developer, and you’d see a transformed and improved Bryce Underwood immediately,” Butt wrote.
“He has all of the traits and makeup of the exact head coach a high level program would be after.”
DeBoer was asked Monday, Dec. 15: Will you be the coach of Alabama next season?
“Yes,” DeBoer said the second time he was asked, before giving a full answer explaining why, per The Tuscaloosa News.
Still many pundits keep linking DeBoer to Michigan’s opening, with the result of Friday night’s CFP game against Oklahoma possibly playing a key role.
On Friday night’s “College GameDay” ESPN’s Pete Thamel said, “Sources tell me that Michigan officials remain convicted that they want to attempt to hire Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer. The result of tonight’s game is going to factor heavily into that pursuit, as an Alabama loss would make the logistics of attempting to hire DeBoer much more tenable.”
“Maybe I’m crazy,” Fox’s Joel Klatt said. “I don’t know. Until there’s ink on a contract, and he’s signing an extension at Alabama, I think there’s still going to be smoke in the air. So, we’ll see what goes on with Kalen DeBoer.”
On Sunday, Dec. 14, Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer released a statement through the school’s NIL collective noting that he has “not spoken” and has “no interest in speaking with anyone else about any other job,” which temporarily puts to bed speculation that the second-year Crimson Tide coach may look for a new opportunity after a pair of solid-but-unspectacular seasons at a program that had become accustomed to championships under DeBoer’s predecessor, Nick Saban.
“My family and I are very happy in Tuscaloosa and remain extremely grateful for the support of president (Peter) Mohler, Greg Byrne, the board and so many others. We have an incredible opportunity in front of us, so my sole focus is on Alabama football and our preparations to play Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff,” DeBoer wrote in a statement. “I have not spoken and have no interest in speaking with anyone else about any other job. I am fully committed to this program and look forward to continuing as the head football coach at the University of Alabama.”
DeBoer was also linked with the Penn State job before the Nittany Lions hired Matt Campbell.
“We are extremely happy at Alabama. … We are extremely happy here,” DeBoer said Dec. 4. “Love the grind, love this place. There’s never been any link, there’s never been any conversation, there’s never been any interest either way. And so I’m glad we can put that to bed right now.”
You can cross Kenny Dillingham’s name off the list.
The Arizona State coach signed an extension to remain in Tempe and “turned down significant interest from Michigan,” according to Chris Karpman of 247Sports.
“This place is just — it’s a special place to me,” Dillingham said last week, according to The Arizona Republic.
The Michigan opportunity “will be good for somebody,” Dillingham said, just not him.
Dillingham, 35, is in his third season as ASU’s coach and has a 22-16 record, but most notably took the Sun Devils to the College Football Playoff last year and had Texas on the brink of an upset.
After 21 years leading Utah, Whittingham announced last week he was stepping down as Utes coach after the Las Vegas Bowl.
Whittingham has expressed interest in Michigan’s position, the Free Press has learned. He told reporters Thursday that he’s “in the transfer portal.” Whittingham, too, still has one game left to coach; Utah faces Nebraska in the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 31, with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m., about 30 minutes after U-M’s Citrus Bowl begins in Orlando, Florida, at 3 p.m..
Whittingham went 177-88 in his two decades in Salt Lake City. A BYU grad, Whittingham has spent his entire career coaching out West beyond the Continental Divide but would be a capable pair of hands to guide the Michigan program out of this mess.
Could the Wolverines kick the can, as it were, on their coaching search to next season by keeping interim Biff Poggi in the role through 2026? If could happen, similar to how Stanford opted to go with NFL veteran Frank Reich for a year before hiring Tavita Pritchard last month full-time.
If so, that would make several veteran Wolverines pleased, as they pushed for Poggi to get the job — and maybe full-time — in a meeting with the media on Friday, Dec. 19.
Brohm was connected to the Penn State search before stepping away to recommit to Louisville. While he’s settled into a very secure situation with the Cardinals, Brohm was at the very least interested in the vacancy with the Nittany Lions and would seemingly be receptive to Michigan’s overtures.
USA TODAY columnist Blake Toppmeyer writes Brohm has the big-game pedigree and Big Ten know-how the Wolverines could be looking for.
“Consider, a mere two weeks ago, Moore’s Wolverines mustered nine points against Ohio State, despite starting a five-star quarterback,” Toppmeyer writes.
“Think Brohm could do better? I know he could. In 2018, he shocked Urban Meyer’s Buckeyeswhile coaching Purdue. Purdue. As in, the program that lost to Ohio State by 56 points the last time it faced the Buckeyes before hiring Brohm.
“… I keep coming back to Brohm. He has Big Ten experience, and he won at Purdue in a way no one has since Joe Tiller’s retirement.
“I don’t know whether Michigan could persuade Brohm to leave his hometown and his alma mater, but I don’t know that it could do any better than him.”
Michigan is reportedly interested in talking to Rees, according to Cleveland.com, who starred as a quarterback at Notre Dame. He moved up the coaching ranks fast, getting his big break as offensive coordinator with Notre Dame in 2020, where he served in the role for three years before moving to Alabama to be the offensive coordinator for the Crimson Tide in Nick Saban’s last year. He has spent the last two years with the Browns, first as a passing game specialist and then as offensive coordinator this year.
Rees also reportedly talked to Penn State before the Nittany Lions landed on Iowa State coach Matt Campbell.
Tapping into Harbaugh’s coaching tree to hire Moore didn’t work out well for Michigan. That may lead to some queasiness over hiring Minter, who was the defensive coordinator for the Wolverines from 2022-23 and then followed Harbaugh to the Los Angeles Chargers. But Michigan has historically placed intense value on connections to the program. That makes Minter a strong candidate, though he is also under consideration for NFL openings.
USA TODAY Sports reporters Paul Myerberg and Craig Meyer contributed to this story.
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