The University of Michigan fired its head football coach, Sherrone Moore, on Wednesday, December 10, alleging that he engaged in an “inappropriate” relationship with a staff member.
“U-M head football coach Sherrone Moore has been terminated, with cause, effective immediately,” Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel announced in a press release.
“Following a University investigation, credible evidence was found that Coach Moore engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member,” the statement continued.“This conduct constitutes a clear violation of University policy, and U-M maintains zero tolerance for such behavior.”
Manuel, 57, added that associate head coach Biff Poggi would serve as interim head coach, effective immediately. Poggi, 65, was previously the head coach at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and served as Michigan’s interim head coach for two games earlier this year when Moore, 39, was suspended as part of a sign stealing investigation.
Moore was in his second season as Wolverines head coach. Michigan finished the 2025 regular season with a 9-3 record and will face the University of Texas in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Eve. He finishes his tenure at Michigan with an 18-8 overall record.
Manuel did not elaborate on the nature of the alleged inappropriate relationship. Moore married his wife, Kelli, in 2015, and the couple share three daughters: Shiloh, Soleiand Sadie.
Moore took over the Michigan job in 2024 after previous coach Jim Harbaugh led the Wolverines to the 2023 National Championship and left to coach the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers. Moore previously served on Harbaugh’s coaching staff.
“Sherrone has proven to be a great leader for our football program, especially the offensive line and players on the offensive side of the football,” Manuel said of Moore in a press release when he was hired. “He is a dynamic, fierce and competitive individual who gets the best out of the players he mentors. The players love playing for him and being with him in the building every day.”
He continued, “Sherrone stepped up this fall and served as the interim head coach when the program and especially the team needed him. Sherrone handled that situation in a way that sealed my already-growing confidence in him. He didn’t make it about him, it was always about the team! We are thrilled to have Sherrone and his wife, Kelli, and the entire Moore family step into this new role for our football program and university community.”
Moore was the 21st head football coach in the university’s storied history, which includes 12 claimed national championships and three straight appearances in the College Football Playoff from 2021 to 2023. He was also the first African American head coach in program history.
“We will do everything each day as a TEAM to continue the legacy of championship football that has been played at the University of Michigan for the past 144 years,” Moore said upon his hiring. “Our standards will not change. We will be a tough, physical, disciplined, hungry, championship-level team that loves football and plays with passion for the game, the winged helmet and each other. We will also continue to achieve excellence off the field, in the classroom and in our communities. I am excited to start working in this new role with our players, coaches and staff.”
