Former Michigan football coach
Sherrone Moore jailed, hours after his firing
[December 11, 2025]
By LARRY LAGE
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Former Michigan football coach Sherrone
Moore was jailed on Wednesday, according to court records, hours
after he was fired for what the university said was an
“inappropriate relationship with a staff member.”
According to the Washtenaw County Jail, the 39-year-old Moore had
been booked into the facility as of Wednesday evening. The jail's
records did not provide any information about why Moore was detained
or whether any court appearances were scheduled.
In response to media inquires about Moore, the Pittsfield Township
Police Department issued a statement that did not mention anyone by
name. According to the statement, police were called to investigate
an alleged assault in Pittsfield Township, a couple of miles south
of Michigan Stadium, and took a person into custody.
The incident was not random and there was no ongoing threat to
public safety, police said, and the person was jailed pending a
review of charges by prosecutors.
“Given the nature of the allegations, the need to maintain the
integrity of the investigation, and its current status at this time,
we are prohibited from releasing additional details,” the statement
said.
Michigan said it fired Moore for cause after finding evidence of his
relationship with the staffer, ending an up-and-down, two-year
tenure that saw the Wolverines take a step back on the field after
winning the national championship and getting punished by the NCAA.
“This conduct constitutes a clear violation of university policy,
and UM maintains zero tolerance for such behavior,” athletic
director Warde Manuel said in a statement.
The announcement did not include details of the alleged
relationship. Moore, who is married with three young daughters, did
not return a message from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Moore was 9-3 this year after going 8-5 in his debut season.
He signed a five-year contract with a base annual salary of $5.5
million last year. According to the terms of his deal, the
university will not have to buy out the remaining years of Moore’s
contract because he was fired for cause.
College football’s winningest program is suddenly looking for a
third coach in four years, shortly after a busy cycle that included
Lane Kiffin leaving playoff-bound Mississippi for LSU.
Moore, the team’s former offensive coordinator, was promoted to the
lead the Wolverines after they won the 2023 national title. He
succeeded Jim Harbaugh, who returned to the NFL to lead the Los
Angeles Chargers.
The 18th-ranked Wolverines (9-3, 7-2 Big Ten) are set to play No. 14
Texas on Dec. 31 in the Citrus Bowl.
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Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore watches from the sideline during
the second half of an NCAA college football game against Ohio State,
Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Biff Poggi, who filled in for Moore when he was
suspended earlier this season, will serve as interim coach.
Moore, in his second season, was suspended for two games this year
as part of self-imposed sanctions for NCAA violations related to a
sign-stealing scandal. The NCAA added a third game to the
suspension, which would have kept Moore off the sideline for next
year’s opener against Western Michigan.
Moore previously deleted an entire 52-message text thread on his
personal phone with former staffer Connor Stalions, who led the
team’s sign-sealing operation. The texts were later recovered and
shared with the NCAA.
Just a few years ago, Moore was Harbaugh’s top assistant and
regarded as a rising star.
Moore, who is from Derby, Kansas, didn’t start playing football
until his junior year of high school. He played for Butler County
Community College in Kansas and as an offensive lineman for coach
Bob Stoops at Oklahoma during the 2006 and 2007 seasons.
His coaching career began as a graduate assistant at Louisville
before moving on to Central Michigan, where he caught Harbaugh’s
attention. Harbaugh hired him in 2018 as tight ends coach.
Moore was promoted to offensive line coach and co-offensive
coordinator in 2021, when the Wolverines bounced back from a 2-4,
pandemic-shortened season and began a three-year run of excellence
that culminated in the school’s first national title in 26 years.
He worked his way up within the Wolverines’ staff and filled in as
interim coach for four games during the 2023 championship season
while Harbaugh served two suspensions for potential NCAA rules
violations.
Moore also served a one-game suspension during that year related to
a recruiting infractions NCAA case.
Earlier in the 2023 season, Michigan State fired coach Mel Tucker
for cause after he engaged in what he described as consensual phone
sex with an activist and rape survivor. In 2012, Arkansas fired
coach Bobby Petrino due to a sordid scandal that involved a
motorcycle crash, an affair with a woman who worked for him and
being untruthful to his bosses.
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