A look at Sherrone Moore's resume
It sounds like Harbaugh will likely be staying with Michigan, but I wanted to examine Sherrone Moore's resume to see if there are any nuggets that might project success in an HC role.
Here's a quick look at his stops before Michigsn in 2018:
2012 Louisville as TEs coach under Charlie Strong, went 11-2
2013 Louisville as TEs coach under Strong, went 12-1
An article on the TE group from that era gives Moore high praise, coaching up two transfers to become an historically high-performing unit.
2014 CMU as TEs under Dan Enos, went 7-6
2015 CMU retained as TEs by John Bonamego, went 7-5
2016 CMU as TEs under Bonamego, went 6-7
2017 CMU promoted to AHC/RC/TEs, went 8-5 and coached up Tyler Conklin who was one of the few NFL draftees from CMU who have had a lasting career not named Antonio Brown. Conklin was drafted in the fifth round by the Vikings and currently plays for the Jets.
2018 UM as TEs under Harbaugh, went 10-3. Coached McKeon and Zach Gentry. Gentry was drafted in the fifth round of the 2019 draft by the Steelers and still plays for them.
2019 UM as TEs, went 9-4. Sean McKeon and Eubanks were heavily featured, IIRC.
2020 haahahhahaahhaaha
2021 UM promoted to co-OC/OL, went 12-2, B1G champs. Erick All whooped PSUs ass. We beat OSUs ass. We ran over everyone including trampling OSU - thanks Hassan. Playoff berth. Wins Joe Moore award.
2022 UM as co-OC/OL, went 13-1, B1G champs. Erick All got hurt early on but both Schoonmaker and Colston Loveland are actual human animals. Our OL mauls everyone again. Corum nearly or outright wins the most boring Heisman-year ever without his knee bruise late against Illinois. Edwards runs through the largest holes ever opened in the Shoe, Loveland catch good, and we bitch slap the Suckeyes B2B. Playoff berth. Wins Joe Moore award again - should pry be called the Sherrone Moore award. Pry has another Jake Butt in Colston Loveland.
So... there's no debate - Sherrone Moore is an excellent coach. Every position he coaches becomes a highlight on the team in multi-year fashion, so he isn't flukey.
Key questions remain, does this translate to the HC position? If Harbaugh leaves for the NFL, would you want to take a risk for Moore's youth and OL/recruiting continuity?
I'm not an expert or football wonk at all, so the closest comparable I could find to Moore's trajectory is actually OSUs 2017-2022 OC, Kevin Wilson. His success at OSU speaks for itself, shadowed only by his abject failure at HCing Indiana from 2011-2016, where he cracked 4 conference wins just once, yikes. Let's see how Wilson does at Tulsa, but it doesn't seem like there's any correlation between your position background and HC success, so I'm not sure this comparable is helpful at all.
What do y'all think?
January 11th, 2023 at 12:26 PM ^
-Currently the "Chief Awesomeness Officer" at "Self-Employed"
-Voted "Class Clown" in high school.
-Knows Microsoft Word, PowerPoint AND Excel.
-Fluent in Dutch; Proficient in Spanish.
January 11th, 2023 at 12:37 PM ^
Wat is er mis met jou?
January 11th, 2023 at 1:52 PM ^
Dutch is just English with de, het and a lot of throat clearing.
January 11th, 2023 at 4:04 PM ^
I used to watch Dr. Pol. Can confirm.
January 11th, 2023 at 4:18 PM ^
My dog went to Dr Pol to get fixed when I was a kid. Didn’t make it out of surgery. 😥
January 20th, 2023 at 7:02 PM ^
Sorry to hear that.
January 11th, 2023 at 12:27 PM ^
I don’t think Sherrone Moore has done anything to warrant him being a head coach over an outside hire
January 11th, 2023 at 12:42 PM ^
Most successful coaches were assistants before getting their break. Some of the group of 5/low P5, some get plucked from a successful staff, and some are promoted from within.
Not sure why you would say his resume isn’t worthy of a promotion unless you think we need to hire an established coach, which would surely be a full reset on for the current program by way of staff attrition and transfers.
there’s only a handful of coaches I’d take over Moore, with Jay Harbaugh being one of them.
January 11th, 2023 at 12:49 PM ^
His resume is a worse version of Josh Gattis’ resume going into last years offseason
if you’re going to give Moore credit for a cmu tight end, gattis deserves credit for daesean Hamilton, Allen Robinson and alabamas 2018 duo of waddle and jeudy (which hasn’t been replicated with 5* talent since gattis left)
Also gattis has a broyles
you can say Moore had more to do with the turnaround at Michigan all you want, but it’s a massive risk that looks worse on paper than giving gattis the keys in 2022 would have been
January 11th, 2023 at 1:11 PM ^
I think James Franklin should get credit. He is an elite recruiter and remains one despite Gattis leaving.
January 11th, 2023 at 1:14 PM ^
I wasn't giving Moore credit per se, just trying to find successes that were linked to his past experience to see if there are indications of HC prowess. Nothing more. Some of y'all could benefit from reading comprehension courses.
January 11th, 2023 at 1:48 PM ^
Agree with this. Moore is getting a lot of credit but I think a lot of the foundation was built before he arrived. I'm not quite ready to turn over the keys to him. I'd like to see him take on full OC responsibilities first.
January 11th, 2023 at 1:05 PM ^
I feel like there was some major basketball coach who was never an assistant, but the name's slipping my mind. I mean, surely they would have mentioned that fact on 90% of TV broadcasts involving his team... ;)
(Not arguing your point: Beilein's career was so unusual that they did seemingly bring it up on every broadcast).
January 11th, 2023 at 1:26 PM ^
I think he coached a guy who transferred from Kentucky. I may have to verify that though.
January 11th, 2023 at 3:31 PM ^
Michigan is a big job. I think Moore is ready to be a head coach, but I’m skeptical of him being ready for a job like Michigan.
Michigan is a unique job in that we have extremely high expectations for the program, but we also deal with some rather difficult handicaps in comparison to other programs of our caliber. I have my doubts with a first time head coach navigating those handicaps and keeping the program at a level we expect.
I also don’t necessarily agree with the “full reset on for the current program by way of staff attrition and transfers.” This is true typically when a coach is let go for poor results. A new coach would be walking in to a very successful program, and while I’m sure they would want to bring in a few coaches they’re more familiar with, Michigan is also already host to a group of very good coaches. I don’t see any reason a new coach would come in and tell the likes of Clinkscale, Elston, JayBaugh, Minter or Moore that they have to take a hike.
As for players transferring out, I’d actually imagine quite a few players would be excited with a high profile outside hire. Not like JJ and the receivers would be upset with someone like Lane Kiffin coming in with a plan to throw it around more.
January 11th, 2023 at 12:49 PM ^
Exactly. He needs to get some HC experience at a different program before I'd be comfortable giving him the reigns at Michigan.
Our best (IMO) inside hire was Mo, and he was on Bo's staff 100 years before getting promoted. He also was the HC at Illinois for a few years, and was both the DC and OC at Michigan. Carr didn't have any HC experience, but he was also on staff for like 15 years before he became the HC.
We don't have anyone on the current staff with anything like their experience.
Moore might be the guy, but not for another decade.
January 11th, 2023 at 1:09 PM ^
Using your criteria, Dabo Swinney, Lincoln Riley, Kirby Smart, Marcus Freeman, and Ryan Day would never be hired. Of those, only Freeman has to prove that he couldn't handle the job. Similarly, in the NFL Sean McVay, Mike Tomlin, Kevin O'Connell, Dan Campbell, and Brandon Staley would have never become head coaches.
Moore has 11 years of on-field coaching experience. He has developed the best offensive line in the country two years in a row and is one of our best recruiters. I guess we could go the Brady Hoke route or Rich Rod route and hope it turns out better the second time around. Like I said, I earlier I think Jay Harbaugh would be my first choice, but Moore is a close second.
January 11th, 2023 at 1:55 PM ^
So then the question becomes, what evidence do you have that Moore is in the same bucket as Swinney, Riley, Smart, Freeman or Day. He's got Harbaugh's endorsement, which is a good start. But beyond that, all I see is a good position coach, of which there are literally hundreds across the country. What makes Moore the best fit, in your opinion?
January 11th, 2023 at 2:27 PM ^
I think that's his point. Coaches like that are a crapshoot. That's how I interpet it anyway. There was no evidence whatsoever to suggest any of his examples would be great head coaches either.
January 11th, 2023 at 4:38 PM ^
I think the entire argument against Moore is that we’d like this (hypothetical) coaching candidate to be more than just a crapshoot. It’s great we can name a few coaches that worked out at their current job. We can also name a bunch that haven’t. So why should we be comfortable assuming Moore falls into the category with the former?
At the end of the day, whether you like what it tells you or not, we have a damn good idea what a Lane Kiffin coached team looks like. What a PJ Fleck coached team looks like. What a Mark Stoops coached team looks like. Or whatever coach gets brought up. While Moore is a very big unknown and I don’t think that’s something many fans are comfortable with.
Personally, I have no issue with Moore being “a” candidate. My issue would be if they just handed him the job without interviewing other candidates. If you do all that and still land on Moore as the choice, that’s one thing. I’d accept that outcome. But it would be foolish to not see what’s out there and what kind of interest you receive.
January 11th, 2023 at 2:42 PM ^
First off, Harbaugh's endorsement is his boss's endorsement--which is about as strong as one as you can get, especially when the boss is someone who has a strong track record of identifying coaching talent. Let's not forget that David Shaw had a similar career trajectory before Harbaugh endorsed him for the head coach position as he was leaving Stanford. That worked out as well as Stanford could have imagined.
Second, his relationship with the players and his recruiting chops are also indicators that he would have success at the job. His unit has been the strength of the team for two years running and players on both sides of the ball sing his praises.
Third and most important, Harbaugh has spent eight years building an elite staff and a winning culture here at Michigan. Almost any outside hire would greatly threaten both, while hiring in-house would give us the best chance at salvaging both. I've seen what's behind door number two and it wasn't pretty or enjoyable. Do you really want to go back to a fractured program or do you value continuity?
I can count on two hands the outside hires that a) have the experience wanted by others above and b) would for sure be better than JayBaugh or Moore--and they all are pipe dreams. The list includes John Harbaugh, Nick Saban, Kirby Smart, Sean Peyton, Mike Tomlin, and Sean McVay. Outside of someone like that, there is a ton of risk involved with whoever you go with.
An internal hire would at least allow someone to carry the momentum of the past two years into the next two, and if it doesn't work out at least we tried.
January 11th, 2023 at 2:57 PM ^
Kirby Smart was the DC at Alabama for 7 or 8 years before going to Georgia. If Moore sticks around as OC for that long, I think it would be fair to give him the job.
January 11th, 2023 at 4:05 PM ^
In addition, Swinney was named interim HC and ended up getting the job. Day got a chance to be coach while urbs was suspended. Granted it was only 3 games, but the whole staff got to see what he could do. My theory is that Stoops retired once it became apparent that Riley was going to eventually take his job, and just told OU to hire him now. Freeman is the only one who was really hired out of the blue, with little experience. If UM does have to make a hire, and they want to go in-house, I hope Bellamy gets a good look. Gerry Faust notwithstanding, I believe HS coaching experience easier translates to college now-days, especially if you've been essentially connected to the program for 20 years.
January 11th, 2023 at 4:58 PM ^
Bellamy would absolutely be a laughing stock hire. In no shape or form should he be considered. He wasn’t even a good high school coach. Great recruiter though. Should of won the State multiple times and got fully out coached especially by Clarkston.
January 11th, 2023 at 5:00 PM ^
Jay Harbaugh is your first choice? He's been good as a position coach, but you don't think maybe he should at least be a coordinator first? I have hard time thinking his last name isn't doing a lot of work in this assessment.
January 11th, 2023 at 6:53 PM ^
Jaybaugh has been coordinating our special teams for 5 years now and that unit has arguably been the best in the country through much of that span.
He also has proven to be an elite recruiter, probably our best, and has had success coaching positions on both sides of the ball.
January 11th, 2023 at 7:13 PM ^
Look at John harbaugh. I guess he was special teams coach for the eagles but was never a OC or DC.
January 11th, 2023 at 1:12 PM ^
Michigan’s own history suggests internal promotions are the way to go.
January 11th, 2023 at 1:23 PM ^
Do you include Brady Hoke as an internal promotion? Heck, he even had experience as a head coach. Let's not forget that the man would have walked from San Diego on broken glass for the job. ;-)
I personally don't see anyone on staff to get excited about, but I don't want to lose any of the coaches, which would happen if/when a new guy comes in with his own crew. So, I guess I vote for an internal promotion at this point.
January 11th, 2023 at 1:27 PM ^
Hoke left Michigan after the 2002 season and didn't return until 2011. So no, not an internal promotion.
January 11th, 2023 at 2:33 PM ^
Moore is definitely an interesting coach and I think in a few years he will get his chance as a HC but probably at a non P5 school
I think if Harbaugh leaves there will be plenty of top flight coaches who would lice to come to AA and coach at this program.
January 11th, 2023 at 4:45 PM ^
Hard disagree. Moore is in line for a P5 job soon, it certainly won’t be at a non-P5 school in a few years. For reference, Purdue just hired the Illinois DC as their coach. Moore is too good to land at a G5 school a few years down the road.
January 11th, 2023 at 3:02 PM ^
username checks out
January 11th, 2023 at 12:28 PM ^
I think it would be good to reach out to Kalen DeBoer, Todd Monken, and Pajamas Fleck
January 11th, 2023 at 12:40 PM ^
Fleck needs to be the guy if JH goes.
January 11th, 2023 at 12:42 PM ^
why
also, i hate fleck
January 11th, 2023 at 12:49 PM ^
Row the boat? No thank you
January 11th, 2023 at 12:53 PM ^
I hate him as a person, but he's been successful everywhere. Can't say I'm fond of Harbaugh as a person either. Good thing we don't have to be friends with our next coach.
January 11th, 2023 at 1:08 PM ^
Not fond of Harbaugh, why? I’m mean he’s definitely eccentric, but overall seems like a great guy
January 11th, 2023 at 1:51 PM ^
Not fond as in I don't think I would enjoy hanging out with him unless he's a completely different person in person, but my point is that that doesn't matter. His public facing bedside manner means nothing as far as coaching as long as he wins. Same with Fleck, he seems like a try hard motivator car salesman type that likes to talk about chips being on shoulders and other worn out analogies like rowing a boat which doesn't make any sense. But, he wins and kids like that contrived bullshit talk bc it hasn't worn out their synapses yet like it has for most adults.
January 11th, 2023 at 1:04 PM ^
This may not make sense, but I don't want Fleck coaching at UM and I'd be a little nervous if he got hired at MSU.
January 11th, 2023 at 1:17 PM ^
You are reflecting my opinion 100%. There's something intangible about Fleck that I don't think would play well at UM, but would succeed like gangbusters at MSU (especially with relative expectations).
January 11th, 2023 at 1:29 PM ^
It definitely makes sense. I think he would perform better in the underdog role and not handle elite expectations all that well. His motivational strategy is not for everyone.
January 11th, 2023 at 3:21 PM ^
I don’t understand the Fleck hate. He went from 1-11 to 13-1 in four seasons at Western Michigan and has done more winning at Minnesota than any coach in the last 70 years (look it up). He can obviously coach. I think he’d be a great candidate.
January 11th, 2023 at 3:48 PM ^
I don't hate Fleck. He's had his share of success and wouldn't be the worst hire. Not sure his rah rah style works at Michigan. He would probably get a call though if the job opens up. Matt Campbell is a realistic possibility as well if we're looking at current head coaches. I'm sure Dan Mullens agent will float his name out there too. He seems to always be brought up when M has had a coaching vacancy in the past. Going to be hard to sell anyone as an upgrade honestly. Glad it's not my job.
January 11th, 2023 at 3:19 PM ^
It would be insufferable having to look at Fleck on the sidelines every week, wearing his stupid shirt, tie, and quarter zip. No thanks.
January 11th, 2023 at 3:22 PM ^
Would you prefer a coach who wears whatever it is you think a coach should wear and goes 7-5?
January 11th, 2023 at 1:34 PM ^
DeBoer is an interesting one. Started at the NAIA level where he went 67-3 (!) ... which was just enough to get him a G5 assistant job. Now he's 27-8 at the FBS level.
Monken, I don't know. He's getting up there (57 soon) for a guy with almost no head coaching experience.
Fleck apparently has some beef with Michigan, or at least he did when he was at WMU.