Sherrone Moore explains his approach to 2023 interim coaching duties, how it prepared him for head job

Sherrone Moore recently accepted a job he’s already had experience in as the Michigan head football coach. Even though he only led the team in interim capacity, Moore did get a taste of what was to come, though he never knew the opportunity would come.

Due to various NCAA issues, former Wolverine head coach Jim Harbaugh was actually absent from the sideline in half of the team’s 12 regular season games in 2023, and he appointed Moore and a couple other assistants to lead the team in the three games in his first absence. Moore led a win over Bowling Green in September.

Then, when Harbaugh was forced to miss three more games on the back end of the regular season slate, Moore was the choice as interim head coach in each of those contests, which he victoriously swept against Penn State, Maryland and Ohio State. 4-0 ain’t too bad for an emergency head coach due to Harbaugh’s absences, and clearly, Michigan brass was impressed.

So, when Coach Moore joined the Pat McAfee Show on the first day of February to discuss his new promotion, one of the first questions to him was if he secretly had his eye on the head coaching gig whilst he was serving as the interim — since there were rumors all season long about a potential Harbaugh move to the NFL.

But Sherrone Moore says no, he was simply focused on the task at hand.

“I wasn’t really thinking about the future. I was really thinking about what we could do to win those games,” he answered, revealing that he really didn’t even look down the road and believe that he could one day take over the program. At least not in the moment.

“And there wasn’t really a time that I thought I could be the head coach at Michigan. You know, I think that’s always the goal in every coach’s mind, or most coach’s minds, to be the head coach. So, there wasn’t really a moment,” he added.

However, that taste of victory leading Michigan over Ohio State as the interim in one of college football’s premier rivalries was pretty sweet, Moore admitted.

“But I can tell you, after winning that last one, it was pretty special,” he said

While Moore may have had his eye solely on the prize during his stints as the interim head coach, Moore, he does say that the landing a head coaching job — especially at a place as prestigious and well-oiled as Michigan — is obviously a dream come true for any up-and-coming coach.

“And (it’s) just something that I dreamed about — being the head coach at Michigan at some point,” Moore said.

Alas, his dream is realized, perhaps to Moore’s own surprise.