Sherrone Moore on taking over at Michigan: 'I can't be Jim Harbaugh'

The only person any of us can be is the best of who we are. That’s the approach that Sherrone Moore is now taking into his debut season as the official head coach at Michigan.

Moore spoke about his first job being to succeed Jim Harbaugh during his appearance last week at Big Ten Media Days in Indianapolis. Simply put, there’s no replacing him as the only person he can ever be is Sherrone Moore. That’s why he’s going to embrace that in his role by coaching as no one else but himself.

“Yeah, it’s being me,” said Moore. “I can’t be Coach. I can’t be Jim Harbaugh and I never will be. So, for me, I just go as I go.”

“I’m not going to change how I am. When I get excited, I’m going to get excited. When I want to yell smash, I’m going to yell smash. When I want us to play violent, I’m going to let our players know. That’s what I’m going to do,” Moore continued. “But, when I love them, I love them. When I feel like they need a hug, I’m going to give them a hug.”

Moore had spent the last six seasons as part of the Wolverines’ staff under Harbaugh. That included working with the tight ends, the offensive line, and both a co- and full-time offensive coordinator. He also notably had to serve for four games as the interim head coach due to two separate suspensions of Harbaugh.

Through that time working together, specifically in the 2020s, Harbaugh and Moore helped Michigan to return all the way back to the top of national prominence. Those six years featured a record of 61-14 (.813), including a mark of 40-3 (.930) the last three seasons with them most recently going undefeated in 2023. As for the postseason, that amounted to three straight Big Ten Championships, three consecutive berths in the College Football Playoff, and the program’s first national title in just over a quarter century.

Still, most of that goes on Harbaugh’s resumé in the end in Ann Arbor. He also takes most of it with him now in his return to the pros as the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.

That leaves Moore alone as the 26th head coach in school history. It also leaves plenty for him to establish in his own image starting this fall in Ann Arbor.

“I’m just going to be me,” said Moore. “I can’t change that. I’m not going to change that.”