Warde Manuel, Sherrone Moore thank Jim Harbaugh, invite him to come back as captain in 2024

While Saturday was Sherrone Moore’s day at his introductory press conference, Jim Harbaugh’s fingerprints were all over it.

Before the festivities truly were able to begin, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel had to shout out their former head coach. He made sure to thank him, and even invited Harbaugh back to campus to be a captain for a game in 2024, if the timing works out with the Los Angeles Chargers.

“I want to thank Jim, for his nine years of service and contributions to Michigan Football, and our greatness. He will always be remembered by us,” Manuel said. “We will miss him, Sarah and the family. But I want him to know we will be cheering for him, and wishing him great success with the Chargers.

“If the timing is right, Sherrone and I would like to have him come back as the captain of a game this year, if the byes work out, and as he says, ‘Take a long and slow bow, in front of all the fans,’ so thanks to Jim.”

After all Harbaugh did for Michigan over the his tenure with the program, were willing to bet he’d be welcome back whenever he wants. It truly depends on his schedule. And when it happens, he’ll receive a thunderous ovation.

Jim Harbaugh left Michigan in a better spot than when he found it, and Sherrone Moore and company will now look to continue the success into the future.

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Moreover, Sherrone Moore was named the new Michigan football head coach after Jim Harbaugh’s departure for the NFL. Harbaugh accepted the job as the Los Angeles Chargers’ new head coach on January 24.

Moore, who went 5-0 as acting head coach this past season, is the next man up in Ann Arbor. He oversaw the Wolverines offense as the OC and helped lead Michigan to a national title in 2023. Now, he’ll attempt to build upon Harbaugh’s nine seasons of success as the new man in charge of the Big Ten’s top program.

“Tremendous,” Harbaugh said when asked what to expect of Moore as a head coach ahead of the national championship. “We’ve already seen it, right? You’ve already got a glimpse of the shining star that he is. He’s just phenomenal, so smart, works so hard at it. He knows what it’s like to be a player … he was a player. And he’s really, really composed. Something goes wrong, three, two, one, let it go. He’s tremendous at that.”

Harbaugh made sure to mention Moore was at his best during the College Football Playoff semifinal against Alabama.

“He was never better than he was in that two-minute drive in the Rose Bowl and in overtime,” Harbaugh said. “Knew he had to call the game, the drive of his life, and he did. We saw the same thing when he’s coaching against Ohio State in the Big House. 

“The same thing when he went to Penn State. How about that? You’ve got to go to Penn State, you find out the day before the game, In addition to your offensive line coaching duties, your offensive coordinating play duties and your play-calling duties, you’re also going to make the head coach decisions as well.”

On3’s Nick Kosko contributed to this article.