Report: Sherrone Moore coaching without officially-signed contract, Michigan AD Warde Manuel confirms

Michigan Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore is reportedly currently coaching the team without a contract.

The school’s athletic director, Warde Manuel, confirmed that Moore doesn’t have a contract signed yet and explained that both sides are “working through it.”

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This comes after Sherrone Moore was hired by Michigan to replace Jim Harbaugh in January of 2024. At the time, he and Warde Manuel both signed a memorandum of understanding for five years and $30 million. That’s a kind of stopgap that helps schools bridge one hire to the next.

Back in 2021, Harbaugh signed a memorandum of understanding in January that took nine months to get a new contract officially signed. So, this time frame isn’t unheard of at Michigan.

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“They just don’t happen overnight, and there are things that have popped up,” Manuel said. “But they’re being worked on. Sherrone knows our commitment to him; we know his commitment to us, and same thing with the assistant coaches.”

Moore has been at Michigan since 2018 when he joined the school as a tight ends coach. By 2023, he was the team’s offensive coordinator and filled in for Harbaugh in the final three games of the regular season when he was suspended, making Moore one of the most important coaches on the staff for its national championship run. When Harbaugh moved to the NFL, Moore made sense to earn the promotion to head coach.

As Manuel explained, the athletics at Michigan have been dealing with a lot of different issues lately and that has added to why signing the contract officially is taking time.

“They are being worked on as we speak,” Manuel said. “I’ve signed a couple of the assistant coaches (to contracts). We had not only a transition in football (but) we had a transition in basketball, we’re dealing with NCAA matters, we’re dealing with the situation with our apparel provider and bringing on Legends as shortly as Saturday. These things take time, the contracts.”

This comes at a time when Michigan has been dealing with multiple NCAA-related issues in the football program. Moore himself was recently hit with Level II recruiting violations. Then, the school recently received a Notice of Allegations regarding the Connor Stalions sign-stealing scandal. Initial drafts named Moore for deleting texts with Stalions, an act of non-compliance, and is at risk of being labeled a “repeat violator” by the NCAA.

“But the memorandum of understanding is a legal document that does bind us and bind them to it, and it spells out pretty much everything that’s in the contract,” Manuel said. “It’s just a long form with more details, more situations at hand. But listen, I’m very happy with him, very happy with our staff, and look forward to having that signed and it becoming a nonissue.”

Warde Manuel and Michigan hope to have a contract officially signed soon. For now, though, first-year head coach Sherrone Moore is without an official deal.