The age of every Big Ten head football coach: Sherrone Moore is second-youngest in conference
In late January, Sherrone Moore scored a promotion to become the 21st head coach in Michigan Wolverines football history, replacing Jim Harbaugh.
Moore took over at the age of 37 years old — before turning 38 just days later on Feb. 3 — making him the youngest Michigan head man since Bump Elliott was hired at age 34 in 1959. Elliott lasted 10 seasons in charge of the U-M program.
Moore is the Big Ten’s second-youngest head coach, behind only Oregon’s Dan Lanning, a 37-year-old who was born April 10, 1986 — 66 days after Moore. The conference’s oldest coach is Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz at 68. He’s led the Hawkeyes since 1999, when Moore was only 13 years old.
Harbaugh is 60 years old, hitting the milestone birthday Dec. 23, 2023, and after leaving Michigan is off to coach the Los Angeles Chargers. He’s the fifth-oldest head man in the NFL, behind Kansas City’s Andy Reid (65), Baltimore’s John Harbaugh (61), Dallas’ Mike McCarthy (60) and Tampa Bay’s Todd Bowles (60).
The Michigan head coach has quickly risen the coaching ranks after playing college football at Butler Community College (2004-05) and Oklahoma (2006-07). Moore began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Louisville (2009-11), before coaching tight ends at the same school for two seasons (2012-13). He moved on to become the tight ends coach at Central Michigan (2014-17), adding associate head coach and recruiting coordinator titles in his final season before moving on to Michigan (2018-present). He was the tight ends coach for three seasons, before becoming the offensive line mentor from 2021-23, serving as co-offensive coordinator during the first two years of that stint and the sole offensive coordinator in 2023, helping the Maize and Blue win their 12th-ever national championship.
“I don’t know if you’re ever just ready,” Moore said at his Michigan introductory press conference when asked when he felt he was ready. “You’re going to prepare yourself to be ready for any moment that happens. I don’t know if there was one moment that I can say that really defined when I was ready or not, but excited to go attack this.”
Here’s a look at the age of every Big Ten head coach:
Kirk Ferentz, 68 — Iowa
Born: August 1, 1955
Head coach of Iowa since: 1999 (entering 26th season)
Curt Cignetti, 62 — Indiana
Born: June 2, 1961
Head coach of Indiana since: 2024 (entering first season)
Greg Schiano, 57 — Rutgers
Born: June 1, 1966
Head coach of Rutgers since: 2020 (entering fifth season) … also was head coach for the Scarlet Knights from 2001-11
Bret Bielema, 54 — Illinois
Born: January 13, 1970
Head coach of Illinois since: 2021 (entering fourth season)
Mike Locksley, 54 — Maryland
Born: December 25, 1969
Head coach of Maryland since: 2019 (entering sixth season)
James Franklin, 52 — Penn State
Born: February 2, 1972
Head coach of Penn State since: 2014 (entering 11th season)
Luke Fickell, 50 — Wisconsin
Born: August 18, 1973
Head coach of Wisconsin since: 2023 (entering second season)
Matt Rhule, 49 — Nebraska
Born: January 31, 1975
Head coach of Nebraska since: 2023 (entering second season)
Jedd Fisch, 47 — Washington
Born: May 5, 1976
Head coach of Washington since: 2024 (entering first season)
Jonathan Smith, 45 — Michigan State
Born: January 18, 1979
Head coach of Michigan State since: 2024 (entering first season)
Ryan Day, 44 — Ohio State
Born: March 12, 1979
Head coach of Ohio State since: 2019 (entering sixth season)
DeShaun Foster, 44 — UCLA
Born: January 10, 1980
Head coach of UCLA since: 2024 (entering first season)
P.J. Fleck, 43 — Minnesota
Born: November 29, 1980
Head coach of Minnesota since: 2017 (entering eighth season)
Lincoln Riley, 40 — USC
Born: September 5, 1983
Head coach of USC since: 2022 (entering third season)
David Braun, 38 — Northwestern
Born: Not listed (but turned 38 before Moore and Purdue’s Ryan Walters, also 38)
Head coach of Northwestern since: 2023 (entering second season)
Ryan Walters, 38 — Purdue
Born: January 21, 1986
Head coach of Purdue since: 2023 (entering second season)
Sherrone Moore, 38 — Michigan
Born: February 3, 1986
Head coach of Michigan since: 2024 (entering first season)
Dan Lanning, 37 — Oregon
Born: April 10, 1986
Head coach of Oregon since: 2022 (entering third season)
