Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore talks expectations for fall camp, 'the standard,' skinny 'M' hat, more

Michigan Wolverines football head coach Sherrone Moore has been with the program a long time (since 2018), but he’s never been in his current position. Neither have many of the Wolverine players that will have to step up into prominent roles in 2024, after losing a program-record 13 NFL Draft picks. Moore and Co. begin fall camp later this summer and are looking forward to forging the team.

“I think the biggest thing you want to see is you create a callous of physicality and a mentality to continue to sustain and strain in tight moments,” Moore said of camp in an interview with Big Ten Network. “We’ll create that as much as we can within camp, but also stay healthy. We got a great schedule ahead of it, and we’re excited about the schedule.”

Michigan has set a high standard, having won 40 of its last 43 games and finishing 15-0 with a national championship in 2023. The Wolverines’ returning players — even those who didn’t have big roles in games — know the high bar they’ll have to reach, Moore said.

“The culture that’s built now is the guys understand that, and they understand that it doesn’t really matter who’s in that seat, who’s in that chair, who’s in those uniforms, that the standard stays the same,” the Michigan coach explained. “When you wear the block ‘M,’ you wear it with pride and you go attack it and try to go win championships. That’s what we’re gonna try to do. We know there’s a process to it, and we’ll keep attacking that process.”

Moore personally led Michigan to victory in four games as acting head coach on game day a year ago, but the full-time head-coaching gig is a bit different.

“It’s been a blessing in every way,” Moore said. “Sometimes, slightly chaotic, but we feel like we live great in chaos, and we just try to take ahold of the moment. But it’s been phenomenal and a blessing to be in this chair and have the opportunity to lead this program.”

Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel has cited Moore’s calmness as a positive attribute, and that was on display when he was acting head coach. At Penn State last November, Moore didn’t find out until less than two hours before kickoff that he’d be the man in charge, but he didn’t flinch and guided the Maize and Blue to a 24-15 triumph against a top-10 opponent.

“I think when you have the faith in your players, your program, the coaches, everybody behind you and how you prepared, it puts you in a good position mentally,” Moore said. “And that was the main thing that helped keep me poised and calm. And the same mentality we have with our players, ‘Next man up.’ Whether it was a player or a coach, we had that same mentality, so that really helped me in those moments.”

Just like Moore has faith in those around him, former Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh believes in Moore, having endorsed him for the job. Since taking over the program, Moore has begun wearing the patented skinny block ‘M’ hat that Harbaugh and former head man Bo Schembechler sported.

“It’s pretty cool to wear this hat, the skinny ‘M,’ and a tradition I wanted to carry on and that Coach did and obviously Bo did,” Moore said. “It feels different, understanding and knowing the position that you’re in, but excited to be able to wear it.”

Here are more highlights from Moore’s interview with Big Ten Network.

On what the players’ reaction to finding out he was the new head coach meant to him

“Everything, because the program is based on what they do, how they perform and how they feel and how they react. So just super excited that I can lead this group of players.’

On what it was like to bring a national championship back to Michigan

“You know what, it’s crazy you ask that, because we won the game, and it was just kind of a pause of a moment like, ‘We really did that.’ To take that in, in that moment was something special. So it’s hard to really describe, and the feeling, you can’t even explain in words. You just had to be there.”

On if it took days or hours to sink in that the Wolverines had won it all

“Yeah, it took a couple days, maybe a week or so, to actually realize what happened. It was cool to have the celebration that we had, the parade and the celebration we had with the fans in Crisler Arena. That was awesome, but it took a couple days and I was sitting on the couch one day and was like, ‘Man, we really did win the national title.’”

On if he’s thought about the weight of the Michigan head-coaching job

“Really you don’t have time to think, because as soon as you start thinking, you got something else to do. So there wasn’t really much time for me to think about anything. Just continued to keep working.”

On his conversations with new Michigan basketball head coach Dusty May

“They’ve been great. We haven’t had a lot of time to sit down and have some long talks, and I think we’ll get to do that and I’ll for sure pick his brain on things he’s done and I’m sure he’ll try to pick my brain on things I’ve experienced here. So I’m excited to get to know him even more.”

On the additions of the four new West-Coast schools (Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington) to the Big Ten

“Super excited about all those programs coming in. We want to be the strongest conference in the country, and I think those additions are really going to help us. And for us, we’re gonna be us and do what we’ve done in the past and try to continue those traditions of what we’ve done at Michigan.

“Super excited about that. We go to Washington this year. I’ve heard it’s one of the best atmospheres in college football, so super excited about that.”

On what summer looks like for him

“June, recruiting — lots and lots of recruiting. And July, hopefully I’ll get some time to spend at my house with my family, my two daughters, and super excited about that.”