Michigan’s Sherrone Moore is one of a handful of college football head coaches still leading their respective programs this season without a full-length contract.
According to an Aug. 30 report by USA Today’s Tom Schad and Steve Berkowitz, Moore is still working under a three-page document he signed with athletic director Ward Manuel in January called a memorandum of understandings, or MOU, which outlines some details of Moore’s future deal, including salary figures and bonuses, but excludes some of the specifics regarding the contract, most notably the circumstances that would occur if Moore is fired for cause due to his involvement in Michigan’s impermissible sign-stealing scandal.
MOU’s are reportedly commonplace in college athletics, as it allows new college coaches to sign the agreement before finalizing the small details and specific language that usually comes with a longer multi-year contract.
Manuel said that Michigan is working towards a longer agreement with Moore – who was hired as Wolverines’ head coach on Jan. 26 following the departure of Jim Harbaugh to the Los Angeles Chargers – as the season goes on, and that the NOU allows the two sides to take their time while the university and football program deals with a quick transition of leadership and ongoing NCAA investigation.
“They are being worked on as we speak,” Manuel said during an appearance on the “Conqur’ing Heroes podcast released on Sept. 5. “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 provide…. These things take time, the contracts.”
Michigan underwent a similar process in 2021, when it took the university nine months to fully offer Harbaugh a contract after both sides agreed to a MOU that January.
Moore’s lack of a long-term contract comes after the Wolverines leader was levied with multiple Level II NCAA violations, one for recruiting violations that date back to 2021 and another for his involvement in the program’s elaborate sign-stealing operation orchestrated by former staffer Connor Stalions.
According to the NCAA’s notice of allegations released last month, Moore deleted a thread of 52 text messages with Stalions the day after he was identified as the ringleader of the football program’s sign-stealing operation last October.
Because Moore was hit with two separate NCAA violations involving recruiting and the sign-stealing scandal, the Wolverines coach is considered a “repeat violator” of NCAA rules, which could result in more extreme penalties when the sign-stealing investigation concludes.
Despite these potential punishments, though, Manuel said he remains committed to working towards a longer-term deal with Moore and is looking forward to the program being run under his leadership both in the short and long term.
“Sherrone knows our commitment to him. We know his commitment to us,” 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 (I) look forward to having that signed and it becoming a nonissue.”
