CFB podcaster on Sherrone Moore & Michigan squad after Jim Harbaugh's departure: "CFB is the sport where coaches mean more than players"
Michigan Wolverines coach Sherrone Moore was the acting head coach of the program twice last season as coach Jim Harbaugh's various bans kicked in at different times of the season. Moore finally got the job permanently after Harbaugh departed for the NFL with the Los Angeles Chargers after leading the Wolverines to an undefeated national championship-winning season.
Despite the successes of last year, Moore is still a first-year coach for the reigning national champions and this time, there's no safety net of Jim Harbaugh in the background.
During an episode of "The Number One Show," popular college football podcaster RJ Young ranked the Wolverines at No. 8 on his post-spring portal rankings mostly due to the inexperience of Sherrone Moore and the departure of Jim Harbaugh.
"I wanna talk about Michigan. This ain't-played-nobody out of conference schedule that they really used to their benefit the last three years is gone now, it's gone now and there is no Jim Harbaugh," Young said.
"Sherrone Moore coming into his first year as head coach, I understand that nothing has changed as far as the philosophy and how they decided to develop and how they practice but everything has changed because college football is the sport where our coaches mean more than the players on the field. That is where we look for our stars and Moore is a rising star."
Young praised Moore for earning the Michigan job through his accomplishments as an offensive line coach and playcaller.
However, he warned that with Harbaugh no longer around, Moore has to be more decisive when selecting a starting quarterback this season. Young added that Jack Tuttle might be the pick over Alex Orji for the starting job.
How Sherrone Moore passed his Michigan audition
Last season, the Wolverines learned of Harbaugh's suspension for the sign-stealing scandal involving former staffer Connor Stallions on the plane to play against the Penn State Nittany Lions.
Moore was the acting head coach against a tough opponent and he managed to coach a 24-15 win which was vital for the Wolverines' attempts to be included in the College Football Playoff.
“I want to thank the Lord,” Moore said during his Penn State postgame news conference. “I want to thank Coach Harbaugh. I f— love you, man. I love the s— out of you. We did this for you.”
Next, Moore led Michigan to two tough wins against the Maryland Terrapins and eternal rivals, the Ohio State Buckeyes.
That run of three games during the sign-stealing scandal laid the foundation for Jim Harbaugh to lead the team to the national championship and rocketed Moore's name to the top of the list of coaches to replace Harbaugh.
Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said in an in-house interview that he knew that Sherrone Moore had the stones to be the next Michigan coach and it was during the game against Penn State.
“As great as Jim is, I’ve not seen him run it 32 times (in a row),” Manuel said. “He’s a quarterback. Sherrone is more of a lineman. He’s like, ‘This is working, so we’re going to smash.’ I thought it was great. That’s really the time that it clicked to me that he could be the next head coach.”
Sherrone Moore will have to deal with a swiftly changing college football scenery that involves NIL and the transfer portal alongside his inexperience as he tries to settle into the life of a first-year coach of the reigning national champions.