University of Michigan sacks head coach Sherrone Moore for cause. A staff member relationship violation fuels this sudden, disruptive dismissal, impacting the team's bowl game.
ANN ARBOR, MI—In a move that has sent seismic shockwaves throughout the college football landscape, the University of Michigan announced late Wednesday evening, December 10, 2025, that head football coach Sherrone Moore has been dismissed, effective immediately.
Statement from University of Michigan Athletic Director Warde Manuel
"U-M head football coach Sherrone Moore has been terminated, with cause, effective immediately. Following a University investigation, credible evidence was found that Coach Moore engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. This conduct constitutes a clear violation of University policy, and U-M maintains zero tolerance for such behavior. Biff Poggi has been appointed head football coach in an interim capacity, effective immediately".
Multiple sources, including ESPN, report the firing is "set to be for cause," a critical legal and financial distinction that drastically impacts the nearly $12 million buyout Moore would have been owed had he been terminated without cause after the 2025 regular season.
Moore, who succeeded Jim Harbaugh following the Wolverines’ 2023 National Championship victory, compiled a 16-8 record in his two seasons as full-time head coach (including the four games he filled in for the suspended Harbaugh in 2023). While his 2024 season was a respectable 8-5 with a ReliaQuest Bowl win and, critically, a fourth consecutive victory over rival Ohio State, the 2025 campaign ended with a disappointing 9-3 regular season record and a loss to the Buckeyes in the final game.
The timing of the firing—coming just over a week after the end of the regular season and with the team scheduled to play Texas in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on December 31—is both sudden and highly disruptive. The team will now be led by interim coach Biff Poggi, who seemed to have a good handle on things when he served during Moore's suspension earlier this year.
The Shadow of the Past
While 9-3 is a season most programs would celebrate, the decision to fire Moore appears to stem from factors beyond the on-field results. The language "for cause" points directly back to the lingering shadows of the Connor Stalions sign-stealing scandal that rocked the program in 2023 and has continued to impact Moore's tenure.
Moore was already serving a two-game suspension earlier this season, missing the contests against Central Michigan and Nebraska, as a self-imposed penalty by the university related to the scandal. This suspension was tied to allegations that he deleted a thread of 52 text messages with Stalions, an action that the NCAA and university compliance may now be viewing as a lack of institutional control or a failure to cooperate fully with investigations.
The move suggests that new information or a final, decisive finding from the ongoing NCAA investigation into the program has been delivered to the university, giving Michigan Athletic Director Warde Manuel the contractual grounds to terminate Moore without paying the full buyout. By invoking the "for cause" clause, the university is signaling that the legal and financial liability surrounding the past scandal has finally reached a breaking point, making Moore's continued employment untenable despite a solid, if unspectacular, overall record.
An Instant Coaching Search
The firing launches Michigan into one of the most unexpected and high-stakes coaching searches in recent memory. With the transfer portal officially open and National Signing Day rapidly approaching, the timing is disastrous for roster continuity. Star freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood and other key underclassmen now face immediate uncertainty, raising the possibility of significant roster attrition that could cripple the program's prospects for 2026.
Manuel must move swiftly and decisively to appoint a respected leader who can stabilize the program and navigate the treacherous landscape of the transfer portal. The expectation at a program of Michigan's stature will be for a splash hire, one who can immediately compete with Ryan Day at Ohio State and lead the Wolverines back to the 12-team College Football Playoff, which they missed this season.
For Sherrone Moore, the dismissal closes the book on what many believed was his dream job, turning a promising start into a stunning, legally complicated, and disappointing finish for the University of Michigan football program.