Fired $54 million coach floated as Sherrone Moore replacement at Michigan

Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Just when the ride appeared to be slowing to a stop, the college football coaching carousel received yet another big spin the week after 2025's conference championship games. This time, Michigan decided to part ways with head coach Sherrone Moore, for cause.

Moore served as head of the Wolverine program for two full seasons following the departure of Jim Harbaugh for the Los Angeles Chargers after the program won its national title in the 2023 season. Now, he's being fired more than a week after Michigan's final regular season game for alarming reasons. Michigan released the following statement regarding why Moore was fired.

"Head football coach Sherrone Moore has been terminated, with cause, effective immediately," AD Warde Manuel shared in his statement. "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."

As evidenced by their decision here. Regardless of the details, Moore's dismissal is another shocking news event for college football fans amid a season full of them — especially when it comes to head coaches. But as soon as news broke of the Michigan job opening back up, major candidates were floated as possible UM options.

Brian Kelly named as possible Sherrone Moore replacement

Brian Kelly. | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

On3 college football insider Pete Nakos posted a hot board of several options for the Wolverines shortly after the news broke, some seeming more reasonable than others. One that made a lot of sense: Brian Kelly.

"The former Notre Dame head coach was fired at LSU in October, but that won’t stop Michigan from taking a look at Brian Kelly, who will be one of the top available coaches this cycle," Nakos wrote on Wednesday evening. "He is 297–109–2 as a head coach and brought the Fighting Irish back to national relevance."

Located in northern Indiana in South Bend, Notre Dame has a lot of traditional and geographical similarities to a program like Michigan. Yes, the LSU failure is well-documented, and everyone seems to agree Kelly just wasn't a fit down in the Bayou. However, back in colder weather, in Big Ten country, Kelly feels like a sharper choice.

Of course, Kelly doesn't have all that much motivation to re-enter coaching, at least finanically. When fired from LSU, not for cause, Kelly was owed all of his $54 million buyout. After rumors circled that LSU could officially fire him for cause, they decided not to and simply agreed to pay the number so they could change head coaches to Lane Kiffin.