The University of Michigan is initiating a new inquiry.
According to reports from the Detroit News and ESPN, the university has retained a legal firm to commence a probe into the handling of various matters within its athletic department over the past few years. Michigan’s recent history has been marred by controversy, a situation already true even prior to the termination of coach Sherrone Moore on Wednesday due to an improper liaison with a team employee.
Following his dismissal, Moore was taken into police custody and now faces accusations of felony home invasion, stalking, and either forced entry or unforced entry into a dwelling. It is claimed that he visited the employee’s home subsequent to his termination and, as stated by prosecutors, took hold of butter knives and kitchen scissors, making threats of self-harm, claiming she had “destroyed” his existence.
The prosecution further noted that the individual broke off their relationship with Moore on Monday, subsequently informing the university about their involvement.
Moore, a 39-year-old individual who is married and has three children, secured release on bail, with his subsequent court appearance scheduled for January. He recently completed his second full season leading the Michigan team. The newest inquiry involving the University of Michigan will be carried out by the legal practice of Jenner & Block. This firm was engaged to examine Moore’s association with the complainant. A probe into this matter was already underway before the woman approached the institution, and the more extensive investigation will encompass the procedures surrounding Moore’s termination.
The athletic department at Michigan has been under the direction of athletic director Warde Manuel since 2016. On Thursday, NBC Sports disclosed that the university was aware of Moore’s struggles with mental health concerns, yet no other personnel were present when Manuel communicated Moore’s termination.
Moore ascended from his role as offensive coordinator subsequent to the 2023 season, after Jim Harbaugh’s move to the Los Angeles Chargers. During that championship-winning season, Moore functioned as the squad’s temporary head coach amidst two distinct periods of Harbaugh’s suspension.
Harbaugh underwent a voluntary three-game ban early in the year concerning infractions related to recruitment, and he was also barred from coaching the last three games of the season by the Big Ten due to the Connor Stalions pre-game scouting operation.
During August of 2024, the NCAA issued Harbaugh a one-year suspension and a four-year show-cause order for the recruitment breaches. In the most recent August, Harbaugh received a ten-year show-cause directive. These show-cause penalties, along with the suspension, bear no impact on Harbaugh’s professional standing or employment within the NFL.
Coinciding with Harbaugh’s imposition of a ten-year show-cause order, the University of Michigan faced a forfeiture of all its postseason earnings from the 2025 and 2026 football campaigns, alongside other sanctions.
Last March, Matt Weiss, a former assistant coach at Michigan who shared offensive coordinator duties with Moore in 2022, was formally accused on over 20 federal counts. These charges stem from allegations that he illicitly gained entry into the digital accounts of thousands of university athletes and pupils nationwide to obtain their images and video recordings.
Weiss, whose employment ended in January 2023, is accused of having “obtained illicit entry to student-athlete databases spanning over 100 higher education institutions managed by an external provider,” as stated by U.S. attorneys. Subsequent to this, “Weiss succeeded in gaining entry to the social media, electronic mail, and/or cloud storage profiles of over 2,000 specific athletes,” in addition to 1,300 other enrollees, prosecutors report.
Weiss, who had a tenure with John Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens prior to joining Jim Harbaugh’s team at Michigan, commenced his purported unauthorized digital intrusions while affiliated with the Ravens, continuing them upon his move to Michigan.
During 2024, the University of Michigan dismissed its men’s basketball head coach, Juwan Howard, following a season where the team secured only eight victories. As Howard was convalescing from cardiac surgery in September 2023 and in the process of resuming his duties, he was involved in a dispute with the squad’s strength and conditioning instructor. Howard received no disciplinary action for this particular event. However, in 2022, he faced a five-game suspension for striking a Wisconsin assistant coach following a match.
