Jim Harbaugh: Sherrone Moore has my vote to become next Michigan head coach

One day after the Los Angeles Chargers announced him as their next head coach, Jim Harbaugh was back in Ann Arbor. He’s preparing to tie a bow on his nine-year tenure as the head coach at his alma mater, and he’s planning to meet with the Michigan players on Friday, according to The Detroit News’ Angelique Chengelis.

UM is currently preparing to replace Harbaugh, who led the football program to its first national championship in 26 years this past season. All signs point to Sherrone Moore getting a close look for the job, and The Wolverine’s Chris Balas said the expectation is he’ll wind up getting the job. Per state law, Michigan has to post the position for 7-10 days.

Harbaugh made his thoughts quite clear on whether Moore should take over.

“I’ll always be a loyal Wolverine,” Harbaugh told The Detroit News. “But not a better man to coach the team than Sherrone Moore. He has my vote, my support wholeheartedly. I feel like it’s in great hands.”

Moore, of course, already has experience running the program as acting head coach. He served in the role for one game while Harbaugh served a self-imposed three-game suspension at the start of the year, and did so again when the Big Ten suspended Harbaugh as a result of sign-stealing allegations. All told, he had a 4-0 record — including a victory over Ohio State.

Moore, considered a rising star in the coaching ranks, will now likely have his chance to take over at Michigan as Harbaugh prepares to move on. It’s the third straight offseason he flirted with NFL teams after conversations with the Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos the last two years. The third time was apparently the charm, though, as Harbaugh heads back to an organization he played for at the tail end of his career.

He doesn’t plan on just leaving Michigan behind, though.

“One thing I hope for is that Michigan and the Chargers will be like one team,” Harbaugh said. “These are lasting, trusting relationships.”

Harbaugh’s tenure as the head coach at his alma mater had some high highs and some low lows. He led the Wolverines to 10 wins three times in four years after taking over in 2015 and made the Big Ten Championship in 2018. But the COVID-shortened 2020 season raised some questions as Michigan went just 2-4. Rather than move on from Harbaugh, the Wolverines gave him a pay cut and he overhauled his staff.

That decision paid off. Michigan made three straight College Football Playoffs, beat Ohio State three consecutive times and, at long last, got to the mountaintop this past season.

Now, Jim Harbaugh is off to the NFL, where he totaled a 44-19-1 record and made a Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers. As for the Wolverines, they’re preparing to enter a new era — with Moore likely at the controls.