Sherrone Moore hire helped Michigan avoid chaos post-Jim Harbaugh

Michigan had to move quickly after Jim Harbaugh was announced as the next head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.

Like Nick Saban a few weeks before him, Harbaugh had realized that college football was no longer for him. Instead of retiring like Saban, though, Harbaugh decided to once again test his luck in the NFL.

It was a move that could have spun the Wolverines into chaos, even just weeks after winning the College Football Playoff national championship. To Michigan's credit, the leadership unit of athletic director Warde Manuel and president Santa Ono were prompt.

They had a viable replacement for Harbaugh in offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore and with today's NIL-driven atmosphere, recruiting de-commitments and the transfer portal, Michigan couldn't afford to wait.

Two days after Harbaugh skipped town, Moore was the new head coach of the Wolverines.

Per college football analyst Joel Klatt, Michigan's swift move to hire Moore may have saved the program some heartaches.

“If this offseason has proven anything, it’s that no program, no program in the country is immune from the chaos that ensures with a coaching change,” Klatt, according to On3. “No program. Look at Alabama. Alabama’s the case study. Nick Saban walks away and retires as the greatest in the history of our sport and immediately chaos ensued, even at Alabama. So the fact that Michigan could do this, with a guy that has been in this program and helped build this culture that just culminated in a national championship, is a must and they needed to do it quickly, which is exactly what they did, to avoid the chaos that naturally ensues in modern-day college football when you change your coach.”

Moore was already regarded as a great recruiter, and he proved that he has what it takes to be a great head coach this past season. He filled in for a suspended Harbaugh for four games and was undefeated. He was the acting head coach for Michigan's end-of-season run with wins against No. 10 Penn State, Maryland and No. 2 Ohio State.

If beating the Buckeyes in Columbus didn't qualify Moore for the job at Michigan, nothing would have, but he now faces the tall task of living up to national championship aspirations.

Because of Michigan's quick decision-making, his program will have a semblance of stability moving forward.