
In a stunning turn of events on Wednesday, the 18th-ranked Michigan Wolverines fired head coach Sherrone Moore for cause after he was found to have had an "inappropriate relationship" with a staffer (h/t ESPN's Dan Wetzel).
Shortly afterward, Moore was arrested after police responded to a call about an alleged assault later in the day, the latest in a long line of unfortunate events that have taken place over the last few years for the program.
While this shocking turn of events is sure to cause multiple ripple effects going forward, the attention will immediate turn to Michigan's coaching search as one of college football's blue bloods once again finds itself in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
During an appearance on Thursday's edition of ESPN's "Get Up," former player and current analyst Dan Orlovsky believes Michigan should go after a big coaching hire to have any shot at competing with current Big Ten front-runners Ohio State, Indiana and Oregon.
"It's got to be big. This is not something where you just go find a coach that you think is good," Orlovsky said. "Because you won't chase down those other programs with just a guy. ... Some of those names that are on lists are just good coaches. This has to be (Alabama head coach Kalen) DeBoer. I don't care about extensions if I'm Michigan. Clark Lea at Vanderbilt, just signed an extension. Don't care, I'm making that call. Mike Elko at Texas A&M, just signed an extension. Don't care, I'm making that call. If you're Michigan, this has to be a big name that gets you into the living room of, 'Well, (Ohio State) has Ryan Day. Well, we have Clark Lea. (Oregon) has Dan Lanning, but we've got Mike Elko.' Extensions don't matter."
.@danorlovsky7 talks about who could replace Sherrone Moore at Michigan ✍️ pic.twitter.com/MUBEQmQ7Yb
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) December 11, 2025
With Michigan (9-3) scheduled to face No. 13 Texas (9-3) in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on Dec. 31, the program named 66-year-old Biff Poggi as its interim HC. It appears the Wolverines are targeting a Jan. 2 deadline to find their next coach, so there is a good chance the program has its next guy before it even plays in the bowl game.
Of course, Poggi is one of the names in the running for the position, but there are several other candidates in the mix as well. Since Michigan won the 2023-24 national title, it went a combined 17-8 under Moore the last two seasons and most recently saw its four-game winning streak over the Buckeyes end in a 27-9 loss on Nov. 30.
If Michigan wants to make the best hire possible, DeBoer, who ironically lost to the Wolverines in the 2023-24 CFP National Championship Game when he was at Washington, is certainly in the running for the job.
The fact that Lea and Elko recent signed extensions makes it seem less likely that either of them would leave for Ann Arbor, but anything is possible in the ever-changing landscape of college football. However, DeBoer makes sense and is definitely worth looking into, given the high-powered offense he had during his time at Washington and the immense pressure he continues to face in Tuscaloosa.
With such a stunning turn of events, the upcoming bowl game is taking a backseat as Michigan pursues its next HC and tries to find someone to lead this program in the right direction.
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