Michigan students surprised, disappointed by Sherrone Moore news
Students and an alum of University of Michigan react Dec. 13, 2025, to the details about Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore’s firing and arrest.
The search for the next Michigan football coach is underway.
It’s been a tumultuous few days for the Michigan athletic department, which is now looking at an expanded investigation into its handling of former coach Sherrone Moore and his firing on Dec. 10, as well as the surrounding circumstances. Moore was later arrested and arraigned in court on Dec 12, on charges of third-degree felony home invasion, misdemeanor stalking and misdemeanor breaking and entering.
As Michigan navigates the fallout from the scandal, it’ll be athletic director Warde Manuel’s responsibility to land the Wolverines’ next head coach very late in the hiring cycle as many of the top candidates have either re-committed to their current schools or just moved to a new one.
Who are the top candidates? Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer has made a definitive statement that he’s happy in Tuscaloosa, though that could change as soon as the Crimson Tide play their College Football Playoff first-round game against Oklahoma on Friday, Dec. 19. So what’s next?
Here’s the latest on the Michigan football coaching search:
Kyle Whittingham, who announced he was stepping down at Utah last week with a year left on his contract, has expressed interest in Michigan’s position, the Free Press has learned. Whittingham has gone 177-88 in 22 seasons with the Utes (including a 10-2 mark this year) after taking over when Urban Meyer left for Florida in 2004; he told reporters Thursday that he’s “in the transfer portal.” Whittingham, too, still has one game left to coach; Utah faces Nebraska in the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 31, with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m., about 30 minutes after U-M’s Citrus Bowl begins in Orlando, Florida, at 3 p.m.
Could the Wolverines kick the can, as it were, on their coaching search to next season by keeping interim Biff Poggi in the role through 2026? If could happen, similar to how Stanford opted to go with NFL veteran Frank Reich for a year before hiring Tavita Pritchard last month full-time.
If so, that would make several veteran Wolverines pleased, as they pushed for Poggi to get the job – and maybe full-time – in a meeting with the media on Friday, Dec. 19.
The Fres Press’ Tony Garcia has more on that here.
DeBoer was asked Monday, Dec. 15: Will you be the coach of Alabama next season?
“Yes,” DeBoer said the second time he was asked, before giving a full answer explaining why, per The Tuscaloosa News.
Fisch, who coached at Michigan in 2015-16 under Jim Harbaugh, was asked Saturday night about his name being circulated, after his Washington Huskies pounded Boise State, 38-10, in the LA Bowl in Inglewood, California.
“I’m fully focused on our team,” Fisch said. “I think our team worked really hard this whole week and we all gave everything we had, and we played at a very high level because of that. That’s all I would say on that.”
The Huskies finished 9-4 in 2025 and 5-4 in the Big Ten, including a 24-7 loss at Michigan on Oct. 18 in Week 8, when Washington fell apart in the second half.
Fisch, 49, went 6-7 in Year 1 at Washington in 2024, and has a 32-33 coaching record overall, including a three-year stint at Arizona from 2021-23.
Former Michigan All-American tight end Jake Butt gave Fisch a ringing endorsement, saying on X he was “one of the best football minds” he has been around.
“He is a QB developer, and you’d see a transformed and improved Bryce Underwood immediately,” Butt wrote.
“He has all of the traits and makeup of the exact head coach a high level program would be after.”
Well, never say never, but Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer made his intentions about as clear as possible.
Even though DeBoer has his Crimson Tide in the 12-team playoff with a matchup against Oklahoma on Friday, he’s been a popular name since the Michigan job came open on Wednesday, Dec. 10.
In a statement on Sunday afternoon, DeBoer seemed to squash nearly any debate about if he’ll be on the move from Alabama after this season.
“My family and I are very happy in Tuscaloosa and remain extremely grateful for the support of President (Peter) Mohler, Greg Byrne, the Board and so many others,” DeBoer said in a statement posted on Alabama’s official fan page. “We have an incredible opportunity in front of us, so my sole focus is on Alabama football and our preparations to play Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff.
“I have not spoken and have no interest in speaking with anyone else about any other job. I am fully committed to this program and look forward to continuing as the head football coach at the University of Alabama.”
Dillingham, the 35-year-old Sun Devils coach, announced after Saturday, Dec. 13, bowl practice he will be staying in Tempe, Arizona. He had been linked as a potential candidate to fill the job at Michigan.
“This place is just − it’s a special place to me,” Dillingham said, according to The Arizona Republic, adding his agent is having discussions with university officials on an extension.
The Michigan opportunity “will be good for somebody,” Dillingham said. “It doesn’t change how I feel about here.”
Arizona State will face Duke on Dec. 31 in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, the same day Michigan faces Texas in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando.
Just hours after former Michigan coach Sherrone Moore was arraigned in a Washtenaw County court on Friday, Dec. 12, Michigan football shared a simple message on “X.”
“Focused on the next game.”
While the regular season is over, Michigan is still set to play Texas in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on Thursday, Dec. 31 in Orlando.
Biff Poggi has been named the team’s interim coach, and this is the first look at him leading the team (with the exception of when he served as the interim for Weeks 3 and 4 this year).
It also seems to be a pretty clear indication that despite the coaching change, Michigan is still planning to play its bowl game.
Either way, Michigan football made it clear with this post: they are moving on from Sherrone Moore and focusing on football. Or at least they’re going to try.
A former Notre Dame QB as Michigan football’s next head coach?
It’s possible.
Michigan football is reportedly interested in talking to Rees, according to Cleveland.com, who starred as a quarterback at Notre Dame. He moved up the coaching ranks fast, getting his big break as offensive coordinator with Notre Dame in 2020, where he served in the role for three years before moving to Alabama to be the offensive coordinator for the Crimson Tide in Nick Saban’s last year. He has spent the last two years with the Browns, first as a passing game specialist and then as offensive coordinator this year.
Rees also reportedly talked to Penn State before the Nittany Lions landed on Iowa State coach Matt Campbell.
It’s an interesting proposition, as Rees is seen as an up-and-coming young coach, but it can be wonky trying to hire NFL coaches into the college game due to the schedule. But in this circumstance, it just might work. The Browns are out of playoff contention so their season should drag out, and Michigan is in a position to wait longer than normal because early signing day for recruits is over and the transfer portal won’t open until January.
