What's Next: 3 Things Michigan Must Do After Firing Sherrone Moore

It’s shocking.

The termination of former Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore is shocking, and details are still being uncovered. In time, many of those details will be laid out before the public and questions will be answered.

For now, though, there are three things Michigan must do right now. Here are the three things the Wolverines should do next.

What's next for Michigan's athletic department: Nail this head coaching hire

As I wrote yesterday, what’s clear is that one of the five best jobs in college football is wide open at one of the most inopportune times in the calendar. Most of the great coaches available in this cycle have been hired, but there's one thing that Michigan has going for it: it’s Michigan.

Interim head coach Biff Poggi is a stopgap. But that's all. After going 6-16 at Charlotte, he’s not the guy to lead the Wolverines into this next era of football in Ann Arbor. Among those men fit for the job, many have already signed extensions or have accepted jobs during this hiring cycle.

For Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, the job is not just to expedite the process through this month, but to identify a winner, with a résumé that donors, alumni and fans recognize and can return the program to its standard. After all, this is the place where developing a student-athlete into a Michigan Man does and ought to mean a level of class as well as success is all but guaranteed.

In light of how Moore was fired — for cause — the next man who gets to call himself Michigan's head coach must be unparalleled in his ability to display grace, humility and sturdiness at a program that has been unmoored by incidents involving assistant coaches spanning the last three years.

What's next for Michigan's next head coach: Retain QB Bryce Underwood

Players are given 30 days to immediately transfer from one school to another after a school fires a head coach or a head coach departs for another job.

The clock has already begun ticking for the former No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 class and the best player on the Wolverines’ roster. Following Moore’s firing for cause, Underwood is the most important person to retain in the entire Michigan program. "If he enters the portal, that could put them back further than losing the head coach," a Big Ten assistant told me.

As a true freshman, Underwood accounted for more than 2,500 total yards, 14 touchdowns and eight giveaways through this season. Retaining QB1 in Ann Arbor, regardless of who the next head coach is, gives the Wolverines the best chance to compete for championships in 2026.

Along with Underwood, running back Jordan Marshall, wide receiver Andrew Marsh, cornerback Jyaire Hill and offensive tackle Andrew Sprague enjoyed breakout years for the Wolverines and, as core players, were expected to be integral to their success in 2026.

One of the reasons Manuel moved swiftly to install Poggi as interim head coach is to try to give the team the best chance to stay intact while it identifies its next permanent head coach and tries to finish this season with 10 wins and a victory against No. 13 Texas in the Cheez-It Bowl.

"If they get through the bowl game, beat Texas and hire the right guy, it’s the best save they can hope for," a Big Ten assistant coach told me.

What's next for Michigan as an institution: Question everyone and everything

The Wolverine athletic department no longer has the privilege of simply believing incidents like the one involving Moore or former assistants Connor Stalions or Matt Weiss just don’t happen in Ann Arbor. It must investigate itself. It must ask difficult questions about the culture, values and execution of those values inside Schembechler Hall, its football facility, and open the floor to past and current staff to share their experiences.

There will be more news surrounding Moore and the reason for his termination. There will be questions from outside and inside — from parents of student-athletes to columnists like me across the country — who will need answers and assurances.

Transparency is paramount. Tell stakeholders in the university and program what you know, when you know it and when appropriate. Manage the hurt many fans will feel and show a willingness to hear out those who have shown trust, loyalty and dedication to a program that they love.

"We’re hurting," a source inside the program told me. "And what’s worse is we’re not sure when and how the hurting will end. This is not who our program is."

Yes, do your best to retain the roster. Yes, do your best to retain recruits and commitments. And, of course, continue to play the game and sport we all love. 

But above all else, show the university is taking accountability and operating at the standard of excellence it has claimed and strives to reach for more than 200 years. 

RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him @RJ_Young.

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