Sherrone Moore, who has been a part of the Wolverines coaching staff since 2018, has been announced as the team’s sole offensive coordinator heading into the 2023 season.
The promotion comes on the heels of the firing of Matt Weiss, who served as the team’s co-offensive coordinator alongside Moore this past season, after an investigation was launched into Weiss’ alleged and unspecified computer access crimes–and there is still no word on what, exactly, a “computer access” crime entails.
After serving as the tight ends coach during his first three seasons in Ann Arbor, Moore became the offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator prior to the 2021 season. Under Moore’s guidance, Michigan’s offensive line transformed into the most formidable group in the country and played a pivotal role in the Wolverines clinching a spot in the College Football Playoff in each of the past two years.
At the conclusion of both the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Michigan’s offensive line took home the (aptly named) Joe Moore Award, which is given to the best offensive line unit in the country.
Moore’s coaching has also led to individual accolades: Olu Oluwatimi, a graduate transfer from the University of Virginia, was one of the most dominant offensive linemen in the nation this past season–and has the hardware to show it. In his sole season at center for the Wolverines, Oluwatimi was awarded the Outland Trophy as the best interior offensive lineman in college football, the Rimington Trophy as the country’s top center, and was a consensus first-team All-American.
Moore’s coaching extends beyond excellent offensive line play, however. Since taking over as co-offensive coordinator in 2021, Michigan’s running attack has reawakened, and the team has recaptured its long-standing identity of a bruising, physically imposing team that wants to run the ball down opposing teams’ throats until the white flag is waved.
In 2021, Michigan ranked #15 in the nation with 214.4 rushing yards per game, and catapulted up to #5 last season, averaging 238.9 yards per game on the ground.
Although Moore’s transition to sole offensive coordinator should be smooth given his track record at the university, any doubts about Moore should be assuaged by the abundance of talent that the Wolverines will return this season.
Unanimous All-American running back Blake Corum, who likely would have been a Heisman finalist last season had he not suffered a knee injury that effectively ended his season in Michigan’s penultimate regular season game, announced that he will forego the NFL draft and return to Michigan for another season.
Corum and teammate Donovan Edwards, a star in his own right who ran for 991 yards on just 140 carries last season (7.1 YPC), including three games with 170+ rushing yards, will be the most feared running back duo in the nation.
J.J. McCarthy, the heralded, rising junior quarterback who accounted for 27 touchdowns against only five interceptions last season, will be back under center for the Wolverines, and should generate a healthy amount of Heisman buzz.
Michigan’s last two seasons have been the most prosperous the program has had in decades, and Moore’s fingerprints are all over it. After a wretched 2-4 record in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, the Wolverines rattled off back-to-back: 12+ win seasons, convincing victories against rival Ohio State, and appearances in the College Football Playoff.
Though many of the team’s demons have been exorcised during the last two years, the Wolverines have yet to get over the final championship hump. If Moore has any say in the matter, 2023 will be the year of the Wolverine.
