Sherrone Moore is set to make his debut as Michigan’s full-time head coach on Saturday against Fresno State. He will do so without a contract, according to USA Today.
Moore and the Wolverines reportedly have yet execute a contract that would lock in Moore as coach, a rarely seen situation at the sport’s top level where coach compensation and security is pivotal for a program.
It has been seven months since Moore was announced as the successor for Jim Harbaugh, who left the program for the NFL with a College Football Playoff title and a cloud of NCAA sanctions on the horizon. The move was widely expected, as Moore served as head coach for the Wolverines in four games while Harbaugh served a suspension in 2023.
It was reported at the time that Michigan would give Moore a five-year contract paying him $6 million per year, which would put him on the low end for power program coaches and on the high end for first-time head coaches. Ohio State’s Ryan Day received $4.5 million per year after a similar promotion in 2019.
How does Michigan’s Sherrone Moore operate without a contract?
Without a contract in place, Moore and Michigan are reportedly working under the memorandum of understanding Moore signed when he accepted the job in January. That deal would outline the basics of Moore’s tenure, such as his salary and bonuses.
Crucially, however, the memorandum isn’t binding. Coaches like to have contracts because it makes them harder to fire. Schools like contracts because it makes it harder for a coach to leave. Michigan and Moore are basically free to do both without a contract in place. With Michigan, and Moore specifically, still facing potential NCAA sanctions, that’s significant.
The memorandum also reportedly included a deadline for a full-time contract — a clause that says it is “contingent upon executing a full employment agreement within 90 days of signing this MOU” — which passed in April.
It’s unclear why Moore and Michigan haven’t put pen to paper. When asked by USA Today, Michigan says it expected to be done soon:
“Coach Moore and his representative have been working with our university attorneys to complete a fully executed contract and we expect that to be finalized soon,” the Michigan spokesperson, Dave Ablauf, told USA TODAY Sports in an email Wednesday.
Moore apparently isn’t alone on his own coaching staff in this regard. The only Michigan coach with a finalized contract when USA Today received a response from its Freedom of Information Act request on Aug. 15 was defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale.
Michigan reportedly said “a few” of the program’s assistant coaches had agreed to deals and “some” have signed contracts, though it declined to say which ones.