Michigan Coaching Search Update Emerges During College Football Playoff
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The University of Michigan has reportedly reiterated to players and their families that the school hopes to have a new football coach in place before Christmas.
FootballScoop’s John Brice reported on Saturday, Dec. 20, that Michigan officials recently held Zoom calls with players’ families. The Wolverines fired head coach Sherrone Moore earlier this month after an internal investigation found that he engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. Moore was later detained by police as part of an investigation into an alleged assault in Pittsfield Township, Mich.
Brice’s update came amid a loaded College Football Playoff slate. Three of the four first-round games took place Saturday, while a Michigan team that finished 9-3 watched from home.
Biff Poggi is serving as Michigan’s interim head coach. The Wolverines face Texas in the Citrus Bowl on Dec. 31, two days before the transfer portal opens.
“With the mess at Michigan, I just don’t think you’re going to see a lot of the quote unquote top guys interested in that job,” a college football source told Brice. “Who’s going to want to walk into that mess?”
Who Will Be the Next Michigan Football Head Coach?
Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer has already publicly said he intends to stay with the Crimson Tide, who advanced to the College Football Playoff quarterfinals with a victory over Oklahoma on Friday night.
Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham agreed to a new five-year contract and said he was never offered Michigan’s coaching job. The Sun Devils are 19-7 over the past two seasons and face Duke in the Sun Bowl on Dec. 31.
“Michigan’s an unbelievable job with unlimited resources, with people who will do whatever they can to make it successful, who want to see it succeed,” Dillingham said. “Somebody’s going to get an unbelievable opportunity … to take over one of the best programs in the country, with one of the best rosters in the country.”
Brice added that Washington coach Jedd Fisch, who served as a Michigan assistant during the 2015 and 2016 seasons, has “no traction at all” to replace Moore. Fisch is 15-11 in two seasons at Washington and led the Huskies to an LA Bowl victory over Boise State on Dec. 13.
Brice previously listed Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich as a possible Wolverines head coaching candidate. Stenavich was an All-Big Ten offensive lineman at Michigan in the mid-2000s and worked for the Wolverines from 2011 through 2013.
Related: NFL Offensive Coordinator Linked to Michigan After Sherrone Moore Firing
Related: Former NFL Head Coach Emerges as Candidate to Join Bill Belichick at North Carolina
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Dec 21, 2025, where it first appeared in the College section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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