Things haven't been this low in Michigan since the Wolverine faithful were trying to run off Jim Harbaugh.
Harbaugh, who ended up winning a national championship and then bolting from Ann Arbor, was about as close as anyone to being fired after an abysmal 2020 season and, had the Wolverines not turned it around in 2021, it's likely he would've been out.
Of course, we all know what happened next with the Michigan football program. Now, as the Wolverines try to pick up the pieces from some good — a national championship — and some bad — essentially cheating to make it happen — Sherrone Moore has been pegged as the man to lead them out of that tumultuous time and into a new and stable place.
The problem? He's done very little to earn the trust of Michigan football fans during his first season as the head coach of the Wolverines.
Michigan, sitting at an abysmal 5-5 overall record, will need to beat Northwestern this weekend or risk not even becoming bowl eligible this season as their final game of the season will feature a road trip to rival Ohio State, and we don't think the Wolverines will have the same kind of success against Ryan Day this time around.
As bad as Michigan's offense has been, the Wolverines have very little reason to believe that they'll see a significant turnaround in 2025, either. Outside of two offensive line commitments, Michigan has just two high-profile recruits coming in on offense — 4-star TE Andrew Olesh and 4-star WR Andrew Marsh — and they'll need to hit the Transfer Portal heavily this offseason to address some of the talent issues because it's not just scheme.
Michigan was hoping to address this by swaying 5-star QB Bryce Underwood from LSU. The Wolverines raised an eyepopping $10.5 million NIL deal to offer the high school quarterback, and that still hasn't been enough to get him to stay in-state.
If Moore isn't able to land his 5-star quarterback target, there's one thing that can be learned from this whole saga: The folks in Ann Arbor are passionate enough to raise astronomical amounts of money if it means winning.
This isn't really a new concept, but it is one that Sherrone Moore should be well aware of as he moves forward in Ann Arbor. Because if they're willing to raise $10.5 million for an unproven high school quarterback, you better believe they have the money ready to fire a head coach even if they just officially completed his contract two months ago.
Let's be clear: Moore isn't in any danger of being fired yet, but if he closes out this year with a blowout loss to Ohio State and talent acquisition doesn't pick up in 2025, we very well could be talking about him as a coach firmly on the hot seat at this point next year.
And make no mistake, Michigan has the money ready for whenever they decide to move on from the head coach.