Michigan is preparing for Sherrone Moore to be the coach for the potential 1,000th win, but the win will go to Harbaugh
There is a chance Michigan will get its 1,000th win if the Wolverines can beat Maryland on Saturday. There is also a chance Sherrone Moore will be the head coach.
Throughout the year, with all the suspensions, adversity, and last-minute decisions made by the Big Ten, Michigan Wolverines’ head coach Jim Harbaugh has needed to lean on his assistant coaches more than ever before.
At the beginning of the season, Harbaugh delegated head coaching duties among multiple coaches, many of whom got a half to coach one of the first three games. One coach who got a full game was offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore.
Seven weeks later, Moore was thrown into the fire yet again, but this time he only had 16 hours notice he would be the acting head coach against the Penn State Nittany Lions. As the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, Moore was still expected to call plays, but had the added responsibility of being on the headset during defensive drives, calling timeouts, challenging plays and deciding which direction the Wolverines wanted to go offensively as the game wore on.
At the conclusion of the 24-15 win, Moore gave a heartfelt interview broadcast on national television. While he had to apologize after the interview to his mom and his grandma for his language. he did not apologize for the emotions he felt after such a grueling win after a very difficult week for the program.
Defensive line coach Mike Elston told the media on Wednesday that “everybody was feeling those emotions” that Moore was.
“I don’t think it was just coach Moore. It was a tough week for everyone. Especially when you have such a beloved head coach like coach Harbaugh that everybody can relate to, everybody loves him in this building, and to see him attacked and then to see how things unfolded as the week went, it was an emotional time for everybody,” Elston said. “And it’s tough. You know, you get done with an emotional game like that, and someone puts a microphone and a camera in your face, and that just happened to be coach Moore. I think that would have happened to quite a few coaches and players who feel the same way about coach Harbaugh that he feels, and it’s hard. When you’re in the moment as an athlete and as a coach and you get such an emotional win, and this game is an emotional game and things like that happened, I think everybody was feeling that way that day.”
With a 2-0 record this season in games Moore has been the head coach, Michigan is preparing for Moore once again to lead the way this Saturday against the Maryland Terrapins. To add even more storylines to a very chaotic season, Moore is in line to potentially coach Michigan’s 1,000th win in program history, creating a bitter-sweet taste in the coach and players’ mouths with the possibility of the memorable win taking place without their head coach.
“I think it’d be incredibly disappointing (if Harbaugh was suspended Saturday),” Elston said. “I believe that of anybody, he’s earned this opportunity to be with his team, to be a part of this victory.
“For him not to be a part of that would be an absolute shame.”
Moore added: “I definitely want coach (Harbaugh) to be the coach when that happens. I would say to me, and to everybody else, that would be his win. It wouldn’t count as mine. He’s the head coach of this football team and I’m just standing in there to make sure we don’t mess it up.”
As it stands, Harbaugh will not be on the sidelines, but Moore’s only goal is to keep the train moving and the team’s focus on the field amid all the distractions.
“From the start of the year, we already knew this was a really special team and what we had in the locker room, the leadership on the team,” Moore said. “The leadership has just taken it more at hand [and] said, ‘Hey, all this is against us. What are we going to do about it?’
“The guys just have a one-track mind — everybody has a one-track mind of, ‘OK, what are we going to do this week to beat Maryland?’”
On Saturday, Moore tried to keep the emotions in check during the game. He also recognized he was not going to win the game alone. Moore kept everything the same as if Harbaugh was on the sidelines, for the most part, delegating responsibilities and trusting his other coaches to do the job they have been performing all season long.
“I think that it just goes to show you that the staff that coach Harbaugh has put together is a very strong staff, both offensively, defensively and special teams,” Elston said. “Sherrone has a great group of coaches over there that he leans on and delegates, and I don’t see him acting any different or (feeling) any more pressure. He was the same way in the game day locker room this weekend that he’s been every week that I’ve been with him, so I just think he trusts the guys who work with him on a daily basis to fill the roles, and maybe take on an added role as the game was going, but I didn’t see that impact him in any different way. And he’s an incredible leader, and the guys didn’t flinch, and neither to the staff.”
If Moore has to captain the ship once again, he has proven he is capable of keeping the Wolverines’ playoff hopes alive and can lead the team, no matter what happens on Friday during Harbaugh’s court hearing.
