No one is above anything.
If you haven’t learned that by now in the new world of college football, learn it today. Schools aren’t above bad behavior. Players aren’t above bad behavior. Coaches aren’t above bad behavior.
The only surprise left is that anyone is surprised at anything, anymore.
The sudden firing on Wednesday, Dec. 10, of Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore — who less than two years ago was being celebrated as the right man at the right time — only proves that what you see and what you get can be two different things in college sports today.
Moore was characterized as a strong-willed, disciplined young leader, who in his introductory press conference said, “I coach hard, but I love harder.”
That once admirable statement will now become a punchline, after Moore was dismissed by U-M for an “inappropriate relationship with a staff member.”
“This conduct constitutes a clear violation of University policy,” athletic director Warde Manuel said in a statement, “and U-M maintains zero tolerance for such behavior.”
With that, the coach who took over in 2024, after Jim Harbaugh shocked fans by jumping to the NFL, departs with a shock of his own.
Or maybe it’s just a shock to folks who still believed that being the leader of a major college team implied responsibility, decorum, self-discipline and role-model behavior.
Silly us.
No one is above anything.
Don’t brag, gloat or judge yet
Now, it must be said that, as of this writing, no one has heard Moore’s side of the story. He was detained by Saline police, and turned over to Pittsfield Township police on Wednesday. Hours after the initial call, Moore was booked in the Washtenaw County Jail.
That looks really bad. You start the day as Michigan football coach and end it in a cell? But Moore’s side will eventually be forthcoming. And I’m guessing it won’t match Michigan’s.
Who you ultimately believe will depend on what you hear. But we all should wait until both sides have clearly stated their cases.
In the interim, the lesson here is simple: Don’t brag and don’t gloat. Because your school could be next.
Let’s be honest: There’s plenty of hidden smirking between our state’s two big universities whenever one or the other gets egg on its face.
Spartan fans clucked when Michigan basketball had its Ed Martin scandals. Wolverine fans rolled their eyes when Mel Tucker sunk in inglorious fashion.
No doubt some Michigan State fans are enjoying this ignoble end to Moore’s tenure. They will point out that Michigan haughtily paints itself as a university above such behavior.
Nonsense. There are no universities above any behavior.
Are MSU fans so quickly forgetting the brutal Larry Nassar saga? Or how Tucker was fired for harassing anti-sexual violence advocate Brenda Tracy?
Are Michigan fans forgetting the Connor Stalions sign-stealing scandal that resulted in nearly $30 million in NCAA fines and show-cause penalties for much of the coaching staff that departed after 2023’s CFP title? Or the lawsuit over sexual abuse by former team doctor Robert Anderson, which resulted in a $490 million settlement?
No one is above anything. No school. No team. No player.
Not anymore.
No surprises anymore
If Moore did what the school announced he was fired for, he would only join a long list of coaches — including, but not limited to Bobby Petrino at Arkansas, Rick Pitino at Louisville, Hugh Freeze at Ole Miss and even Rich Rodriguez (who used to have Moore’s job at U-M) at Arizona — all of whom were accused of sexual misconduct on the job.
Meanwhile, schools such as LSU think nothing of wooing a coach such as Lane Kiffin away from his team before the College Football Playoff field has been announced, and coaches such as Kiffin think nothing of taking the money and bolting, while claiming that God told him, “It’s time to take a new step.”
Let’s leave God out of college football, shall we?
It’s clearly the low country for men, with mostly good behavior but too often bad. It’s a tapestry of the Jerry Sandusky abuse at Penn State, a hazing scandal at Northwestern and accusations of players betting on their own action at Iowa and Iowa State. Heck, just last month, MSU had 14 wins in 2023 and 2024 — under three coaches (though only through the actions of one, Tucker) — vacated for recruiting violations.
Michigan, with Moore sitting in a jail cell Wednesday evening, just scribbled its name back on the list.
This is the sport now. Or should I say the business? So cynical has college football become that people are already whispering that perhaps this was a good thing for Michigan after Moore’s eight losses in two seasons.
Others are murmuring that it’s open season on Michigan’s stars — such as freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood — to be wooed away by other schools and their NIL money.
Lost in all of this is that the first Black head coach in Michigan football history has just gone down in flames, and his wife and three daughters will now be subject to the worst kind of public attention.
That may be his fault. Or maybe not. We still do not know.
What we do know is that none of this should surprise you.
No one is above anything.
The sooner we accept that, the sooner we’ll stop feeling like we just got hit in the face with a maize-and-blue shovel.
Contact Mitch Albom: malbom@freepress.com. Check out the latest updates with his charities, books and events at MitchAlbom.com. Follow him @mitchalbom on x.com.
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