Former football coach jailed hours after his firing
By Associated Press, December 11, 2025Former Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore was jailed on Wednesday, according to court records, only hours after he was dismissed for what the university described as an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.
The Washtenaw County Jail confirmed that the thirty-nine-year-old Moore had been booked into the facility on Wednesday evening.
Jail records did not specify why he was detained or whether any court appearances had been scheduled.
In response to media enquiries, the Pittsfield Township Police Department issued a statement that did not identify anyone by name.
The statement said officers were called to investigate an alleged assault in Pittsfield Township, a few miles south of Michigan Stadium, and that one person had been taken into custody.
Police said the incident was not random and that there was no ongoing threat to public safety. The individual was being held pending a review of charges by prosecutors.
Given the nature of the allegations and the need to protect the integrity of the investigation, the department said it was unable to release further details.
Michigan said it had dismissed Moore for cause after finding evidence of his relationship with the staff member. His two-year tenure had been turbulent and included both disciplinary issues and a decline in performance compared with the national championship season.
Athletic director Warde Manuel said the conduct constituted a clear violation of university policy and that the institution maintained zero tolerance for such behaviour.
The announcement did not provide details of the alleged relationship. Moore, who is married with three daughters, did not respond to a request for comment from the Associated Press.
Moore finished this season with a record of nine and three, following an eight and five debut campaign. He had signed a five-year contract last year with a base salary of five point five million dollars a year. Under its terms, the university is not required to buy out the remaining years because he was dismissed for cause.
The programme now faces the task of searching for a third coach in four years. Moore had been promoted after Jim Harbaugh left to coach the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Wolverines, ranked eighteenth with a nine-and-three record, are scheduled to play fourteenth-ranked Texas on 31 December in the Citrus Bowl. Biff Poggi, who previously filled in for Moore during a suspension earlier this season, will serve as interim coach.
Moore was suspended for two games earlier this year as part of self-imposed sanctions for NCAA violations related to a sign-stealing case. The NCAA later added a third game to the penalty, which would have kept him off the sideline for next season’s opener.
Investigators found that Moore had deleted an entire fifty-two-message text thread with former staffer Connor Stalions, who had overseen the sign-stealing operation. The messages were later recovered and submitted to the NCAA.
Moore’s coaching career began after playing at Butler County Community College and the University of Oklahoma. He later held roles at Louisville and Central Michigan before joining Harbaugh’s staff at Michigan in 2018. He rose through the ranks and helped guide the team during its championship run.
Earlier similar cases have included Michigan State’s dismissal of Mel Tucker in 2023 and Arkansas’s decision to fire Bobby Petrino in 2012 following off-field scandals.