On June 1, Jim Harbaugh said that four Michigan football assistants would be head coaches as soon as 2024. What if it didn’t take that long?
Monday, in the aftermath of reported hazing incidents inside the Northwestern football program, 17-year head coach Pat Fitzgerald was fired by the Wildcats. Though the Wolverines did not play Northwestern last year and again do not this year, there could potentially be a profound effect on the maize and blue.
While it is just hypothetical, 247Sports director of recruiting Steve Wiltfong floated a name that would make sense for the Wildcats in Evanston — Michigan offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore.
Several good candidates for #Northwestern but Sherrone Moore should be one of the first calls to talk with. https://t.co/cF1kQ3ZhDm
— Steve Wiltfong (@SWiltfong247) July 10, 2023
Again, that’s Wiltfong floating a hypothetical. Also, Moore has yet to have a full season (or even one game) as the team’s sole offensive coordinator. He was a co-coordinator last year with Matt Weiss and while he was listed as a co-coordinator in 2021, he was serving under Josh Gattis at the time.
Certainly, he could be a candidate. As could defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, safeties coach Jay Harbaugh, and running backs coach Mike Hart.
However, being a candidate doesn’t mean that they’d accept the job, either. Some assistants do jump at the first Power Five opportunity, while others — such as former Ohio State OC Tom Herman who briefly took over the Texas Longhorns, or Brent Venables, the Clemson defensive coordinator who took over Oklahoma — wait for a prime opportunity.
Northwestern is coming off of a 1-11 season. While someone like Moore might appreciate the challenge, given the expanding nature of the Big Ten, which will be welcoming in USC and UCLA next year, it may behoove him (or any other candidate on staff) more to wait for a better situation to jump ship for should the Wildcats come calling.
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