Michigan board expands Moore probe, will look at firing, athletic dept. culture

Sarah Atwood, The Detroit News on Dec 12, 2025

Published in Football

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DETROIT — The University of Michigan board has authorized the law firm Jenner & Block to expand its investigation into the "situation" around former football coach Sherrone Moore's firing, according to two sources familiar with the board's plan but not authorized to speak publicly.

The Chicago-based law firm was previously hired to investigate the allegations against the head football coach weeks ago, when the board first heard the rumors, the two sources told The Detroit News on Friday. After enough evidence was gathered, Moore was fired by Athletic Director Warde Manuel for having an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.

Jenner & Block is the same firm the university's board hired to investigate the allegations of former President Mark Schlissel's relationship with a university employee. The board fired Schlissel, who denied there was a "physical relationship," but wrote a letter of apology as part of a settlement with the university that said he showed poor judgment in having the "close personal relationship" with a university staffer.

The firm's investigation into the entire situation will continue and look into the way Moore's firing was handled and the culture of the athletic department that allowed his relationship with a subordinate to go on, along with other scandals that have rocked the university in recent years, a source with knowledge of the investigation said.

Moore has subsequently been charged with third-degree felony home invasion and misdemeanor stalking and breaking and entering after he was arrested in Pittsfield Township at the apartment of the staffer. He could spend up to five years in prison on the home invasion charge, which is the most serious of the three.

In a statement released to the university community late Thursday evening, interim President Domenico Grasso asked those with knowledge of the situation to email UMconcerns@jenner.com. He praised the university's "swift and decisive action" in firing Moore. Grasso's statement added that "all the facts here must be known."

How long the investigation and how much of what Jenner & Block the university will release is yet to be known.

Moore's case is the latest scandal to hit the athletic department after the football program won a national championship under the cloud of an elaborate sign-sealing scandal orchestrated by low-level staffer Connor Stalions that led to multiple game suspensions that season for then-head coach Jim Harbaugh, who did not cooperate with NCAA investigators, and one for Moore, who was then the team's offensive coordinator.

Former co-offensive coordinator Matt Weiss was fired in 2023 because of a federal computer hacking criminal case that alleges he infiltrated the personal accounts of thousands of college athletes and stole intimate photographs and videos from 2015-23.

In the past three-plus years, Michigan fired its head hockey coach, Mel Pearson, for misconduct, in part over allegations he pressured players to defy COVID restrictions during the NCAA Tournament. The university also fired head men's basketball coach Juwan Howard, who once slapped a Wisconsin assistant coach during a postgame handshake line.