The suspension is timed to allow Moore to coach against his alma mater, Oklahoma
Michigan is expected to hand coach Sherrone Moore a two-game suspension during the 2025 season as a self-imposed punishment for the alleged advanced scouting scheme orchestrated by formal football staffer Connor Stalions, according to ESPN. Moore will miss Michigan’s Week 3 game against Central Michigan and its Week 4 Big Ten opener against Nebraska.
Notably, Michigan is not suspending Moore for the first two games, which allows him to coach against his alma mater, Oklahoma, in Week 2 in Norman.
Moore will be excluded from any team activities during the weeks he is suspended. Michigan will also likely hit Moore with recruiting-related punishments. ESPN says Moore’s suspension is tied back to him allegedly deleting a thread of 52 text messages with Stalions.
The NCAA is still investigating the purported sign-stealing scheme and has already delivered Michigan a notice of allegations. Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel recently said he has not had any conversations with the NCAA about a potential postseason ban.
“What I can point to is that Charlie Baker, when we won the championship, said they won it fair and square,” Manuel told 247Sports. “That’s something I can say that gives me some sense that they understand that this was a team who won that championship fair and square. I look at that, and as we move forward, we’ll see how it goes.”
Moore is the second Michigan coach to incur a suspension as a result of the sign-stealing scandal. The Big Ten suspended former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh for three games late in the 2023 season after conducting its own investigation. Harbaugh was able to return to the sidelines in the Big Ten Championship Game and eventually led the Wolverines to a win against Washington in the College Football Playoff National Championship.
In its January response to the NCAA’s notice of allegations, Michigan accused the NCAA of “grossly overreaching” and “wildly overcharging” the university despite a lack of evidence, according to documents obtained by Yahoo Sports. The school contends that out of 52 games involving Michigan opponents that Stalions allegedly scouted, only one was attended by Stalions himself.
Eight others were attended by then-Michigan staff members, while others were attended by friends and family, which is not an NCAA violation. The university alleges much of Stalions’ sign-stealing operation was achieved through legal avenues, and not in a way that would provide an unfair advantage.
Moore, who enters his second season as head coach, went 8-5 in 2024 — winning the final two games as double-digit underdogs, including a shocker at eventual national champion Ohio State.
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