A lot has happened in the last two years in Ann Arbor. But when Sherrone Moore replaced Jim Harbaugh, it seemed like the darkest chapter was finally over. But the ghost of the past has continued to haunt Michigan to date. Just earlier this week, news submitting Moore to a self-imposed suspension of two games was announced by the school for he allegedly deleted analyst Conor Stalions’ thread of 52 text messages the same day the reports revealed the latter was running a scouting operation to capture opponents’ playcalling signals. But here’s the thing: the ban didn’t come without its set of quirks.

Moore’s suspensions are slated for Michigan’s Week 3 and Week 4 games against non-marquee opponents, Central Michigan and Nebraska. They sure did got to cherry pick. But unlike the suspensions that Harbaugh served, which saw him run practice sessions just as he routinely would, Morre will not be able to participate in any football activities during his ban, in addition to not being on the sideline on game day. And just as the ban was announced, far from taking anyone by surprise, it was as if almost impossible for everyone to barely say a word without frothing at the mouth. Former Ohio State HC Urban Meyer blatantly called out the NCAA, saying, “The NCAA is to blame for a lot of this. If you lie as a college football coach to the NCAA, in my personal opinion, you’re finished,” Meyer said. “You’re done.” 

The fact of the matter is, the blood-thirsty NCAA may not accept the self-imposed ban for Moore as the full extent of the punishment. Their August 2024 notice of allegations, which had cited Michigan for 11 violations, six of which were deemed Level I, accused Moore of committing a Level II violation. Nearly a year has passed since. But as late as Monday, a source has confirmed to ESPN and SI that the Committee on Infractions (COI) hearing in Michigan’s Stalions case is scheduled on June 6 and 7. We now have CBS Sports’ Josh Pate coming to read the room.

Michigan better brace itself for a bigger storm. The two-game suspension for Sherrone Moore? Just the tip of the iceberg, if you ask Pate. “It’s just a guess. I haven’t called our friends at the NCAA and asked them, but my best guess on this is Michigan understands something harsher than a two-game suspension for Sherrone Moore is coming. That’s their best guess. However, if you’re Michigan, and you’re gathered around the table, and you do want to at least give a show of awareness of the situation, here’s what that probably sounds like.

“‘Guys, they’re going to hit us. We should probably self-impose.’ And then someone else says, ‘Okay, but let’s be real, we don’t really know what they’re going to come at us with. So don’t go impose harsher sanctions than they’re going to come at us with. For all we know, they’re not going to come at us with much.‘ […] I’ll admit the storm clouds on the horizon look a lot darker than they did a month or two ago.”

Long story short, Pate broke it down with a dose of dry humor. A two-game suspension means they’re bracing for the NCAA to drop the hammer. But just maybe—on the off chance the NCAA goes light—they can say, “Hey, we already handled it.” It’s a gamble. A long shot. But it’s the move they made. As Pate summed it up, this might be Michigan’s version of damage control… or just wishful thinking in motion.

While a dark cloud already looms over Moore, the head coach’s future at Michigan looks all but sealed.

Sherrone Moore’s future with the Wolverines

The Connor Stalions scandal still haunts Michigan, and Sherrone Moore’s future may be caught in the crossfire. To dodge the NCAA’s wrath, the Wolverines handed Moore a self-imposed two-game suspension—conveniently timed to keep him on the sideline for the blockbuster Week 2 showdown against his alma mater, Oklahoma. But what happens after that? That’s what has folks nervous.

NevadaBuck didn’t hold back on Buckeye Scoop with Kirk Barton. “Even the stupidest Michigan fan has to look at this and think, ‘This can’t all be a coincidence,'” he said. Adding, “This can’t all just be some amazing bad luck that our president resigned or suspended Sherrone Moore or recruiting’s gone to heck. And we’ve got this looming case with the NCAA which nobody can really explain why.”

According to NevadaBuck, the heat on Sherrone Moore is real—and it’s getting hotter. There’s growing buzz that the NCAA could slap him with a show-cause penalty, a move that could crush his college coaching future. “If Sherrone Moore gets a show cause, I don’t know exactly what the rules but [Urban] Coach Meyer is under the impression, a lot of people are under the impression, that if you have a show cause, you can’t coach in college,” said the insider. We know, it’s the same type of hammer that drove Jim Harbaugh to the NFL. Now, if Moore gets hit, he’s not just off the Michigan sidelines—he’s untouchable nationwide.

Simply put, one ruling could leave a permanent scar. However, the connection between Sherrone Moore and Connor Stalions is impossible to overlook. Allegedly, Moore deleted 52 text messages with the mastermind of the sign-stealing scandal on the very day the news broke. But coincidence? The NCAA wasn’t buying it. They claimed to recover those messages through device imaging and handed Moore a Level 2 violation. So, it’s a move that raises more questions than answers. Now, the storm around Michigan is far from over.