Things took a dramatic turn for Michigan after the program fired its head coach, Sherrone Moore, due to an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. It was followed by Moore’s arrest. While we are yet to peel all the layers of the scandal, not everyone is unhappy that the Wolverines won’t have their former head coach on the sidelines.

“I’m just telling you from a passion, energy, and resource standpoint in the new age, no one’s really drilled deep at Michigan yet,” Josh Pate said on the December 15 episode of his show. “When you do, money is flying all over the place..

A little birdie has flown in my ear recently and told me, maybe since the Sherrone Moore firing, there’s a little bit of an uptick even in NIL contribution,” Pate said. “They are primed from an NIL contribution standpoint, from a donor energy and engagement standpoint.”

It all starts to add up. While no hard evidence shows Michigan’s NIL operation is about to explode, the possibility remains. Moore constantly found himself amid controversy, and over time, those issues defined Michigan more than its on-field performance. His firing for cause came just months after his second NCAA suspension for cheating in the Connor Stalions sign-stealing scandal.

Reports also claimed the 39-year-old deleted 52 text messages from Stalions shortly after the advanced scouting scheme became public. Taken together, these events over the past two years have been incredibly damaging for a blue-blood program like Michigan.

“We’re hurting,” a source inside the program said to Fox Sports. “And what’s worse is we’re not sure when and how the hurting will end. This is not who our program is.” Once the Moore situation cools off, Michigan needs a real talk with its boosters.

Boosters play a major role by investing funds directly into the athletic department, and in FY 2024 alone, those contributions totaled $44,022,517. Maize and Blue loyalists, such as Barstool Sports president Dave Portnoy, have already demonstrated the impact of that support. Billionaire Larry Ellison and Portnoy were instrumental in Michigan landing five-star recruit Bryce Underwood, going head-to-head with LSU to seal the deal, which is estimated to be worth more than $10 million over four years.

Underwood’s annual NIL value is projected at $3 million for the 2025 season alone. Booster confidence matters, and retaining Underwood is priority number one. Ultimately, that decision will hinge on who the next head coach is. That’s why Michigan can’t afford to drag its feet on this coaching search. Interim coach Biff Poggi is good for the time being. But after a 6–16 record at Charlotte, he’s simply not the person to lead the Wolverines.

All about the Kenny Dillingham fever at Ann Arbor

The Michigan coaching search is giving a lot of attention to ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham. The 35-year-old inherited an Arizona State program gutted by NCAA sanctions and the Herm Edwards fallout. He then turned a 3–9 opener into an 11–3 Big 12 champion and College Football Playoff team in 2024. That run delivered ASU’s first conference title since 2007 and its first-ever CFP berth. These are just major facts that Michigan is drooling over. Over the last half-decade, Dillingham has quietly built one of the strongest QB résumés in college football.

He helped Bo Nix win SEC Freshman of the Year at Auburn, then reunited with him at Oregon, where Nix threw for 3,593 yards and 29 touchdowns with a 71.9% completion rate in 2022. At ASU, he did it again with Sam Leavitt, turning a young dual-threat into the centerpiece of a playoff offense before injury. At Ann Arbor, Dillingham can try the same magic with Bryce Underwood. The 18-year-old produced well in his debut season, but he still has some minor flaws that Dillingham can work upon.

The resume is absolutely top-notch for him to enter the Big Ten Conference. But will he take it? The complication is his deep ASU roots and a looming new deal reportedly pushing him into the $7.4 million range. And when you ask Dillingham himself, he has a very sugar-coated answer. “I think that’s cool, I guess. I mean that’s one of the best programs in the country, one of the best logos in the country, I think everybody can agree there,” he said. “It’s one of the best jobs in the country.”