Michigan football finds itself at a crossroads that feels all too familiar. With Sherrone Moore’s abrupt firing this week, the Wolverines are searching for their second head coach in just two years. Now, Connor Stalions, the infamous figure at the center of Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal, has intensified the coaching search conversation with a perspective that is the harsh reality Michigan will be bracing for.

Stalions took to social media with a pointed observation. He wrote, “Michigan’s most important challenge isn’t about who the next head coach is — it’s about who’s making that decision. Everyone is debating who ‘they’ will hire next. The real first step is defining who ‘they’ even are. Donors, regents, athletic department, player alumni — they all have a voice, and alignment from all of them is more important than anything else in the process.” 

Connor Stalions do not command the respect of Michigan or the college football world to have a take on the University’s functioning. But he’s not wrong in this one. The constant stream of scandals shows that whoever has been steering this ship hasn’t exactly been navigating smooth waters.​ And it’s the decision-makers who are at fault.

The reality is that Michigan’s athletic department under Warde Manuel has lurched from one crisis to another with alarming frequency. Manuel, who became athletic director in 2016, has presided over an era marked by controversy after controversy. There was the sign-stealing scandal that led to Connor Stalions’ departure. 

Before that, it was the hockey program that exploded with allegations. It was accused that coach Mel Pearson encouraged COVID-19 protocol violations and fostered a toxic work environment. And now Moore’s firing over an “inappropriate relationship” with a staff member has thrust the program back into the tabloids. When you’re dealing with this much dysfunction, it’s fair to ask whether the problem is the coaches or the person hiring them.​

Manuel’s continued presence as athletic director has become increasingly baffling to Michigan observers who’ve watched scandal after scandal unfold on his watch. Now, Moore’s firing leaves Michigan searching for yet another coach. But this time, donors and boosters might be eyeing much larger control over this coaching search.

The coaching search itself has already begun in earnest. Names like Jesse Minter and Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich are surfacing as early favorites. Some have also suggested Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer’s name. But Stalions’ point hits home. It doesn’t matter how impressive the candidate list looks if the decision-making structure is broken. 

Michigan donors have seen enough chaos under the current leadership structure to want a seat at the table this time around. The Wolverines rank among college football’s blue bloods, yet they’re operating with the organizational dysfunction of a program in turmoil. Whether Manuel survives this latest crisis or becomes its next casualty remains to be seen. But the person who hires the next coach matters just as much as who they choose. 

The Coaching carousel spins in Ann Arbor

The moment Michigan pulled the trigger on Sherrone Moore, the speculations have been nothing short of shocking. According to Kalshi’s prediction market, Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer has emerged as the frontrunner with a 29% chance of landing the job. He is followed by Washington’s Jedd Fisch at 23% and Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham at 17%. BetOnline has DeBoer listed at +475 odds, just behind Fisch at +450, making this essentially a two-horse race in the eyes of Vegas. 

Meanwhile, Dave Portnoy, Michigan’s most vocal booster, has gone completely rogue with his coaching wish list. “I don’t want to say I don’t want Deboer in case he gets the job, but I don’t want Deboer,” Portnoy declared on X. “Let’s just stop f****** around and give it to Gruden and go win a Natty.” Yes, that former Raiders coach, Jon Gruden, who resigned in 2021 after racist and misogynistic emails surfaced. 

Portnoy even dug up an old 1984 media guide showing that Gruden once wrote that he wanted to become Michigan’s head coach after graduation. The Barstool boss’s full wish list reads like a fever dream. “Gruden, Saban, Lanning, Jeff Monkin, Clark Lea, Kenny Dillingham, Deion,” he wrote. Setting aside the fact that Portnoy himself admitted, “I feel like I know stuff, I don’t know stuff” immediately after Moore’s firing, his push for Gruden shows just how wild this coaching search could get.​

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