When Michigan moved on from Jim Harbaugh and handed Sherrone Moore the keys, the program expected stability, not a spiralling fallout. Now, the school’s growing bill for the culture probe tied to Moore’s ouster has already topped what Michigan paid him, turning a coaching change into an expensive institutional mess.

“Breaking: Michigan spent another $4 million on its ongoing investigation into circumstances prompting ex-football coach Sherrone Moore’s ouster and the broader culture of the athletic department, new records show,” reported Dave Boucher, an investigative reporter with the Detroit Free Press. “Total spend is now more than $6 million.”

It’s a bitter financial irony for the Wolverines. Jenner and Block’s sweeping investigation racked up a $6 million tab, easily eclipsing the roughly $5.6 million Michigan actually paid Moore for his lone season at the helm. They avoided a massive buyout, but the legal receipts are catching up.

According to the reports, it’s expected to grow. They handed the responsibility of carrying out the investigation to an outside law firm, Jenner & Block. The financial toll became clear in January when the university received two invoices from the firm totaling over $4 million for that month alone. The University of Michigan produced the invoices after a request made under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act.

Very little is known about the investigation process from the invoices. However, it assures a pricey external inquiry is brewing. Back in December, Michigan took the tough call of dismissing Moore from the head coaching position amid allegations of an improper relationship with a female staffer.

Falling outside both contract terms and university policy, it pushed Michigan to take steps to fire him for cause. According to USA TODAY Network, Moore was supposed to make $510,000 in base salary and $5.1 million in “additional compensation” this year. Meanwhile, the university owed $13.9 million if it fired him without cause. 

Firing Sherrone Moore for cause voided a massive $13.9 million buyout, initially looking like a clean financial break. Instead, the messy fallout and expanding departmental probe mean those anticipated savings are rapidly bleeding into unreasonably high hourly attorney fees.

“Make no mistake, we will leave no stone unturned. And any further actions we take will be based on credible evidence and findings developed through a rigorous investigation,” said Domenico Grasso, Michigan President. 

Paige Shiver, the woman identified to have been in an inappropriate affair with Moore, was his executive assistant. Apparently, she told Michigan about the affair just two days before Moore was demoted. After the firing order came, the ex-head coach allegedly went to her apartment and threatened to kill himself in front of her. However, the investigation is not just about Moore. Even though the university has not spilled any more information, there are others who are tangled in this investigation process.

In February, a Washtenaw County court granted a woman a personal protection order against LaTroy Lewis, who served as Michigan’s assistant football coach from 2022 to 2024. Lewis’s attorney has pushed back on the claims, even as the Ann Arbor Police Department says he is the focus of an ongoing investigation. And as the legal bill grows for the Michigan Wolverines, Moore pleaded to settle the case.

Ex-Michigan Wolverines’ head coach Sherrone Moore’s plea deal 

On March 6, Moore reportedly reached a plea agreement, trading a no-contest plea to two new misdemeanors for the dismissal of a felony and two other charges.

“All the [initial] charges against Mr. Moore were not supported by facts of law,” Ellen Michaels, Moore’s attorney, said. “The dismissal of those charges validates the concerns we raised about the investigation from the very beginning.”

However, Judge J. Cedric Simpson denied the attorney’s request to remove the electronic tether requirement from the ex-Michigan head coach’s bond. Moore’s fate will be decided on April 14 in Washtenaw County Court. He is likely to face a possible sentence of up to one year in prison.

Even though the attorneys are expecting Moore to come out clean without serving any prison term, NFL legend and Auburn alum Cam Newton dropped a harsh take on the ex-Michigan head coach 

“We live in a day and age where you are guilty until proven innocent. Not innocent until proven guilty,” Newton kept things straight that no matter what Moore’s attorneys claim, whether he is clean or not, it will depend on the final verdict. 

And even if found non-guilty, he believes Moore will not find a new job in the next year until “that stench kind of air out a little bit.” Time to find out whether Michigan’s $6 million-and-climbing investigation uncovers more troubles for Moore.