The firing of University of Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore on Wednesday for having an “inappropriate relationship with a staff member” was the latest off-field scandal to rock Wolverines athletics in an era rich with on-field success.
While this decade has featured a deep March Madness run by the men’s basketball program, multiple College Football Playoff trips and a crowning CFP national championship in 2023, coaching scandals have also rocked much of the athletic department in recent years.
Here’s a timeline of the recent scandals in Ann Arbor dating back to 2022.
February 2022: Juwan Howard strikes Wisconsin assistant
After a 77-63 loss in Madison, men’s basketball coach Howard exchanged words with Badgers coach Greg Gard. In the subsequent dispute, Howard struck Joe Krabbenhoft in the face. The Big Ten suspended Howard for the final games of the regular season, and he was fined $40,000.
Interim coach Phil Martelli coached the five final games of the regular season and the postseason tournaments, during which the Wolverines won two games in the NCAA Tournament and reached the Sweet Sixteen.
After the incident, Howard’s employment at Michigan was put under a “zero-tolerance” policy by the school’s HR department.
August 2022: Michigan announces hockey coach will not return
In a 2022 anonymous survey of Michigan hockey players and staff, hockey coach Mel Pearson was accused of telling players to provide false information about COVID-19 contract tracing forms, deceiving recruits about how much scholarship money they would receive, and allegedly calling one player a “Jew.” An investigation carried out by WilmerHale, a law firm hired by the university, also found that Pearson showed an “inability or willingness” to hold the team’s director of hockey operations responsible for conduct that included the “mistreatment of female staff members.”
Individuals told WilmerHale that Pearson forced starting goaltender Strauss Mann to leave the program, believing it was a result of “retaliation for trying to address and improve the team’s culture.” The WilmerHale report found that players and staff feared retribution if they spoke out about Pearson’s actions.
Athletic director Warde Manuel announced that the school was parting ways with Pearson on August 5.
January 2023: Michigan co-offensive coordinator Matt Weiss is fired
The Michigan campus police announced an investigation into alleged computer access crimes at Schembechler Hall, the Wolverines’ team training facility. On Jan. 17, the University of Michigan Police Department confirmed it was examining “a report of computer access crimes that occurred at Schembechler Hall during December 21-23, 2022.” The accusations involved accessing university email accounts without authorization.
After the campus police announcement, Weiss — who was also the program’s QB coach — was put on leave before being fired three days later.
In a 2025 lawsuit, former coach Jim Harbaugh and school officials (including Manuel and former university president Santa Ono) were alleged to have known about Weiss accessing private information in Dec. 2022, but still allowing him to coach in the Fiesta Bowl later that month.
August 2023: Michigan announces self-imposed suspension for Harbaugh
During the campus police investigation in January, the NCAA announced alleged rules violations by Harbaugh and the Michigan program, including impermissible contact with recruits during the COVID-19 dead period. Following negotiations between Michigan and the NCAA, Michigan announced a self-imposed three-game suspension of Harbaugh. He missed the first three games of the season.
“I don’t think the current system is going to survive,” Harbaugh said on Aug. 28 in a scathing criticism of the NCAA. “The status quo is unacceptable. That’s my opinion.”
October-November 2023: NCAA investigates sign-stealing, Harbaugh suspended
In mid-October, the Big Ten announced that the NCAA was investigating Michigan over allegations of “possible rule-breaking around in-person scouting of opponents.”
On Nov. 11, the Big Ten suspended Harbaugh for the remainder of the regular season. Moore, then the team’s offensive coordinator, took over the interim role and led the Wolverines to an undefeated regular season. Harbaugh missed the last three regular-season games before returning for the Playoff and leading Michigan to its first national title since 1997.
December 2023-March 2024: Howard altercation with longtime assistant, later fired
On Dec. 7, senior guard — and Juwan’s son — Jace Howard was involved in a disagreement with Michigan strength and conditioning coach Jon Sanderson. Juwan reportedly came over to defend Sanderson initially, but grew angry with Sanderson’s behavior toward his son, leading to a heated altercation to the point where the two were separated. Sanderson, who had worked at the school for 15 years, filed a human resources claim and didn’t return to the team.
While Howard returned to full-time coaching on Dec. 15, he was fired in March after the team finished 8-24.
May 2025: Michigan suspends Moore for sign-stealing scandal
Before Moore’s second season as head coach, the program self-imposed a two-game suspension on him for his role in the sign-stealing scandal. Moore missed the team’s Week 3 and 4 games against Central Michigan and Nebraska in September.
August 2025: Michigan fined for sign-stealing, Harbaugh and Stalions banned
At the conclusion of the NCAA’s sign-stealing investigation, the governing body announced that Michigan would face fines that could surpass $30 million, but the team was not assessed any postseason bans. Harbaugh was assessed a 10-year show-cause order, barring him from coaching in college until 2038. Former staffer Conor Stalions was handed an 8-year show-cause order for his role in the scheme. Moore was set to be suspended for the opening game of the 2026 season.
December 2025: Moore fired for cause, later detained
On Wednesday afternoon, Moore was fired for “having an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.” He was later detained by police and held at the Washtenaw County Jail.