College Football: What should Michigan do after losing Jim Harbaugh to the Los Angeles Chargers?

• New man in charge: Michigan should promote offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore to head coach.

• 6-0 as interim head coach: Moore went undefeated in the six games Harbaugh was suspended this season.

• Massive wins on his resume already: Two of those six wins came against top-10 opponents in No. 10 Penn State and second-ranked Ohio State.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Shockwaves throughout the football world were sent Wednesday night when it was reported that Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh would be returning to the NFL to coach the Los Angeles Chargers. By doing so, he became the first coach in 26 years to win a national championship and not return the following season (Nebraska’s Tom Osborne, 1997). 

The move makes sense for several reasons. First, Harbaugh accomplished his goal of winning a national title at his alma mater this year and is going out on top. Second, the Chargers job is particularly attractive because they already have a young franchise quarterback in Justin Herbert. 

Harbaugh also always seemed eager to return to the league, as he interviewed for the Vikings job a couple of years ago. He was successful as the San Francisco 49ers head coach from 2011-2014, leading them to three consecutive NFC championship games in his first three years there. In 2012, he brought the 49ers to the Super Bowl, where they lost to the Baltimore Ravens, who were coached by Harbaugh’s older brother, John. If Jim can add a Super Bowl to his resume, he’ll join Pete Carroll, Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer as the only coaches to win both a national championship and a Super Bowl.

Then there’s the contentious relationship Harbaugh has with the NCAA. He was suspended for the first three games of this season due to recruiting violations. He was also forced to miss the final three games of 2023 amid a sign-stealing investigation. That investigation is still ongoing and could potentially lead to sanctions on Michigan’s program this offseason. 

So where do the defending champs go from here? The answer is pretty simple. Promote the man who kept the ship steady while Harbaugh was absent: offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Sherrone Moore. Not only did Moore go a perfect 6-0 in Harbaugh’s stead, but two of those wins came against top-10 opponents: No. 10 Penn State and second-ranked Ohio State.

Moore has also proven to be a more than capable offensive coach. Michigan’s offense was the Power Five’s ninth-best in terms of expected points added per play. In two of his three years coaching the Wolverines’ offensive line, Michigan brought home the Joe Moore Award, which is given to the best offensive line in college football. He also seems to be beloved in the locker room, which is important for a program that was built so much on culture under Harbaugh.

While someone like LSU’s Brian Kelly, Kansas’ Lance Leipold or Kansas State’s Chris Kleiman may make more of a splash, Michigan should keep continuity in its program after winning it all instead of completely resetting the program. Plus, there’s no guarantee that some of those top names would be interested in taking over a program that could be getting hit with sanctions this offseason.

Sherrone Moore proved this year that he can lead Harbaugh’s team to victories, even over elite opponents. He’s earned the right to show whether or not he can do the same with his own squad.