Sherrone Moore started out looking calm, breaking into an easy smile, standing on a football field, wearing a Michigan cap, staring into a TV camera — the moment most of America was introduced to him.

“First on the win, to say this has been a crazy 24 hours for your guys,” Fox sideline reporter Jenny Taft said after Michigan football beat Penn State on the road on Nov. 11, 2023. “To win on the road, in this environment, when there were doubts — Sherrone, what does it mean to you?”

Then, it was like a flip was switched. Moore was overcome with emotion and started wiping tears.  "I want to thank the Lord," Moore said. "I want to thank coach (Jim) Harbaugh."

Harbaugh had missed the game as part of a three-game suspension by the Big Ten, a couple weeks after the public learned about the Connor Stalions sign-stealing scandal. Barely 24 hours before the game in Happy Valley, Moore had been named acting head coach.

"I (expletive) love you man,” Moore said, his voice cracking. Now, he was sobbing. “I love the (expletive) out of you man.”

Moore jabbed his finger at the camera and his tone shifted again: “We did this for you!”

Blake Corum, the star Michigan running back, walked up and they slapped hands. Moore kept sobbing. He wrapped his arm around Corum, hugging him around his neck. “These guys did it man,” Moore continued, his voice cracking. “Talk to him, man. Love you.”

Moore spun and walked off. At the time, his raw emotion seemed endearing.

But now, after a week that saw Moore go from discussing a Citrus Bowl opponent to sitting for an arraignment in district court on Friday, Dec. 12?

Everything feels different. Everything looks different, even that video. Now, it’s difficult to watch, and it's disturbing seeing somebody melt down on national TV, unable to maintain any sense of composure, overcome with emotion.

Seventy-six days after that postgame moment with Taft, Moore was named the school’s 21^st football coach. The feeling was, Moore would continue what Harbaugh had built, just like he did in that game.

But Moore’s tenure has unraveled in a stunning, spectacular way.

Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel fired Moore for cause Wednesday, after finding “credible evidence” of "an inappropriate relationship with a staff member," and "a clear violation of University policy,” according to a statement from Manuel.

There are so many layers to this story, and so many tentacles, too.

It’s an epic story with a sudden rise and a spectacular collapse.

It’s a story filled with controversy and NCAA violations, scandals and suspensions, arrests and allegations — so many, involving so many coaches, it’s hard to keep them all straight.

It’s a story with a darkness and a troubling undertone. On the day Moore was fired, he was later arrested and held in jail. Two days after that, on Friday, Moore was charged with felony home invasion, misdemeanor breaking and entering and misdemeanor stalking related to a domestic relationship.

But this story has something else. Something incredibly human that should remain private — in the wake of all of this, it’s hard not to feel for his wife and family. The true victims in this story.

“This breach of trust by Coach Moore is painful for many in our community, first and foremost, the individuals directly involved in this situation," interim Michigan President Domenico Grasso said in a message to students and faculty members on Thursday. "All of the facts here must be known, so the University’s investigation will continue.”

NEW: Warde Manuel's future tied to Michigan's Sherrone Moore investigation

Scandal wrapped inside a scandal

When you try to pull together a coherent narrative of Moore’s time at Michigan, all the controversies and scandals start to bump into one another. Like a wild, slow-motion demolition derby that was happening just under the surface — just out of sight, and most of it self-inflicted.

So, let’s go back in time, to a day that changed everything.

It was Sept. 1, 2023 — the day Connor Stalions went into "KGB" mode, as he called his elaborate sign-stealing operation. Decked out in Central Michigan gear, he disguised himself as a member of the Chippewas football staff and found a spot on the sideline as CMU played Michigan State in East Lansing. Later, an NCAA investigation found that Stalions was attempting to steal signs and gain a competitive advantage.

Did Moore know about it? Did he talk to Stalions that day? It’s not clear, although the NCAA did find that he had deleted numerous texts to Stalions.

The next day, Moore was supposed to coach his first game as Michigan’s sole offensive coordinator — a tremendous moment for this young coach.

But Moore wasn't allowed to be on the sideline for Michigan's season opener against East Carolina on Sept. 2. He and head coach Harbaugh were suspended — a ban self-imposed by the program — as the NCAA investigated recruiting violations for pandemic-era recruiting violations.

Yes, you need a bingo card — or rather, a cheat sheet of cheating — to keep all of the allegations straight at Michigan.

But Harbaugh (who took a three-game ban) and Moore watched the game together at Moore’s house, while Moore’s wife, Kelli, made sandwiches, according to Harbaugh.

"We had a good time," Harbaugh said a few days later in Ann Arbor. "It was excellent."

Now, that anecdote takes on a completely different feel. How their private lives and scandal had blended together for years.

One more tidbit from that moment?

Jesse Minter was the acting head coach for Michigan, as the Wolverines won, 30-3. Now, Minter is the Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator and he’s been mentioned as a possible replacement for Moore. For the record, Minter, also, was found to have violated NCAA recruiting rules and agreed to a one-year show-cause penalty.

Actually, we have to go a little farther back than that moment: Why was Moore promoted as sole offensive coordinator?

That’s a whole different scandal. Matt Weiss, who had shared the responsibilities with Moore in 2022, was fired after allegations of computer access crimes, illegally accessing and downloading photos and other personal data from the athletes. Weiss has been indicted on 14 counts of unauthorized access and 10 counts of aggravated identity theft — a case still moving through the federal court system, though Weiss was fired by U-M in January 2023. 

That all led to Moore as sole offensive coordinator — even while he was suspended for a game.

That’s the culture of this timeframe for the Wolverines — one scandal wrapped inside another, an NCAA turducken with plenty of other unrelated scandals scattered around like side dishes in a holiday dinner.

All of them colliding just under the surface.

'Ready' to be a head coach

Moore's firing has quickly overshadowed how Moore was an absolutely fantastic assistant coach and a gifted recruiter who played a big role in Michigan’s 2023 College Football Playoff championship.

Moore was hired from Central Michigan as a tight ends coach in 2018 when Harbaugh completely revamped his staff, wanting to bring in younger coaches to help recruiting.

After three seasons, Moore received a significant promotion, taking over the offensive line — a position he had played at Oklahoma, but never coached — and he crafted one of the best units in the country. For two straight seasons, Michigan's offensive line won the Joe Moore Award, given annually to the best offensive line in college football.

"Sherrone Moore is a shining star," Harbaugh told reporters in November 2021. "It's always been easy to see. Tremendous coach, teacher, has a tremendous connection to the players.”

Players raved about Moore’s enthusiasm, energy and the vibe he brought to the team.  And assistant coaches on staff marveled about his talent.

"I think they're the best O-line in the country and I think they're the best-coached O-line in the country," Minter told reporters in 2022. "I think Sherrone Moore, any position, is one of the best position coaches I've had the chance to be around.”

By 2023, it was all coming together for Michigan. That strong, well-coached offensive line. A talented, two-headed running game. And the Wolverines were barreling toward the national championship, continuing to win even as Harbaugh racked up suspensions. He missed six games that season, and Moore was acting head coach for four of them.

"I have 10 coaches that will be future head coaches," Harbaugh told reporters in November 2023. "And Sherrone is — he's the best of the best. His toughness, mental toughness, physical toughness. And there's nobody that doubts Sherrone Moore — his dedication, his connection, his commitment to the team."

But again, even as Michigan was winning, those controversies and scandals kept bumping into each other. Harbaugh missed the final three games of the 2023 season — that Big Ten ban over the sign-stealing scandal, before the NCAA had even taken action — and Moore took over as the acting coach on game days.

Then, on Nov. 17, 2023, U-M fired Chris Partridge, reportedly for his part in the sign-stealing fiasco: The linebackers coach was alleged to have destroyed evidence in connection with the scandal.

Two days later, Moore was the acting coach again against Ohio State, with the Wolverines playing for a spot in the Big Ten championship game. And if it was an audition to prove he could one day be Michigan’s coach, he nailed it.

"Coach Moore said from the get-go that he's going to call the most aggressive game he's ever called," Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy said after Michigan's monumental 30-24 win in Columbus.

Moore was bold and aggressive, making the right calls — while simultaneously serving as the steady hand the program needed at a crucial moment — and he simply outcoached Ohio State coach Ryan Day, who lost his third straight game to Michigan.

"It goes back to the kids, how they prepare, how they attack things, and how they work," Moore said. "I'd be doing them a disservice if I try to be conservative. When they're going out there running 150s in the summer — blood, sweat and tears — working their tails off in the weight room, doing everything they can, they put their trust in me as a play-caller on offense to be aggressive in these games. That's what they want. So that's what we gave them."

The three games at the end of the 2023 season were Moore's dress rehearsal, of sorts. He won a top-10 road game against Penn State, with 32 straight runs to end a 24-15 victory. He led the Wolverines to a win against Maryland as U-M became the first NCAA program with 1,000 wins. Then, the Wolverines beat Ohio State for a third consecutive year, locking up a trip to Indianapolis before Harbaugh was reinstated.

Moore had done his job. He had held the team together, setting up the national championship run. And it was clear to many that Moore was ready to take over a team.

Something, actually, Harbaugh had predicted in 2022.

"Beyond ready," Harbaugh told reporters, "to be a head coach."

Controversy before first game

When Harbaugh jumped to the Los Angeles Chargers a few days after the CFP title, Moore was the obvious choice to replace him.

“Sherrone stepped up this fall and served as the interim head coach when the program and especially the team needed him,” Manuel said in a statement. “Sherrone handled that situation in a way that sealed my already-growing confidence in him. He didn’t make it about him, it was always about the team!“

On the surface, the program was in great shape. The Wolverines were the defending national champs and had won 40 of their previous 43 games, including three straight outright Big Ten titles.

But Moore was actually taking over a tough situation. Harbaugh took several key coaches with him to the NFL, including Minter, head strength & conditioning coach Ben Herbert, defensive line coach Mike Elston and defensive backs coach Steve Clinkscale.

And Jay Harbaugh, Jim’s son, left for the Seattle Seahawks.

Meanwhile, the NFL raided the Michigan roster, taking 13 Wolverines in the draft — a program record and the most of any school that year. That left the Wolverines in a precarious position, just trying to keep the program headed in the right direction.

MAIZE AND BUSTED: All the Michigan athletics scandals, embarrassments under Warde Manuel

But before Moore could even coach a game, more controversies around the program found their way into the headlines:

• On March 16, 2024, defensive line coach Greg Scruggs was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated and resigned five days later.
• On April 15, 2024, star quarterback-turned-recruiter Denard Robinson was suspended after crashing a car at 3 a.m. in Ann Arbor.
• And behind the scenes, the NCAA continued to investigate the Wolverines.

Michigan's fall to ordinary

Moore’s first season was uninspiring.

Michigan’s offense was a mess. The Wolverines had one of the worst scoring offenses, grounded by a brutal passing attack that cycled through three starting quarterbacks, did not have a wideout with either 250 receiving yards or three touchdowns and didn't have any games with 225 passing yards.

The Wolverines lost four of five games in the middle of the season and everything seemed bleak.

Until one stunning day that salvaged the season for the Wolverines: Dec. 1, 2024.

Michigan 13, Ohio State, 10 — a shocking upset for the ages.

"You talk about a gritty performance by a bunch of guys! I love these dudes!" Moore gushed to a Fox reporter. "This is why you come to Michigan!"

It should have been one of Moore’s finest moments — the Wolverines' epic fourth consecutive victory over the Buckeyes.

But it ended in ugliness. In yet another controversy.

The Wolverines tried to plant a flag on the midfield "O" in Ohio Stadium, and a fight broke out. It got so crazy that multiple law enforcement agencies had to break it up, using pepper spray to separate the players.

"It was emotions on both sides," Moore said. "I did see they had the flag and guys were waving it around and their guys charged us. There's emotion on both sides. It can't happen. Rivalry games get heated, especially this one, it's the biggest one in the country, so we got to handle that one better."

Issues lurking under surface

The remnants of those program-wide controversies kept popping up during the 2025 season, Moore's second as the full-time coach.

Michigan slapped a two-game suspension on Moore for his deleted texts to Stalions as part of the program's sign-stealing scandal, but the timing was almost laughable. He coached the opener and U-M's marquee Week 2 trip to Oklahoma — his alma mater — before handing the reins to assistant Biff Poggi for Weeks 3 and 4. The Wolverines clobbered Central Michigan and then won a three-point road victory over Nebraska in the conference opener. The NCAA's cavalcade of punishment for the program for its sign-stealing violations, meanwhile, included another suspension for Moore (though this one, a one-gamer, was set to be served in the 2026 season opener).

And even though Michigan finished the season with a 9-3 record, something significant was obvious: The Wolverines were no longer feared.

Not like Ohio State, which beat down Michigan at the Big House, 27-9, for a spot in the Big Ten title game, and a virtually locked-in CFP berth.

Not like Big Ten newcomer Oregon, which earned the CFP's No. 5 seed.

And not even like Indiana — once the losingest program in the country, and now a powerhouse. The Hoosiers won the Big Ten and became the No. 1 team in the country.

Michigan had slipped into the conference's next tier — able to beat bad teams but not the elite. Still, Michigan earned a right to continue playing. And Moore was preparing his team to play Texas — Michigan's SEC doppelganger — in the Citrus Bowl.

But then, everything unraveled.

How it all went down

According to police statements and information provided at Friday's arraignment, this is what happened:

Moore and a staff member had an intimate relationship for a number of years but it went sour, according to Kati Rezmierski, first assistant prosecutor for Washtenaw County.

“Our victim broke up with this defendant on Monday morning early,” Rezmierski said at the arraignment. “There continued to be — the defendant — making numerous phone calls and sending numerous texts, from that time moving forward, that she did not answer, did not respond to and did not want.”

The staff member then went to officials at Michigan and “cooperated” with the investigation into improper behavior. Considering the timing, it is reasonable to assume that was the "credible evidence" Manuel described in his statement explaining Moore's firing.

“As we all now know, at some point on Wednesday, our defendant was fired from his employment,” Rezmierski said.

Then, everything began to spiral out of control. Moore went to the staffer's residence, entering through an unlocked door without permission.

“Barged his way into that apartment,” Rezmierski said. “Immediately then proceeded to a kitchen drawer. Grabbed several butter knives and kitchen scissors and began to threaten his own life: ‘I’m gonna kill myself. I’m gonna make you watch. My blood is on your hands. You ruined my life.’

“A series of very threatening, intimidating, terrifying — quite frankly — statements and behaviors there in that apartment. It was only then, your honor, when the victim, she called her attorney and at some point indicated she was going to call the police and then he left.”

Moore left the residence before responding officers arrived.

“I understand there isn’t evidence to suggest that he directly threatened the victim with any of those implements that I’ve indicated,” Rezmierski said. “The totality of the behavior is highly threatening and highly intimidating. She was terrorized, your honor.”

Moore was found by police in Saline. He was taken into custody without incident and transported to a local hospital for evaluation before he was taken to the Washtenaw County Jail.

At the arraignment, the prosecution asked for Moore to go through a mental health evaluation, be forced to wear a GPS tether and be prohibited from going to the victim’s residence or place of employment. To not have any contact with her. No stalking behavior of any kind. And to surrender any weapons.

“In light of the totality of all of those circumstances, we consider the defendant to be a risk to public safety, a risk to this victim,” Rezmierski said.

Questions remain at U-M

The ripples and ramifications have only started.

As far as the current team, Michigan is getting ready for the Citrus Bowl, set for Orlando, Florida, on Dec. 31. Poggi is, again, acting coach.

Newly signed recruits will be given the opportunity to leave the program — two have already — as will veteran players on the roster, once a new coach is named.

Meanwhile, Michigan has started searching for a new coach, who will inherit various NCAA penalties. The Wolverines were handed four years of probation for the sign-stealing sandal, plus fines that could total $30 million, a 25% reduction in football official visits during the 2025-26 season and a 14-week prohibition on recruiting communications in the football program during the probation period.

One lucky thing for Michigan?

No postseason ban.

But the stench around the program is thick after the NCAA found "sufficient grounds for a multiyear postseason ban."

Now, big questions remain.

Who will make the hire? Michigan has an interim president and Manuel, the athletic director, has come under fire after a series of scandals in the athletic program.

INSTANT REACTION: Sherrone Moore firing by Michigan accelerates what seemed inevitable

There are even questions about how he handled the firing of Moore.

One report suggested that Manuel was informed by prominent donors that Moore had mental health issues on Sunday, Dec. 7 — three days before the firing — according to WWJ-TV's Rachel Hopmayer. 

And Manuel fired Moore alone, without a human resources representative or any security in the room, according to a report Thursday from NBC Sports' Nicole Auerbach.

All of that created even more uncertainty and questions. Michigan continues to investigate the situation and has asked students with any more information to leave it on a tip line.

Fall from grace

On Friday afternoon, at the arraignment in 14A-1 District Court in Ann Arbor, Moore appeared on a video feed, wearing what looked like an all-white jail uniform.

It was so incredibly jarring to see Moore appear in that setting. Not on TV being asked questions by a reporter after a game. But getting instructions from a no-nonsense court official.

“You are not to use alcohol, marijuana, or any other controlled substance that is not prescribed to you,” Magistrate Odetalla Odetalla said from the bench.

Moore stared into the camera, showing no emotion, his hands folded in his lap.

Odetalla continued: “You are not to possess or purchase a firearm or any other dangerous weapon. You are not to engage in criminal conduct of any kind whatsoever. You may not leave the state of Michigan without permission of the court. Prior to your release, you will be placed on a GPS tether. You will not be released before that GPS tether is placed upon you, you must continue all mental health treatment as a condition of your bond.”

Odetalla said the name of the victim in this case will not appear in any court records.

“You may not have contact with that individual," he said. "That means no calling, no writing, no video chatting, no texting, no emailing or any other form of contact the human mind can possibly fathom. No one in the world thinks that this person is going to reach out to you. Should they do so? And again, no one thinks that they're going to, you may not reply in any form or fashion. The victim's address will not be placed on the record. You may not go to that location for any reason whatsoever. Are we understood? On the no-contact and no go to?”

Suddenly, Moore looked so ordinary.

This man who was once the football coach at Michigan, in charge of one of the biggest brands in the sport — if not all of sport — and making millions a year.

This man who was deemed a repeat offender by the NCAA.

This man who had climbed so high and crashed so fast.

This man who — if the allegations prove true — did all of this to himself.

Moore responded simply: “Yes, your honor."

The court case will continue in January.

Is it a tragedy?

Yes. For his wife and kids. They're who I truly feel sorry for.

Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Sherrone Moore scandal started well before Michigan football firing

If you go there now, you see an empty basketball floor in a decaying brick building. But if you narrow your gaze and let your mind drift, you can picture the crowds of wanna-be players over the decades, stuffing the narrow rafters, waiting for their chance. You can hear the excited yells and sneaker squeaks and the pounding dunks of a leather ball through a metal rim. You can feel the stifling heat of hot summer nights with no air conditioning and dreams of making a name for yourself sizzling beneath the hardwood floor.

And when you consider the talent that once sprinted up and down that court — from Dave Bing to Magic Johnson to Earl Cureton to Jalen Rose — you can feel yourself start to sweat.

This place is called St. Cecilia’s — or to many, the Saint — a legendary part of Detroit’s history, but like too many parts of our city, one that has fallen into disrepair, decay and disregard.

That is about to change.

On Thursday, Dec. 11, during our annual SAY Detroit Radiothon, I was joined on stage by the current mayor of Detroit, Mike Duggan, the former mayor, Dave Bing, and — via telephone — the current Mayor-elect Mary Sheffield (who was on her honeymoon), all of whom came together to help me announce the revitalization of a city landmark.

St. Cecilia’s, its adjacent 25-room school building, and the areas and lots surrounding both, will soon be the site of the new SAY Detroit Play Center at St. Cecilia’s.

The 8-acre campus on the city’s west side will be home to hundreds of afterschool kids from around the city, featuring academic labs, STEM robotics, arts programs, community spaces and, of course, sports, from a brand new football field to a rebirthed basketball facility that will honor the greats who played on that hardwood, while transforming it to a state-of-the-art level.

The Saint is rising.

A beacon of collaboration

“I am so excited,” Sheffield said, when she heard the news. “These are the partnerships that I believe are extremely important. And my husband — I finally can say that — he grew up playing in St. Cecilia’s. It’s very near and dear to the community. ... It’s near and dear to my heart.”

This is admittedly an ambitious project, one that may cost, in the end, close to $10 million. As the founder of SAY Detroit, that would make me nervous, had we not done a similar thing over the last decade on the city’s east side, at another abandoned facility called the Lipke Rec Center.

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More: Mitch Albom: Sherrone Moore firing surprise, but it's not a shock

Although not as storied by NBA greats as St. Cecilia’s, Lipke was also once a home to many Detroit kids, who played sports and swam there from the 1950s through the early 2000s.

But like so many rec centers in Detroit, Lipke closed during the bankruptcy years and fell into decay.

Back in 2014, Mayor Duggan asked SAY Detroit if we could somehow find a use for one of those closed facilities. We visited many and finally chose Lipke, even though all the HVAC equipment had been stolen off the roof and the swimming pool was covered in mold.

Ten years later, through the amazing enthusiasm — and elbow grease — of community partners and volunteers, Lipke has been transformed it into a vibrant hive of activity. There’s a football field donated by Matthew Stafford, a baseball field donated by the Detroit Tigers and a large basketball court, rejuvenated by Tom Gores, owner of the Pistons. Stafford and other investors added a 15,000-square-foot education annex a few years ago.

The SAY Detroit Play Center at Lipke now serves 300 kids from all over the city, who are transported from their schools and taken back home when they are finished. Sure, kids can play sports — but only after they complete 90 minutes of study in our digital learning center. They also fan out, in even greater numbers, to a recording studio, an E-Gaming hub, and STEM robotics and arts and dance programs.

Blueprint for success

Our goal for St Cecilia’s is follow the blueprint we used at Lipke. The sizes aren’t the same — there is less acreage the second time, for example, yet a larger school building — but the philosophy will be consistent: involve the community, lean on those who loved and used to use the space, raise funds through partnerships with foundations, companies and individuals, transport kids safely to and from their schools and homes, and hire caring, dedicated people to direct the academics and recreation.

We have already gathered several million dollars toward this project, chiefly from the Wayne and Joan Webber Foundation and an anonymous, but large, donor. Gores also pledged $100,000 toward it at Thursday’s event.

We should note that others have dreamed of reinvigorating this storied place, including Bing, Rose and notably Cureton, the former Piston, who, as a teenager, used to take two busses just to play with the talent at St. Cecilia’s.

On Thursday, at the radiothon, Earl’s widow, Judith Pickop, and their daughter, Sari, sat with us when we made the announcement.

“My dad loved Detroit and I think that reflected in his love for St. Cecilia’s,” Sari said. “The city offered him so much … an opportunity to grow, to learn, and become the person he became.”

That will be the goal of this new facility. To grow. To learn. To become the person you can become.

And to touch history. Detroit history. It was fun to hear Bing recall how, during a holdout from the Pistons in the early 1970s, he kept his game sharp by playing at St. Cecilia’s, and how Sam Washington, the legendary athletic director there, convinced him to get the NBA to donate the fines he was accumulating so he could buy a new scoreboard.

It was fun to hear former Police Chief Ike McKinnon recall how, during the uprising-plagued year of 1967, his officers would get stress reduction and recreation at St. Cecilia’s and how Washington would feed them.

Mayor Duggan noted how our Lipke project had not only revitalized that facility, but sent property values in the area soaring, and uplifted the immediate neighborhood.

We hope to do that twice.

There are ghosts now in the paint-peeling walls. We will not chase them out. Rather, we will give them a home among the sudden high-pitched squeals of children enjoying new facilities, and families knowing their kids have a place to go for hours after school and in the summer, a place where they can improve their grades, their college chances and their jump shots.

The Saint is rising.

If you would like to be a part of this effort, or join us somehow in the rebirth, please contact us at Saydetroit.org.

History never dies. It just sometimes gets ignored. That ends now at St. Cecilia’s. Let’s make it front and center again.

Contact Mitch Albom: malbom@freepress.com. Check out the latest updates with his charities, books and events at MitchAlbom.com. Follow him @mitchalbom on x.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Mitch Albom: St. Cecilia’s is on the rise – on wings of new partner

Kentucky basketball’s 6-4 start and losses to every major college team it has faced has taken coach Mark Pope back to a style that he thought he had left behind. It’s going to take an old-school approach to get the Wildcats playing how they need to play.

In Pope’s first few seasons as a head coach at Utah Valley, he coached with a harder edge. He was not as consoling on turnovers, not as encouraging after mistakes in execution.

He admitted as much during a news conference last December.

“I was about, ‘How long can you sustain a level-10 intensity and focus?’” Pope said. “I would spend 24 hours a day pacing and criticizing and yelling, being in game mode. Full-on intensity.”

He thought that was the way he was supposed to be. And it shouldn’t take long to figure out why, having played for Rick Pitino in the 1990s, when success was a choice and anyone playing for him knew not to think they could choose mediocrity.

This season has dictated that Pope return to that style, not what he learned from a group of BYU faculty in clinical psychology.

Pope molded his approach to focus more on the “connective tissue” of the team, which at BYU and his first season at UK didn’t include the heavy criticism and intense, laser-focus of all things basketball. There's room for a cerebral approach, too; Pope doesn't have to transform into Bobby Knight.

But that has to be earned with a group of players who can handle such trust.

This version of the Wildcats needs to be coached into what intensity looks like. They need to learn how effort can sometimes make up for when the execution might be off and shots may not be falling.

That may seem simple, but from UK’s four losses it looks like the players don’t understand.

"I've done a poor job eliciting that from our guys," Pope said after Tuesday's 103-67 win over N.C. Central. "Nobody's more surprised about that than I am, but that's not going to stand."

Junior Brandon Garrison has been the most obvious example of how Pope is changing.

After the Cats’ loss to Michigan State, Garrison was benched in favor of freshman Malachi Moreno in the starting lineup. Pope said he wasn’t in the business of sending messages, but the way Garrison played in his limited minutes against Loyola Maryland seemed like he understood why.

Until Tuesday night’s game against the Eagles. Garrison was at the wrong end of another Pope non-message, message when he didn’t play the entire second half after committing a turnover then jogging down the floor as it led to a dunk.

That happened as Pope also held Kam Williams and Jaland Lowe out of the lineup for the entire first half.

The roster construction of this team has contributed to the Cats' slow start; they're just not as experienced. Last season, Pope could afford to allow his players more freedom on the floor because he was primarily using veterans.

Lamont Butler, Koby Brea, Jaxson Robinson, Andrew Carr and Amari Williams were not only seniors but also were playing in their fifth years thanks to being the last class that could take advantage of playing under the COVID-year eligibility waiver.

Otega Oweh, as a junior last season, was the young fella in the starting lineup. Now, he and Florida transfer Denzel Aberdeen are the old heads, and they’re surrounded in the lineup with players who are either young like Moreno or Jasper Johnson or simply don’t know what it’s like to play at this level.

They’re getting a tutorial on playing on a stage like Kentucky’s, where the spotlight shines the brightest or burns the harshest depending on how they’re playing.

"We’ve got to get guys outside of themselves, and we got to get guys living and dying for this team, in this gym with this fan base," Pope said after Tuesday night's win.

The smile has come off Pope's face; he's wearing more of a scowl these days. The cerebral X's and O's guru has turned drill sergeant. It's just the change that UK needs to salvage a season headed in the wrong direction.

Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at clbrown1@gannett.com, follow him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at profile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to make sure you never miss one of his columns.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball needs Mark Pope to be more Rick Pitino right now

Michigan football needs a fresh start. The athletic department needs one, too.  

Sherrone Moore’s firing is his own doing. But the timing and handling of it raises questions. Perhaps this unfolded to the letter of the law and to U-M's policy. 

But does the school deserve the benefit of doubt at this point? 

No, it doesn’t. Not after yet another controversy within its athletic department, this one particularly ugly and sad.  

Whatever else happens moving forward, it’s time for the Jim Harbaugh era to end. The former U-M coach was hired in December 2014. He won. He brought investigations. He brought punishment. He bolted. And U-M opted to keep things going with his successor, promoting Moore from offensive coordinator to head coach.

But with Moore out, the school has a chance to reconsider its future. Though the decade-long run of making the wrong kind of news isn’t all at the feet of Harbaugh.  

The issues involved other sports, which brings us to U-M athletic director Warde Manuel. 

Too much has happened on his watch – he was hired in January 2016.  

Here is Manuel’s statement after he fired Moore on Wednesday, Dec, 10: 

“U-M head football coach Sherrone Moore has been terminated, with cause, effective immediately. Following a University investigation, credible evidence was found that Coach Moore engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. This conduct constitutes a clear violation of University policy, and U-M maintains zero tolerance for such behavior." 

Zero tolerance for such behavior? 

MONEY OWED? Sherrone Moore contract and buyout with Michigan football after firing

It’s a phrase used too often in Ann Arbor. 

It’s not Manuel’s fault that Moore apparently jumped into an impermissible relationship with a staffer. According to a report, Manuel fired him alone without a human resources representative or any security in the room. Moore was soon after arrested for alleged assault, which isn't Manuel's fault either.

Nor is it the AD's fault that Connor Stalions ran a “KGB”-style operation to help the football team break NCAA rules against in-person advance scouting.  

It’s not his fault that former U-M basketball coach Juwan Howard slapped an opposing coach (and then lost 24 games in a single season), or that Mel Pearson ran the school’s hockey team by allegedly creating a toxic atmosphere for female support staff.  

Or that Jim Harbaugh broke recruiting rules ... more than once.  

It’s not his fault that Moore’s arrest Wednesday afternoon in Pittsfield Township marked the sixth time a Michigan football staffer or coach had been arrested since 2015 – the year Harbaugh was hired. (Among the arrested was Matt Weiss, an offensive coordinator for a season under Harbaugh; Weiss was charged with hacking into accounts in and stealing private images of student-athletes.) 

And it’s not Manuel’s fault that Moore deleted text messages from his phone ahead of the Stalions-sparked NCAA investigation, which led to Moore serving a school-imposed two-game suspension this fall. 

It is his fault that Moore stood on the sideline against Oklahoma back in Week 2 in the role of coach, rather than serving said suspension over the first two games of the season like Harbaugh did in 2023. Moore coached in Norman, Oklahoma, presumably because it was A) a huge game, and B) Moore’s alma mater. Here was a school that loves touting accountability and integrity, letting its football coach dictate his punishment. 

Manuel allowed that. 

It was a rough look then. It’s a worse look now.  

Manuel had the chance to send a message that the athletic department was serious about change. Instead, he sent the message that the big game mattered more, that the football coach mattered more, that the school’s own image mattered more. 

Moore had no business coaching that game. Just as Pearson had no business coaching as long as he did, nor Howard coaching as long as he did, nor the school refusing to cooperate as much as the NCAA wanted it to during the Stalions investigation, the result of which was an approximate $30 million fine and a host of show-cause penalties. 

It’s a pattern, and an unsettling one – and the incidents keep piling up. 

Ultimately, Manuel is responsible for all of it, fair or not. 

It’s part of the job. The perception of his department is at stake.  

So is the perception of the school, and what should be one of the best ambassadors this state has to offer.  

It’s time to fix it.  

Contact Shawn Windsor: swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him @shawnwindsor.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan, Warde Manuel need fresh start after Sherrone Moore news