iStockphoto / © Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
The Michigan football program is gearing up for a head coaching search following the surprise firing of Sherrone Moore. The Wolverines might have to pay a little extra for his replacement thanks to rival Penn State.
Many of the school’s expected targets were also on the Nittany Lions’ recent list. Those candidates leveraged that interest into big time raises.
Penn State fired James Franklin following a 3-3 start to the 2025 college football season. As the year came to a close, they began locking in on possible replacements.
Administration swung and missed with a number of coaches before landing on Matt Campbell. Those names included Matt Rhule, Mike Elko, Kalani Sitake, and Curt Cignetti.
Each turned down the Nittany Lions to stick with their current schools. All received notable contract extensions.
Penn State’s coaching targets are estimated to have received an extra $370 million combined over the lives of their new deals. Along with those raises came boosted buyout totals.
In order for a team to pry these highly regarded coaches away, they’ll have to open up their checkbooks.
Both Rhule and Cignetti owe $15 million should they leave their respective posts. Sitake’s number likely went up, too, after securing a pay increase with BYU.
Those three aren’t listed in Michigan’s early group of targets. Other Penn State candidates are.
Who will be Michigan’s next football coach?
Names trending in the search include Kalen DeBoer, Clark Lea, Jeff Brohm, and Mike Elko. Three of those coaches were once in the Nittany Lions’ crosshairs.
Lea stayed put at Vanderbilt, his alma mater, while receiving an extension. Brohm was promised extra resources to remain with Louisville. Elko landed a massive raise at Texas A&M.
Those extensions will make it harder for a school like Michigan to lure the leaders away. Not only will the buyout totals play a role, but the Wolverines would be forced to offer salaries similar to or greater than those paid by the coaches’ current programs.
The school must replace Sherrone Moore following his firing, for cause, after an alleged “inappropriate relationship” with a member of the staff.
Soon after news of his dismissal, he was reportedly detained by Michigan police.
The program will look at those previously mentioned candidates in the early stages of their search. Some of those targets will be more expensive thanks to Penn State. If unable to convince them to scrap their newly extended contracts to come to Ann Arbor, they’ll seek other options.
Luckily, the Wolverines should have an extra $14 million to work with Moore’s buyout likely void.