Sherrone Moore was named as the successor to Jim Harbaugh at Michigan after spending most of last year as the interim head coach. However, the 38-year-old will lead the Wolverines onto the field for the season-opener on Saturday without a formal contract.
He has not reached an official agreement and it puts both parties in a weird state of limbo.
The university offered its new head coach a five-year contract with an annual salary of approximately $6 million per year. Pen has yet to hit the paper. Negotiations are still ongoing behind the scenes.
Moore signed a three-page ‘memorandum of understanding,’ known as an MOU, back in January. Although it outlines most of the details that will be presented in his future contract, like money and bonuses, it lacks a lot of the specific legal jargon.
Michigan recently received its Notice of Allegations from the NCAA for the massive sign-stealing scandal that was exposed last season. If the governing body of college sports gets what it wants, the Wolverines could get a postseason ban. Moore is directly implicated in the investigation after he deleted 52 texts with Connor Stalions.
This is where the lack of contract gets messy.
The memorandum of understanding does not set parameters for a potential scenario where the university tries to fire Moore with cause. It does not outline anything in detail beyond salary, which means he is essentially working without an enforceable contract. That could be a real problem if the losses outnumber the wins or if the NCAA brings down the hammer.
Sherrone Moore is coaching, more or less, on an at-will basis. Michigan could potentially cut him loose without cause and not owe him a buyout. Things could get litigious if the relationship sours.
Both parties want to get something done sooner than later. But the longer it drags out, the more chaotic it could get.