On Saturday, a fresh-faced head coach will pace his sideline in the Big House, hoping to lead his team to victory. He has years of experience with his program, but he’s new to being a head coach. He was the assistant head coach 100 miles down the road at Central Michigan before settling with his current program. And last season, he stepped up as an acting head coach when his team needed him and delivered a big win.
No, it’s not Sherrone Moore, though the same descriptors apply.
It’s Fresno State interim head coach Tim Skipper.
Skipper was a four-year starter for the Bulldogs at middle linebacker from 1997-2000, and six years later he returned to his alma mater to coach. He eventually left for other coaching opportunities, including his stint with the Chippewas, but in 2022 he returned to Fresno State as the assistant head coach and linebackers coach.
When former Bulldogs coach Jeff Tedford had to step away for health reasons in December, Skipper took over as acting head coach. He didn’t skip a beat, leading Fresno State to a 37-10 victory in its bowl game against New Mexico State — the Bulldogs’ fifth-straight bowl win. Tedford’s health concerns caused him to step down for good in July, and Skipper was announced as interim coach for the 2024 season.
“Our players bought into our whole system, our schemes, the way we teach them, coaching changes,” Skipper said Aug. 26 at a press conference. “All that stuff, these guys have hit it head on, so I’m excited for them to get this opportunity. To me, why not us?”
If Skipper’s player-focused perspective sounds familiar, it’s because it is. His words are reminiscent of the same message Moore has preached time and time again. Both men know that coaching changes — and plenty of other drama in Michigan’s case — incite uncertainty and the potential for outside noise to infiltrate the locker room. They’ve taken it upon themselves to quiet things down for their players.
“All I care about is the players,” Moore said Monday. “I just want them to go out there and be successful and have the time of their lives.”
Of course, Michigan and Fresno State’s reasons for needing an acting head coach last season couldn’t have been more different. Nevertheless, each coach found himself called upon to lead, and each succeeded last season — both with wins on the field and by uniting their players behind closed doors. Now, their paths that have somewhat paralleled each other thus far will intersect.
Skipper and Moore both being new head coaches offers each a special perspective on the other’s situation.
“When you have a new coach, there’s the unknown,” Moore said. “I know Coach Skipper has been in the system. He’s been there. He’s been with them, so he’s evolved in the culture. And it’s something that’s been very successful, so I don’t see him diverging too much from what they’ve done.”
Again, if that idea sounds familiar, it’s because it is. Moore had been there and evolved with the Wolverines’ culture for six years before he was promoted to head coach. He’s not trying to reinvent the wheel completely, rather he’s adding his own flavor to a system that’s proven to work. And that’s what he’s preparing to see from Skipper as well.
Skipper and Moore have both coached big games before, but Saturday marks the beginning of a new era for the two coaches. They each want to start it off on the right foot.
The two coaches share some uncanny similarities, their latest being that they’re doing everything they can to lead their teams to victory on Saturday. But at the end of the game, they will likely shake hands, an acknowledgement that only one of them is going home a winner.
The post Sherrone Moore and Tim Skipper share similar background and same goal ahead of Saturday clash appeared first on The Michigan Daily.
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