John Bonamego wasn’t surprised when his phone rang.
Following the 2017 college football season, Bonamego — Central Michigan’s head coach at the time — answered a call from then-Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh. Looking to fill a tight ends coach vacancy, Harbaugh wanted Bonamego’s opinion on an up-and-comer: Sherrone Moore.
Moore had joined the Chippewas’ staff in 2014, a year before Bonamego took the helm. Hearing high praise about Moore’s capabilities, Bonamego made the “very easy decision,” as he described it, to retain the young tight ends coach.
Over the subsequent few seasons, Bonamego’s respect and regard for Moore grew exponentially. He was especially impressed by how Moore connected with players through his authenticity and genuinely positive energy, so much so that he promoted him to assistant head coach prior to the 2017 season.
Perhaps the only downside of noticing all those standout traits in a 31-year-old coach was that others would, too. Bonamego knew he wouldn’t be able to keep Moore long. After all, big-time programs often present greater career opportunities and financial capacities than schools like Central Michigan.
So when Harbaugh came calling, Bonamego wasn’t surprised. He also didn’t have to think twice about what he’d say.
“I didn’t want to lose (Moore), and I let Jim know that,” Bonamego told The Michigan Daily. “But I also told Coach Harbaugh, ‘You need look no further. He’s your guy. I think he’s the best tight ends coach in the country. This guy is a young, rapidly ascending coach, and I think the sky’s the limit for him.’
“I’m very pleased to be able to sit here and say that in this one instance, I was absolutely right.”
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As a kid, Moore didn’t dream about becoming a football coach. He didn’t even dream about becoming a football player. He grew up playing basketball and wanted to continue his career on the hardwood in college. That is, until a dunk in his high school gym opened his eyes to a new opportunity on the gridiron.
“My high school football coach saw me playing basketball,” Moore told The Daily. “I was in the gymnasium, I think I was a sophomore, and I think I dunked it. He just saw my size, my length, and said, ‘Hey, man, have you ever played football before?’ I said, ‘No.’ And he’s like, ‘Well, I think you should come out for the team.’ ”
Moore was interested, but he couldn’t say yes right off the jump.
“I was like, ‘Well, I gotta ask my mom, she’s very protective,’ ” Moore continued. “I’m an only child. She’s from Trinidad and Tobago, both my parents are, so not very familiar with the sport. She thought it was dangerous, but I asked her, ended up playing, and the rest was history.”
Once he got the go-ahead, Moore’s sights shifted from a career in basketball to one in football. He became a two-year starter at Derby High School in Kansas, slotting in along the offensive line. Though he didn’t choose the position himself, he recalls the fun of being able to hit people and blow off some steam.
So Moore kept playing. He spent his first two college seasons at Butler County Community College, about an hour away from Derby, before developing his game and frame enough to earn a spot on Oklahoma’s roster. He assumed a backup role for the Sooners but was still a meaningful component, on and off the field, of a team that won back-to-back Big 12 championships.
It wasn’t until his second and final year at Oklahoma that Moore started to seriously consider coaching. Even before he realized it, though, he was acting like a coach in his own way.
“He was always doing extra,” James Patton, Moore’s offensive line coach with the Sooners, told The Daily. “He was always doing more. You could see him in a backup role, but he was always pushing and helping and trying to help everybody else — his teammates — out. Very well-liked guy.”
Leaning on those inherent qualities and enthusiasm, Moore landed his first coaching job in 2009 as a graduate assistant at Louisville. He spent five seasons with the Cardinals, the last two as tight ends coach, before taking on the same role at Central Michigan.
Four years later, with Bonamego’s recommendation, Moore began his legacy at Michigan. He coached the Wolverines’ tight ends for three seasons before transitioning to offensive line coach/co-offensive coordinator. The following year, he took on sole offensive coordinator duties while retaining his offensive line responsibilities.
Now heading into his seventh year at Michigan and his first as head coach, Moore has added new responsibilities — and titles — each of the past three offseasons. Rapidly climbing the coaching ladder was never his goal or plan, though. He much preferred living in the present and focusing on where his feet were.
Back in his days coaching tight ends, that’s exactly what Moore told Bonamego when asked if he wanted to eventually return to his roots and lead the offensive line. He did, eventually, but he liked where he was for the time being. Working with tight ends allowed him to bridge the gap between the pass and run game, rounding out his experience and making him a better overall offensive coach.
That philosophy is also part of the reason Moore stayed with the Chippewas for one last season in 2017. A year before he took the Michigan job, he had a different opportunity on the table. But, again, he liked where he was for the time being.
And as was becoming a theme throughout both his playing and coaching career, all his focus was on those around him.
“I had a real affection for the kids there,” Moore said. “I had coached some guys there for two years, three years and so on, going to the fourth year with some guys, and I wanted to see it through with them and watch them develop.”
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Reflecting on his time as Moore’s offensive line coach, Patton knows there are details and memories that have slipped through the cracks since 2007 — a long 17 years for both of them. But there’s one thing that he could never forget: Moore’s smile, and the energy that came with it.
“He never had a bad day,” Patton said. “He was always going to show up and practice hard. Tough practices and physical practices, you could always hear his voice. You could always hear him cheering and encouraging guys.”
From Patton’s perspective, Moore’s smile embodied the energy that he brought — and continues to bring — every day. It’s an uplifting type of energy, one that has resonated so much with his teammates, coaches and now players because it’s completely genuine. When you boil it down, that’s just Moore’s personality. That’s just who he is, as both a person and a coach.
There’s no faking anything.
“As camp goes on and things get longer, days get longer, having a coach that’s always bringing that energy, and you know he’s always going to come out and get guys going, is huge,” graduate running back Kalel Mullings said Tuesday. “We all appreciate it, and it’s a huge reason why we’ve gotten to the point we’ve gotten to.”
That energy also makes tough conversations a whole lot easier. Described by Bonamego as “maybe the most challenging thing” that coaches have to do, figuring out how best to navigate the delivery of criticism is a difficult but foundational component of any coach’s job.
Yet for Moore, his authentically positive nature makes it almost effortless.
“It’s easy for me, because that’s just who I am,” Moore said. “They know that if they’re out of line or they’re wrong, I’m going to address it, because I’m always just going to tell them the truth, whether they like it or not. But I try to be as approachable as possible.”
Allowing his natural energy to send the message smoothly and effectively, Moore has no trouble giving feedback when talking with others. Ask him to talk at length about himself, though, and that’s when you might see his trademark positive energy shift.
For all back-to-back Joe Moore Awards, three wins as acting head coach, three Big Ten Championships and even a National Championship can say, Moore has no interest in boasting. In fact, he has no interest in even thinking about himself and his own accomplishments.
Addressing the media on Monday, Moore was asked if he’s taken a moment of personal reflection heading into the season opener. Most people in his shoes, those of a 38-year-old first-time head coach taking over one of the most storied programs in college football, would surely have stepped back to think about their own growth and success.
But Moore isn’t most people. He answered the question plain and simple:
“No, I haven’t,” Moore said. “I’ve been asked that before. All I care about is the players. I don’t think about myself. … Why do I have to talk about myself? All I care about is the players. That’s it. That’s all I care about. So I haven’t looked at it in my perspective. I just want them to go out there and be successful and have the time of their lives.”
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Saturday marks the official beginning of a new era for Michigan football. Moore might have no interest in shouting it from the rooftops, but he’s making history. He’s the program’s first full-time Black head coach and its youngest hire since 1959.
Moore’s also taking on the role under a magnifying glass. Not only is he under pressure to replicate last year’s success, but he’s also expected to do so with a team that lost most of its key players and coaches — all with an ongoing NCAA investigation looming in the background.
But even amid the chaos, Moore remains steadfast in his beliefs and his philosophy.
“There’s people that do it the right way, and there’s people that don’t,” Bonamego said. “There’s coaches that truly care about the development and the transformation of their players, and there’s people where it’s 100% just transactional. People that know me know that the phrase I like to use is, ‘That was a win for the good guys.’
“And in my view, Sherrone getting hired (as Michigan’s head coach), getting that job, was a huge victory for the good guys.”
At the end of the day, Moore simply stays true to himself. That’s exactly what makes him special. It’s exactly why Bonamego told Harbaugh seven years ago that the sky was Moore’s limit, and it’s exactly what has now rocketed him to the highest of heights.
When Michigan football takes the field against Fresno State this weekend, Moore will lead the Wolverines into the dawn of a new day. And as much as he wants the spotlight to shine bright on his players, the culmination of Moore’s journey will glow, too.
Because Ann Arbor, for the first time in nearly a decade, has a new head football coach. And every Saturday, if you look closely, you might be able to catch some of Moore’s signature energy — or even, if you’re lucky, that unforgettable smile.
The post ‘A huge victory for the good guys’: How Sherrone Moore reached new heights through authenticity, positivity and fierce selflessness appeared first on The Michigan Daily.
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