by Ryan ‘Turbo Jackson
When I was putting together my YouTube show I was ready to just pile drive all of the folks angry at Notre Dame for not being in a conference (which if you want the answer, Google “Why Is Notre Dame Independent?”) and the sports gods said, hold my adult beverage…here is your storyline. I say that in jest to break the ice because what they gave me was a very serious story and one I hope gets solved in a different way than most folks are talking about.
You don’t have to be a Michigan fan to know that head football coach Sherrone Moore was fired for having a relationship with a staffer. This is against the University rules and this is a main part of the story. Let’s unpack this so everyone is on the same page. It isn’t a secret that I am not a Michigan fan and if you are expecting me to pile on how stupid this whole thing is you might want to move on now. For those of you still with me, let’s talk Coach Moore. He was a coordinator under Harbaugh for one season in which he was thrust into action during Coach Harbaugh’s suspension. That season led to a National Title and Coach Harbaugh leaving for the NFL. Moore was chosen as the replacement for Harbaugh and I think most Michigan fans were hoping his success would be similar to Marcus Freeman at Notre Dame after Brian Kelly left. But that wasn’t exactly the case.
Prior to his firing, I was talking to some of my Michigan fan friends and they weren’t happy with Coach Moore’s progress and patience was running thin. They saw the collective give the top quarterback recruit a boat load of money to come to Ann Arbor only to see him, for what I will say, show his age. He played all season as an 18-year-old and in most games he showed that. But I can see how fans were frustrated because Bryce Underwood is a very talented player. However, the development just wasn’t there, but in reality, this team was most likely one loss short of being in the conversation of being in the playoff. But Michigan fans saw this season as a waste. Another great defense, but an offense that was extremely lackluster.
I am going to ask you to put on your tin foil hat for a minute. People on campus had said that this relationship was well known which led to a university “investigation” which didn’t turn up anything. This was this summer. Fast forward to last week. Why is that time important? National Signing Day was a few days prior to his firing. He got his recruiting class to put pen to paper. This leads to a number of questions. The first one, and I think we all know the answer, when did the university know about this relationship? Another is, which we will never know the answer to, is if they beat Ohio State again, does this even see the light of day? I think this was the result of people not being happy with the state of the program and they needed a reason to get rid of him, with cause, so they didn’t have to pay him any more money, and they got it gift wrapped.
Now let’s take the 1000-foot view of this situation. Sherrone Moore. His marriage is over, career over, and is looking at jail time for what transpired after his firing. He went from having the world in his hands to nothing. My hope is that he can find the help he needs and moves forward. This was a leader, motivator, and father figure to many guys. Such a huge swing, by his choice mind you, has to lead to question what is going on. If he is not careful things, could go even more haywire.
Now the University. Their decision has put not only the football program, but the entire university in the headlines. The football program is in shambles. The players, including the new recruits, are going to be able to enter the transfer portal. This includes prized quarterback Bryce Underwood. The coach they will have coming in will inherit a program that is a shell of its former self. While this is going on this is the perfect time to gut the program of anyone who had absolutely anything to do with the Harbaugh era. This era did bring a National Championship but also scandal after scandal. I am sure Michigan fans are tired of this and are longing for a hard reset. Michigan fans, buckle up. This is going to be a long a tedious process. Your Michigan Man left when the getting was good. Now, this is what you are left with.
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Until next time, checkout The Turbo and 2ks show at youtube.com/turboand2ks.
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