By now, you’re familiar with the strange, disturbing, confusing and sad situation involving former Michigan Wolverines head football coach, Sherrone Moore.
In January 2024, after succeeding CFP title winning coach Jim Harbaugh, Moore made history as the first Black head football coach in Wolverines history.
It was a celebratory moment, especially for Black football coaches aspiring to become head FBS coaches.
“I want to thank Coach Harbaugh for the faith that he has displayed in me over the past six years and for supporting my growth as a football coach during that time,” said Moore in a statement at the time. “I also want to thank Athletic Director Warde Manuel, President Santa Ono and members of the Board of Regents for putting their faith and trust in me to be the next leader of this football program. I am excited to reward that trust.”
Two years later, after compiling a 17-8 record over two seasons, Moore, has broken that trust and shattered the faith of those involved.
Moore, who is married with three daughters, was having an affair with a staffer which they both denied to their boss. He gave her a massive raise, she broke the relationship off and then admitted to the affair. Moore was fired for violating the “decency and morality” terms of his contract, broke into her home, threatened to commit suicide, was arrested, charged with third-degree home invasion, breaking and entering and stalking, posted bond and has been released with a monitor.
While many opinions have surfaced, there is no denying that race plays a part in the situation.
Not in the cause, but definitely in the aftermath.
Moore is Black and both his wife and his mistress are white, interracial relationships that involve varying stereotypes, pitfalls and jokes regarding a Black man’s kryptonite (white women), “jungle fever”, and “messing it up for everyone”.
Yet for some reason, this situation feels different.
Is it because Moore was already married to a white woman, or is it because few outside of the sports world were familiar with him, something that’s comedically obvious due to the amount of confusion between Sherrone Moore the coach and Shemar Moore the celebrity.
This situation has captured national attention partly because it involves the leader of one of the most storied programs in college football history and because it involves a Black man and two white women, the latter, arguably, being the bigger draw for headlines.
But there have been more intelligent analysis of the situation, including by Jemele Hill, who issued her own take on X in which she addressed the idea of “racial reification”, where, instead of Black people being judged individually, the acts of one Black person symbolizes the Black community in general.
“What I said was that Sherrone Moore’s firing is being used (by some) as some sort of example that there is a wider problem among Black coaches or as an example of why it will be harder to justify hiring Black coaches.
“I find both to be a wider example of how the actions of one Black person is often used to paint all Black people with a bad brush. This doesn’t indict Black male coaches anymore than Lane Kiffin or Bobby Petrino’s actions indict white coaches. But the difference is that white coaches often get a chance to rehabilitate.
“Rick Pitino is seen as a redemption story. Black coaches usually don’t get that. I don’t care about Sherrone Moore. He earned whatever is coming, but unfortunately Black coaches will likely pay for what he’s done — and that isn’t right.”
Hill is right for a mistake or a bad season negatively and disproportionately impacts Black coaches to a greater extent than white coaches.
In the NFL, only 11 Black head coaches have been given second chances as fulltime NFL head coaches: Art Shell (Raiders twice), Tony Dungy (Bucs, Colts), Jim Caldwell (Colts, Lions), Dennis Green (Vikings, Cardinals), Ray Rhodes (Eagles, Packers), Herm Edwards (Jets, Chiefs), Romeo Crennel (Browns, Chiefs), Lovie Smith (Bears, Bucs, Texans), Hue Jackson (Raiders, Browns), Raheem Morris (Bucs, Falcons) and Todd Bowles (Jets, Bucs).
That’s very telling.
Expectedly, the pushback to Hill’s post was swift, many railing that Moore’s situation isn’t about race but about morals and bad decisions, which is true.
But Hill’s sentiment is also correct.
With all of the FBS head coaching jobs that opened up in the last few weeks, how many Black coaches were considered by the schools or the media?
Yes, James Franklin was hired by Virginia Tech and Charles Huff signed with Memphis, but what about Black coaches like David Shaw, who’s latter seasons were down ones yet he hasn’t been given another opportunity to coach at the college level.
What about Mikey Joseph and Cadillac Williams, who became history-making interim head coaches at Nebraska and Auburn, respectively, but were replaced and haven’t been given FBS head coaching jobs again (Joseph is at Grambling while Williams was recently let go by the Raiders as their running backs coach).
Meanwhile, Nebraska has gone 19-18 in three seasons under Matt Rhule while Auburn went 15-19 under Hugh Freeze before he was fired earlier this season. This is the same Hugh Freeze who embroiled Ole Miss in two scandals- using a school issued phone to call an escort service multiple times and NCAA investigation that found 15 Level 1 violations, resulting in a two-year bowl ban.
Yet both continue to get P4 jobs.
And let’s not forget that former Cornhuskers coach Scott Frost went 16-31 in his five seasons in Nebraska, was fired and then hired by UCF (again) this year, where he went 5-7.
These hires exemplify Hill’s belief that if a Black coach messes up once, they mess it up for themselves and every Black coach behind them.
And that’s a prevalent thought in Sherrone Moore’s situation for his antics could cause hesitancy by the administration and board in hiring another Black head coach regardless of their qualifications.
To be fair, Moore’s situation includes criminal charges, which makes it much more serious than wins and losses and second chances. Yet the image of Moore in a jumpsuit for all to see also brings up feelings involving race.
It’s something Washington Post columnist Candace Buckner addressed in her column this past weekend.
“Moore now represents one of the most tragic things we know in the Black community: a wasted opportunity,” penned Buckner.
Moore’s self-inflicted drama is just beginning for him and those involved, especially innocents like his wife and daughters. That will be a painful, heart-wrenching, humbling and punishing path that he will have to navigate on his own.
And while race isn’t what caused Moore’s foolish behaviors and decisions, it’s obvious that it has its fingerprints all over the situation.
But at the end of the day, Moore’s blackness shouldn’t become a barrier that impedes the advancement of other Black coaches.
