Michigan football HC Sherrone Moore details interim coaching plan during 2-game suspension

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Michigan Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore gave an update on who would be filling in what roles as interim coaches as he sits for weeks three and four of the 2025 season.

The University of Michigan self-imposed a two-game suspension for Moore due to the advance scouting case involving former staffer Connor Stalions during the 2023 season.

Regarding the interim coaching setup for the next two weeks, Moore stated that the team will operate as a collective unit.

"Chip (Lindsey) will handle the offense, Wink (Martindale) will handle the defense, J.B. (Brown) will handle the special teams, but the overall operation, coach Biff Poggi will stand in as the interim, and it’ll flow like normal."

Moore said it’s apparent that he won’t be on the sideline for the Central Michigan game, but on game day, it’ll be Lindsey handling the offense, Martindale handling the defense, and Brown handling the special teams.

“Our players will be ready to go,” Moore said.

On Poji’s role as interim coach, Moore praised his experience and connection with the team.

“He’s been in the program before. His love for the players, importantly, his knowledge of everybody in our building, and keeping the cohesion in the building was huge,” Moore said.

Moore confirmed he will still coach this week.

“I’ll be here, so I’ll be coaching hard. This week’s about the how, not necessarily the what,” Moore said. “So, we’re really going to attack that and attack all of the details. He’s always with me, and he’s always around me. He’s always in the meetings, and he’s right there by my side. He sees it and understands how I feel. Obviously, he’s not me, but the players have a lot of respect for Biff and they love being around Biff, so we’ll continue to work in that direction.”

When asked about lessons learned from previous interim coaching experiences, Moore emphasized the importance of teamwork and adhering to the plan.

“You have to work together as a unit, and you can’t try to stray away from the plan that you’ve talked about earlier in the week. We’re going to do that and we’re going to stay together as a cohesive unit, as a team, as a family, and continue to do that,” Moore said.

Moore said he hasn’t thought about where he would be watching the game, but he said he could imagine and guess.”

“I already talked to half the team after the game until now, and they are going to be ready to go,” Moore said. “They are going to be fired up, no pun intended, to the Central Michigan Chippewas, but they’ll be excited. They’ve all have voiced their opinions about how they’ll fill about everything and what they want to do, and I continue to say that guys, ‘You’re not playing this game for me, you’re not going to win it for me, go win it for yourself, go win it for Michigan for the goals that you guys have set.’ So, they’ll be excited and ready to play.”

Serving two games

Moore discussed why he chose to serve games three and four instead of games one and two of the season, including the Big 10 opener.

“It was a collective decision with us between me and Warde Manuel, and just making sure that, especially having a new team, new offense, new defensive people. All of the things involved when having a new team, especially, so I wanted to be there for that, to keep that cohesion and to be there for that. But that was the main reason,” Moore said.

The Wolverines will host the Central Michigan Chippewas on Sept. 13 at noon and travel to Memorial Stadium on Sept. 20 to face the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Big Ten opener at 3:30 p.m.