ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Sherrone Moore, the head coach of the University of Michigan’s storied football program, gave up on his $30 million career after an extramarital affair with an assistant came to light and he was eventually arrested on suspicion of assault.
The 39-year-old married father of three’s promising career quickly came crashing down on Wednesday. That afternoon, he was fired as head coach at Michigan State, and within the same hour he was arrested for allegedly breaking into the home of his administrative assistant, Paige Schiffer, with a knife.
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Moore, the first black head coach in Michigan State history, is cooling off in the Washtenaw County Jail on suspicion of assault.
Police found audio from a domestic violence call made to a Michigan State football employee’s Ann Arbor address where a man “attacked her” and the alleged victim said “he had been stalking her for months.” Getty Images
Police were called to Moore’s home after Paige Shiver, a member of Moore’s staff, allegedly spiraled out of control after losing her $30 million coaching job with the Wolverines. Paige Shiver/Instagram
The shocking news, which comes just days after Moore spoke with reporters, surprised the college football world as the 18th-ranked Wolverines begin preparations for the Citrus Bowl later this month.
Shocking developments on Thursday include:
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Moore was reportedly “suicidal” and armed with a knife after going to Schiffer’s apartment after being fired
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He remained in jail Thursday and is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Friday.
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Shiver, 32, received a 55% pay raise last year, to $90,000
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The university has reportedly previously investigated claims he had an “inappropriate relationship” with a staff member, which he denied
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He was sacked when the staff member allegedly produced evidence of the affair after he sacked her
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Michigan football insiders reported that Moore was “acting strange and often berating assistant coaches,” according to ESPN.
A female caller reported to a 911 dispatcher that Moore had a knife and had been stalking her for “months,” according to police audio obtained by The Washington Post.
“A male at the location was attacking her… saying he had been stalking her for months,” a male voice can be heard saying on the recording.
The audio purportedly refers to now-fired Michigan State head coach Sherrone Moore, who was arrested Wednesday on assault charges, hours after he was fired from his $6 million-a-year salary. Jeff Kowalski/ZUMA/SplashNews.com
Moore has been married to his wife Kelly since 2015. Kelli Lenz Moore/Facebook
The audio also indicated that Moore threatened to harm himself during the alleged exchange, before he fled on foot and was arrested at a nearby church.
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The caller reported Moore brandishing a knife, then dropped the weapon and ran away, dispatchers said.
“The location is Vail Church, 211 Willis Road…suicide…driving a black Chevrolet Tahoe that stalled,” a Washtenaw County police dispatcher can be heard saying shortly after.
Here’s the latest on former Michigan State coach Sherron Moore
The call came from Schiffer’s address in Ann Arbor, according to public records, though it’s unclear whether she was the victim.
Pittsfield Township police confirmed Wednesday they were investigating an alleged assault but did not explicitly say Moore was involved.
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“This incident was not random in nature and there does not appear to be an ongoing threat to the community,” a statement from the Pittsfield Police Department read.
As of Thursday evening, no formal charges had been filed.
Trembling can be seen in the Instagram photo. Instagram
“Law enforcement remains actively investigating the case involving Mr. Moore, and as such, we do not anticipate a charging decision or arraignment today,” Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savitt said in a statement, confirming that Mr. Moore remained in custody.
Moore married his wife, Kelli, in 2015 and they have three daughters. Moore was fired “with cause” from the school on Wednesday for having an “inappropriate” relationship with an undisclosed staff member.
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Michigan athletic director Ward Manuel announced Moore’s firing just hours before his arrest on Wednesday.
Moore has been detained and is under police investigation following the revelation that Moore was fired from his position as University of Michigan football coach. Sherron Moore/Instagram
“Michigan head football coach Sheron Moore has been fired for cause, effective immediately,” the University of Michigan announced in a statement. “Following a university investigation, there is credible evidence that Coach Moore had an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. This conduct is a clear violation of university policy and the University of Michigan has zero tolerance for such conduct.”
Being fired without cause could mean Michigan has no obligation to pay the estimated $14.5 million to $16 million remaining on Moore’s contract.
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It’s unclear how long the university has been investigating the relationship between the football coach and staff, but Moore spoke to the media as recently as Tuesday, when he held a news conference and conducted a one-on-one interview with WXYZ Detroit.
Moore resigned as head coach after taking over as Michigan’s head coach in 2024 after Jim Harbaugh led the team to a national championship. Getty Images
During Moore’s tenure, his assistant Shiver’s salary jumped to $90,000 from $58,025 in 2024, without any significant changes in the job title, according to publicly available university employee salary data.
The scene played on the dispatcher’s audio is eerily similar to a local television station’s explosive interview with John Bacon. John Bacon is a lecturer and author at the University of Michigan with deep ties to the school’s storied football program.
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Bacon claimed that Moore “broke into the home of a Pittsfield Township employee…grabbed a knife, threatened to harm her and harmed himself.”
Moore is currently in protective custody and “surrounded by mental health professionals,” according to Bacon.
Even before his shocking firing, Moore’s mental health had come under increasing scrutiny within the university.
Moore has been acting “weird” lately, according to ESPN — something college football reporter Pete Temel wrote has been “spreading” over the past few weeks.
“There’s a lot of uneasiness on the Michigan staff and sources tell me Sherrone Moore has been acting strange, berating the assistant coaches and not acting in a normal way,” Temel said on “SportsCenter” Wednesday after dropping the ax at Michigan.
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Despite the suddenness of Michigan’s announcement, ESPN college football analyst Josh Pate claimed there had been speculation about Moore’s future for “weeks and weeks.”
