In August of 2024, a report was published that highlighted some of the allegations within the NCAA’s NOA sent to Michigan relating to the sign-stealing saga. Among those allegations was that Sherrone Moore, an assistant coach with the Wolverines at the time, had deleted a text message thread with former Michigan football staffer Connor Stalions. Of course, Stalions was at the heart of the sign-stealing investigation, allegedly using a “vast network” of individuals to record sideline signals from future opponents.
Via ESPN:
The draft, which could be subject to change, states Moore could face a show-cause penalty and possibly a suspension for allegedly deleting a thread of 52 text messages with former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions in October 2023 on the same day that media reports revealed Stalions was leading an effort to capture the playcalling signals of future opponents.
The draft states that the texts were later recovered via “device imaging” and Moore “subsequently produced them to enforcement staff.” Moore is accused of committing a Level 2 violation.
When asked about the deleted text messages ahead of the 2024 season, Moore – now the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines – said that he was eager for the messages to be released.
“I’ll just say this… I look forward to them being released,” Moore said. “And that’s it.”
His response, though brief, certainly didn’t sound like a guy who was concerned about what those text messages contained. Even so, Moore didn’t really provide any sort of insight into why he deleted those messages in the first place. On Tuesday, we finally got an answer – and it came via a Yahoo Sports report that detailed Michigan’s 130-page response to the NCAA.
According to the report, Moore claims he deleted the messages with Stalions out of anger that someone would do harm to the program.
Via the Yahoo Sports report:
The coach told school officials that he deleted the messages in anger and frustration shortly after the bombshell news story broke, suggesting that he did not want one person, Stalions, to receive credit for “all the work that” coaches and players put into the championship run.
“So, [I] deleted all the information — all Connor, on my personal phone,” he said in Michigan’s response. “And it wasn’t to hide anything, it was just that — I was just extremely angry of, you know, the type of person that would do that to this program and these kids.”
That’s certainly some interesting insight into Moore’s mindset as the sign-stealing controversy became the biggest topic in college sports back in 2023. And on the surface, it makes sense. In fact, many within the Michigan fanbase had expressed anger toward Stalions and his actions, as it certainly cast a dark cloud over the incredible accomplishments of the football program that season.
Moving forward, it’s clear that Michigan intends to fight the NCAA and most of the accusations included in the NOA. This is setting up a battle that could last months, even years, if both sides continue to dig in without a resolution. In the meantime, the ‘sign-stealing’ controversy remains a constant source of frustration in Ann Arbor, one that doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon.