Fired Michigan coach Sherrone Moore ‘suicided’ after cops called to executive assistant’s apartment

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Sherrone Moore, the vaunted head coach of the University of Michigan football program, had his $30 million career thrown out of whack after his relationship with his assistant came to light and culminated in his stunning arrest for alleged assault.

The 39-year-old’s promising career came to a quick end on Wednesday. He was fired as Michigan’s head coach that afternoon, and that same hour was arrested on criminal charges for allegedly entering the home of his executive assistant, Paige Shiver, with a knife in hand.

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Moore — the first black head coach in Michigan history — is now turning his heels in the Washtenaw County Jail on suspicion of assault charges.

Police are releasing audio from a domestic violence call from a Michigan football employee’s Ann Arbor address, saying there was a man at the address who was “attacking her” and the alleged victim said had been “stalking her for months.” Getty Images

Police were called to the home of Moore's employee, Paige Shiver, after he allegedly lost his $30 million job as coach of the Wolverines. Paige Shiver/Instagram

Police were called to the home of Moore’s employee, Paige Shiver, after he allegedly lost his $30 million job as coach of the Wolverines. Paige Shiver/Instagram

The shocking news came just days after Moore spoke to reporters as the 18th-ranked Wolverines began preparing for the Citrus Bowl later this month and took the college football world by surprise.

Thursday’s stunning developments included:

  • Moore was reported to be “suicidal” and had a knife after going to Shiver’s apartment after his firing.

  • He remained in jail Thursday, with a first court appearance scheduled for Friday

  • Shiver, 32, received a 55 percent raise to $90,000 last year

  • The university previously investigated claims of his “inappropriate relationship” with an employee, but he denied it, according to reports.

  • He was fired when the employee presented her with evidence of the affair after discouraging her, according to the claims.

  • According to ESPN, Michigan football officials reported that Moore “behaved strangely, berating assistant coaches.”

A female caller reported to a 911 dispatcher that Moore was armed with a knife and had been following her “for months,” according to police audio obtained by The Post.

“A man at the location is attacking her … he said he’s been following her for months,” a male voice is heard saying in the audio recording.

The audio allegedly refers to now-fired Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore, who was arrested Wednesday on assault charges hours before he was fired from his $6 million-a-year gig. Jeff Kowalsky/ZUMA/SplashNews.com

The audio allegedly refers to now-fired Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore, who was arrested Wednesday on assault charges hours before he was fired from his $6 million-a-year gig. Jeff Kowalsky/ZUMA/SplashNews.com

Moore has been married to his wife Kelli since 2015. Kelli Lenz Moore / Facebook

Moore has been married to his wife Kelli since 2015. Kelli Lenz Moore / Facebook

The audio also indicated that Moore threatened to hurt himself during the alleged exchange, after which he fled on foot and was arrested at a nearby church.

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The dispatcher said the caller reported Moore was holding a knife before dropping the weapon and running away.

“He will be at Well Church, 211 Willis Road…suicidal…driving a black Chevy Tahoe,” the Washtenaw County Police dispatcher can be heard saying a short time later.

Here’s the latest on former Michigan coach Sherrone Moore

The call came from Shiver’s address in Ann Arbor, according to public records, though it was not immediately clear if she was the victim.

Pittsfield Township police confirmed Wednesday that they are investigating an alleged assault, but did not specifically say Moore was involved.

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“The incident does not appear to be random in nature and there does not appear to be an ongoing threat to the community,” the Pittsfield Police Department said in a statement.

No formal charges had been filed as of Thursday evening.

Shiver is seen in an Instagram photo. Instagram

Shiver is seen in an Instagram photo. Instagram

“The matter involving Mr. Moore remains under active investigation by law enforcement, and as a result, we do not expect any charging decisions or an arraignment today,” Washtenaw County District Attorney Eli Savit said in a statement and confirmed that he remained in custody.

Moore — who married his wife, Kelli, in 2015 and has three daughters — was fired “with cause” by the University on Wednesday after it emerged he had an “inappropriate” relationship with a staff member who has not been publicly identified.

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Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel announced Moore’s firing Wednesday just hours before his arrest.

Moore is in custody and being investigated by police after news broke of his firing as the University of Michigan football coach. Sherrone Moore/Instagram

Moore is in custody and being investigated by police after news broke of his firing as the University of Michigan football coach. Sherrone Moore/Instagram

“UM head football coach Sherrone Moore has been terminated with cause, effective immediately,” Michigan said in a statement. “Following a university investigation, credible evidence was found that Coach Moore engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. This conduct constitutes a clear violation of university policy, and UM maintains zero tolerance for such conduct.”

Being fired for 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 had been investigating the relationship between the football coach and the staff member, but Moore had been doing media interviews as recently as Tuesday, when he held a news conference and did a one-on-one interview with WXYZ Detroit.

Moore took over as Michigan coach in 2024 after Jim Harbaugh led the team to a national championship before leaving as head coach. Getty Images

Moore took over as Michigan coach in 2024 after Jim Harbaugh led the team to a national championship before leaving as head coach. Getty Images

During Moore’s tenure, his assistant, Shiver, saw her salary increase from $58,025 in 2024 to $90,000 with no apparent change in job title, according to publicly available college employee salary figures.

The scene that played on the dispatcher’s audio closely mirrored a bombshell local television interview with John Bacon, a University of Michigan instructor and author with close ties to the school’s storied football program.

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Bacon alleged that Moore “entered the home of an employee in Pittsfield Township … grabbed a knife and threatened to harm her and himself.”

According to Bacon, Moore is in protective custody “surrounded by mental health professionals.”

Even before his shocking firing, the state of Moore’s mental health was viewed with increasing concern within the university.

Moore has been acting “weird” recently, according to ESPN — with college football reporter Pete Thamel writing that the situation has “percolated” in recent weeks.

“There was a lot of unrest within the Michigan staff, sources told me that Sherrone Moore was acting strange, berating the assistant coaches, not acting in a normal way,” Thamel said Wednesday on “SportsCenter” after Michigan dropped the ax.

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Despite Michigan’s sudden announcement, ESPN college football analyst Josh Pate claimed that speculation about Moore’s future had been swirling for “weeks and weeks.”

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