As he’s worked his way from being a player at Oklahoma to now holding the keys as the head coach at Michigan, Sherrone Moore has always been trying to learn as much as possible. And three coaches, in particular, have had some outsized influence on his current trajectory.
One Moore played for: Bob Stoops at Oklahoma. And the other two he worked alongside in the former of then-Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh for years in Ann Arbor and with current Wofford head coach Shawn Watson, when the two were both on staff at Louisville.
In a sit down interview with FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt, Moore recounted what he’s taken from each of these mentors in his life and career.
“From Bob, the initial love of the game is really where I started to get it even more,” Moore said. “And really the initial love for loving your players, loving your program and how to run an organization. It was just unmatched. At the time, for me seeing him, seeing him in his element, I would say, and what he did on a daily basis to make our team great, the motivational factors, the motivational speeches and things he would say to us on a daily basis were super special and stuff I’d never forget.”
And while Stoops laid the foundation for how Moore goes about handling his program, Harbaugh helped him refine it, along with developing a comfort in taking risks and trying new things.
“Always will never be afraid to be different,” Moore said. “Never be afraid to venture out and try things that you’ve never done. Just because they haven’t been done, or you haven’t done it — doesn’t mean it’s the right way just because you did it that way, doesn’t mean you should do it that way again. Always challenge yourself and challenge other people and I think I really grew with coach and challenging myself but also challenging others in a positive way to make sure we’re doing it in the best way for our players. So that’s probably what I learned the most from coach. And just the style and organization, how to run an organization from him because he did it unlike anybody’s ever seen.”
As for Watson, the lessons that Moore took away were more granular.
And they live on today in the form of notebooks that Moore still uses.
“And then from Wats, the game of football,” Moore said. “Like the game, inside and out, on the gridiron, of how it’s taught, how to be a great teacher. Because he was an amazing teacher, as you know. Dude was — he still is — but he was so impactful as a teacher. As soon as he would start talking, your eyes would just lock in on everything he said. How to take notes, how to do it, you should always be taking notes, the detail we take notes. Every little thing.”
Above all else, though, Moore has taken a key lesson from all three of these mentors, and frankly everyone else around him: Keep learning, or get ready to be left behind.
“But the three of those coaches have taught me so much and I continue to strive to pull from those guys, from our coaches, from different people,” Moore said. “When you stop learning, you die in this business. So you’ve got to keep learning.”
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