“Will be treated like Mel Tucker”: Ryan Clark calls out Sherrone Moore for failing African-American community amid sex scandal allegations and arrest

Sherrone Moore's tenure as Michigan coach ended on Wednesday amid sexual assault allegations. The coach was announced to have been fired by the university for an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. The police subsequently arrested him on Wednesday evening.

Moore was called out by Ryan Clark on “First Take” on Thursday. The analyst made it clear that aside from failing the university and the players under him, he also didn't set a good example for the community of black coaches, who are still a minority in the football world.

“If you're Sherrone Moore, who was the first African-American head coach at the University of Michigan, there's also a community of coaches that would love to follow in your footsteps that will be partly judged because of your actions. He does have to own that,” Clark said. “Sherrone Moore will have an opportunity to be given grace by his family, by Christ, but he won't get a Bobby Petrino rebound. He will be treated like Mel Tucker. He will be treated like Michael Haywood, who in 2010 was supposed to be the next head coach of the University of Pittsburgh.”

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Moore became Michigan’s coach in January 2024, replacing Jim Harbaugh, under whom he served as an offensive coordinator, after the national title success. He finished his tenure at the program with an 18-8 record, failing to make the College Football Playoff in his two years.

Ryan Clark believes Michigan has to bring in a worthy replacement for Sherrone Moore

After Sherrone Moore failed to uphold the standard expected of him in leading the program, Ryan Clark believes Michigan has to be careful in choosing his replacement. The analyst believes the program no longer has the luxury of choosing based on tactical brilliance.

“I just don't think we could skip over how serious this situation is for Sherrone Moore and the decision-making this situation he put himself in,” Clark said. “And so going forward, you can't just bring in a coach that's good at, great at X's and O's. “You need to bring in a leader of men. You need to bring in a man that these young men can look at and model certain aspects of their life afterwards. And I don't know who that is."

A host of names have been linked to taking the Michigan job since Moore was shown the exit door on Wednesday. Notable candidates that have been muted include Washington coach Jedd Fisch, Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer and former LSU coach Brian Kelly.

Edited by Farouk Yusuf