{"id":878586,"date":"2025-12-18T23:15:27","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T05:15:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/18\/michigan-to-act-swiftly-if-findings-warrant-firings\/"},"modified":"2025-12-18T23:15:27","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T05:15:27","slug":"michigan-to-act-swiftly-if-findings-warrant-firings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/18\/michigan-to-act-swiftly-if-findings-warrant-firings\/","title":{"rendered":"Michigan to &#8216;act swiftly&#8217; if findings warrant firings"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Football <\/p>\n<div data-video=\"watch,640,360,47324303\" data-cerebro-id=\"694176b8bcf2fb6ab8bd64da\" data-title=\"Why Heather Dinich isn't ruling out Kalen DeBoer to Michigan\" data-source=\"espn\" data-contributing-partner=\"wsc\"><figcaption>\n<div>\n<p><span>Why Heather Dinich isn&#8217;t ruling out Kalen DeBoer to Michigan (1:44)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Heather Dinich and Paul Finebaum react to Kalen DeBoer reiterating his intention to stay at Alabama although Michigan&#8217;s job is open. (1:44)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a.espncdn.com\/combiner\/i?img=\/i\/columnists\/full\/rittenberg_adam.png&#038;h=80&#038;w=80&#038;scale=crop\" alt width=\"40\" height=\"40\"><\/p>\n<p>Adam Rittenberg<span>Dec 17, 2025, 07:56 PM ET<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.espn.com\/#\">Close<\/a><\/p>\n<ul>College football reporter; joined ESPN in 2008. Graduate of Northwestern University.<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.espn.com\/college-football\/story\/_\/id\/47294863\/michigan-begins-investigation-athletic-department\" target=\"_blank\">Michigan&#8217;s investigation<\/a> into its football program and wider athletic department could lead to findings of additional misconduct that might trigger more employment terminations, interim university president Domenico Grasso said Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/a5o8uJJpqKA?si=a_SUxScE3QJiqRhV\" target=\"_blank\">video statement<\/a>, Grasso described the week since football coach Sherrone Moore&#8217;s firing as &#8220;no doubt a challenging time for our university community.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.espn.com\/college-football\/story?_slug_=sources-michigan-fires-coach-sherrone-moore-9-3-season&#038;id=47269785\" target=\"_blank\">Michigan fired Moore<\/a> on Dec. 10 for engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member, discovered through a university investigation. Moore <a href=\"http:\/\/www.espn.com\/college-football\/story?_slug_=fired-michigan-coach-sherrone-moore-charged-three-crimes&#038;id=47286996\" target=\"_blank\">faces three criminal charges<\/a>, including felony third-degree home invasion, for allegedly confronting the staff member at her residence after being fired.<\/p>\n<p>Michigan&#8217;s investigation into Moore&#8217;s conduct and the football program continues, and the university commissioned Chicago-based law firm Jenner &#038; Block to conduct a larger review of the athletic department&#8217;s culture, conduct and procedures following a series of scandals.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We will take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that conduct like this does not happen again,&#8221; said Grasso, who took over as interim president in May and will step down when a permanent president is installed. &#8220;Make no mistake. We will leave no stone unturned, and any further action we take will be based on credible evidence and findings, developed through a rigorous investigation.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If the university learns of information through this investigation or otherwise that warrants a termination of any employee, we will act swiftly, just as we did in the case of Coach Moore.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Grasso encouraged those who have information regarding misconduct within the football program or athletic department to contact Jenner &#038; Block.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Our focus is strictly on uncovering the facts,&#8221; Grasso said. &#8220;It is my job, my duty, to ensure the integrity of this investigation.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Grasso also briefly addressed Michigan&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.espn.com\/college-football\/story\/_\/id\/47270542\/michigan-wolverines-fire-sherrone-moore-candidates-transfers-recruits\" target=\"_blank\">search for its next football coach<\/a>. Athletic director Warde Manuel, who has led the department since 2016, has not publicly addressed the search, which he is expected to lead.<\/p>\n<p>Biff Poggi, a Michigan staff member under both Moore and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.espn.com\/nfl\/story?_slug_=jim-harbaugh-processing-firing-former-oc-sherrone-moore&#038;id=47287973\" target=\"_blank\">predecessor Jim Harbaugh<\/a>, is serving as interim head coach for Michigan&#8217;s upcoming Cheez-It Citrus Bowl matchup against <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"013a8bab-0dd5-f6a0-45e6-1128a124f34b\" href=\"http:\/\/www.espn.com\/college-football\/team\/_\/id\/251\/texas-longhorns\">Texas<\/a> on Dec. 31.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We will hire an individual who is of the highest moral character and who will serve as a role model and a respected leader for the entire football program,&#8221; Grasso said. &#8220;And who will, with dignity and integrity, be a fierce competitor.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/college-football\/story\/_\/id\/47340854\/michigan-interim-president-domenico-grasso-provides-update-investigation-football-program-athletic-department\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a> Adam Rittenberg<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why Heather Dinich isn&#8217;t ruling out Kalen DeBoer to Michigan (1:44) Heather Dinich and Paul Finebaum react to Kalen DeBoer reiterating his intention to stay at Alabama although Michigan&#8217;s job is open. (1:44) Adam RittenbergDec 17, 2025, 07:56 PM ET Close College football reporter; joined ESPN in 2008. Graduate of Northwestern University. Michigan&#8217;s investigation into<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":878587,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3790,1730,110173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-878586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","category-michigan","category-swiftly"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=878586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878586\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/878587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=878586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=878586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=878586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}