Michigan promoted Sherrone Moore to head coach on Jan. 26, announcing a 5-year contract paying him $6 million a year along with the standard incentives. Also standard: Moore initially worked under a Memorandum of Understanding while the two sides hammered out the particulars of the contract.
Seven months and his first game have since come and gone, and Moore still has not signed his official contract.
"We know his commitment to us and the same thing with the assistant coaches. It hasn't been something that has been an issue for me or for them, but we're working through it and we'll hopefully have them wrapped up very soon," AD Warde Manuel said on Michigan's in-house podcast, via The Michigan Insider. "The Memorandum of Understanding is a legal document that does bind us and bind them to it and it spells out pretty much everything that's in the contract."
Manuel cited a number of factors why Moore's contract is not done, including onboarding a new apparel provider.
"We had a transition not only in football, we had a transition in basketball. We're dealing with NCAA matters. We're dealing with the situation with our apparel provider and bringing on Legends as shortly as Saturday.
"These things take time, the contracts. They don't just happen overnight and there are things that have popped up, but they're being worked on. Sherrone knows our commitment to him."
Elongated contract negotiations are not a new thing for Manuel. Michigan worked on an extension for Jim Harbaugh for months, a deal that hit a real-world snag along the way and, obviously, never actually completed.
"It's just a long form, has more details, more situations at hand. But listen, I'm very happy with (Moore), very happy with our staff and look forward to having that signed and becoming a non-issue," Manuel said.
The Michigan AD can praise Moore all he wants, but ultimately words are wind until the contract is actually signed.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.