Ex-Michigan coach scores legal win in criminal case

Former Michigan Wolverines head football coach Sherrone Moore scored a legal victory Tuesday when a judge granted a request for a hearing to learn more about the investigation that led to criminal charges against him.

Moore was arrested in December, hours after he was fired as the head coach of the Wolverines. 

He was accused of illegally entering the apartment of a woman he was having an extramarital affair with and threatening to kill himself in front of her.

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Former University of Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore listens to his attorney, Ellen K. Michaels, during an appearance in front of Judge J. Cedric Simpson on a probable cause hearing at 14A-1 District Court in Ann Arbor Jan. 22, 2026 (Eric Seals/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

Authorities at the time quoted him as saying she was to blame for him losing one of the top college football jobs in the country.

He faces felony home invasion, stalking and illegal entry charges. He and his lawyer, Ellen Michaels, have sought to have the case dismissed.

Judge J. Cedric Simpson, who is presiding, expressed concern that a police detective didn’t disclose Moore’s employer-employee relationship with the woman when a magistrate authorized a warrant for his arrest. Simpson described it as a “glaring omission.”

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Attorney Ellen Michaels prepares to speak while representing her client, former University of Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore, in district court in Ann Arbor Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (Ryan Garza/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

“Defendant’s due process may have been violated,” he said.

“This was not solely this personal relationship. The magistrate should have been able to look at that.”

Simpson set a March 2 date to hear from police and other witnesses.

The woman ended the relationship with Moore a few days before he was fired and didn’t answer a dozen calls or respond to some text messages from him before his dismissal, according to police.

Michaels said a coach calling and texting an executive assistant that many times was reasonable while Moore was preparing the team for a bowl game.

Sherrone Moore of the Michigan Wolverines during the second half against the Maryland Terrapins at SECU Stadium Nov. 22, 2025, in College Park, Md. (Chris Bernacchi/Diamond Images via Getty Images)

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“It’s not stalking if the communication has a legitimate purpose,” Michaels said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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