Can Sherrone Moore Redeem Himself After Scandal? History Offers a Complicated Answer
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Dec. 29, 2025Updated Dec. 30, 2025, 4:40 p.m. ET
Long before Sherrone Moore threw away his job with an embarrassing scandal at Michigan, Louisville men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino had extramarital sex with a woman at a restaurant and paid $3,000 for her abortion. Then he got fired after a parade of other scandals at Louisville in 2017.
But Pitino was forgiven and bounced back as head coach at Iona and then St. John’s, where his team recently has been ranked in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll Top 25.
Will Moore ever get that same chance to redeem himself as football coach?
“I don’t think a college will take the risk,” said Louis Moore, a sports history professor at Michigan State.
The risk comes from Sherrone Moore’s history.He had an extramarital affair with his executive assistant at Michigan, wich was kept secret for years and violated university policy. He also allegedly confronted the woman at her home Dec. 10 after she disclosed their affair to the university, leading him to be arrested and charged with felony home invasion and stalking. And don’t forget the two cheating scandals at Michigan and his two-year show-cause penalty for that.
But did Sherrone Moore do something worse than these guys?
Several other high-profile college coaches showed how to survive reputational damage and return to coaching, including Sherrone Moore’s mentor at Michigan, jim Harbaugh, who was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in 2005.
Is Sherrone Moore’s scandal worse than those of Pitino or Bobby Petrino or Art Briles?
USA TODAY Sports contacted sports history and crisis management experts about how Sherrone Moore might be able to revive his career – or not.
History is a guide with these other disgraced coaches. Each returned to coaching in some capacity, except Mel tucker, the former coach at Michigan State. Each also are white except Tucker, who is Black like Sherrone Moore.
Can Coaches Survive Scandals?
It used to be that a coach could survive almost anything – a rules violation here, a questionable recruiting practise there. But the landscape of college athletics is changing, and the tolerance for scandal is shrinking. The cases of Mel tucker and Rick Pitino illustrate this shift, and suggest that the path back to coaching after a major transgression is becoming increasingly tough, though not unachievable.
the Mel Tucker scandal
on a phone call in 2022, rape survivor Brenda Tracy alleged that the michigan State football coach made sexual comments about her and masturbated. Tucker claimed it was consensual phone sex. Though, the sexual harassment allegations led to Tucker’s firing for inappropriate conduct in 2023.
Tucker was not charged with a crime and has not coached since.
“I think they’re done in college,” professor Louis Moore said of Tucker and sherrone Moore.
One reason for this is the increased emphasis universities place on student and workplace safety. Tucker’s conduct, along with the criminal charges against Sherrone Moore, clashes with that message.
“institutions today are highly sensitive to cultural,regulatory,and brand risk,” said Gemmill.”This is especially true for universities, which are under intense political and public scrutiny. A head coach is expected to be a symbol of integrity and stability.”
Another factor in Tucker’s situation is his ongoing lawsuit with Michigan State over his termination. In a similar case, Pat Fitzgerald spent three seasons away from college coaching after being fired by Northwestern in 2023 amid a hazing scandal. fitzgerald sued the school, claiming the firing for cause was unjust. The case was resolved this fall, and he was hired by Michigan State last month.
The Rick Pitino scandals
Pitino, 73, continues to coach basketball at St. John’s despite several previous scandals, including an incident in 2009 where he had sex with the wife of his equipment manager and paid $3,000 for her abortion, as revealed during an extortion attempt against the woman. While Pitino was the victim of extortion, the situation was damaging to Louisville, his then-employer.
Further scandals ultimately led to his firing in 2017. The FBI investigated his program for bribery of recruits. The NCAA also accused him of failing to monitor his program at louisville,resulting in a five-game suspension.His team’s 2013 national championship was even vacated due to a scandal involving players receiving sexual favors at parties arranged by a Louisville staffer.
However, Pitino was never charged with a crime. And he consistently wins. This allowed him to secure college coaching jobs after a stint coaching in Greece in late 2018. Iona hired him in 2020, followed by St. John’s in 2023.