Following the firing and arrest of former Michigan coach Sherrone Moore, the players on the Wolverine football team are feeling “betrayed,” interim head coach Biff Poggi told reporters on Monday.
Poggi has been put in charge of picking up the pieces following the dramatic fall from grace for Moore, who was fired last week for having an inappropriate relationship with a female staffer and was later arrested after forcing entry into her home.
Moore is charged with felony third-degree home invasion and two misdemeanors: stalking in a domestic relationship and breaking and entering.
Poggi was candid while addressing the situation with the media for the first time and going through the reaction of Michigan’s players since the fallout, as the No. 18 Wolverines prepare to face Arch Manning and No. 13 Texas in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Eve.
“It has been a tumultuous time,” Poggi said. “A lot of … first disbelief, then anger, then really, what we’re in right now is the kids, quite frankly, feel very betrayed, and we’re trying to work through that.”
Since taking over, Poggi has spent a large chunk of his time speaking with players and distressed parents who have had plenty of questions since Moore’s firing.
Michigan has begun to examine its entire athletic department as a result of the scandal and brought in law firm Jenner & Block to investigate the department and its culture.
In the meantime, Poggi has done what he can to comfort players and put “lots of arms around shoulders.”
“Lot of telling them that you love them, but showing it, because words are cheap, and that takes a lot of time. What it really takes is you being willing to listen,” he said.
“It’s been complicated. I want to listen to them. I want to understand what the kids are feeling and what their parents are feeling, and so a lot of listening, and there’s been a wide range of emotions, and we are going through those steps,” he added.
“They’re not over yet, and I don’t expect them to be over for a while. The mandate that Warde Manuel gave me as the athletic director when he asked me to be the interim coach, was to love and take care of the kids, and so that’s what I’m spending all of my time doing.”
