Coaching college football is much like being in a fraternity of sorts.
The longer one is in it, the more contacts they have. For Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore, who played at Oklahoma and coached at Louisville and Central Michigan prior to his tenure in Ann Arbor, many of the names he calls upon are to be expected.
Bob Stoops, Charlie Strong and, of course, Jim Harbaugh have all played major roles in Moore's coaching career. He spoke with Harbaugh during Michigan's bye week last week (Harbaugh hired Moore as a tight ends coach, promoted him to offensive line coach, then serve as offensive coordinator and eventually interim coach during separate suspensions).
But, Moore has become tight with another coach who is in the pantheon of the sport: Nick Saban.
"Yeah, so I try to call him probably every two months or month," Moore said at his news conference Monday, Nov. 10, in Ann Arbor. "When you call coach Saban, sometimes it's like, you don't know if he really wants to talk to you, but he does. Once he starts talking, it's outstanding.
"And I mean, why not take advice from somebody who you consider probably the goat of college football?"
The Wolverines gave Saban a loss in his final game as coach, toppling Alabama 27-20 in OT in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 2024, in a College Football Playoff semifinal.
Saban won seven national titles − one with LSU (2003) and six with Alabama (2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2020).
Michigan associate head coach Biff Poggi and Saban have been friends for many years, so Moore requested a contact for Saban in February 2024. Moore had just been hired as full-time coach after Harbaugh left for the NFL's Los Angeles Chargers.
"I remember [Saban] talking about, you know, 'I really didn't like you guys, the game plan against us, you guys shifted, motion to every play was annoying," Moore said. "And I was like, 'thanks, coach.'"
When Moore's press conference ended, he began to leave the podium when a reporter jokingly asked one last question: Is Moore sure Saban isn't trying to sabotage him as payback for ending Saban's career with a loss?
"No, I don't think so," Moore smiled. "Unless we're playing Alabama."
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Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Why Michigan football's Sherrone Moore talks regularly with Nick Saban